Download Like Water for Chocolate

Like Water for Chocolate
~Laura Esquivel~
Alcatraces, Diego Rivera
English III AP/IB
Mrs. Snipes
Name_________________________________
Magical Realism
At about the middle of the 19th century (when scientific objectivity became “vogue”), the
influence of many social forces caused aesthetic taste to change from romantic idealism to
realism. Many writers felt that romantics—with their focus on the spiritual, the abstract, and
the ideal—were being dishonest about life as it really was. The realists felt they had an ethical
responsibility to be honest. To show life as it should be in order to show life “as it is,” the
body of realist literature tends to eschew the elevated subject matter of tragedy in favor of
the average, the commonplace, the middle classes and their daily struggles with daily
existence. This literature undertook to use language as a kind of undistorting mirror of, or
perfectly transparent window to, the “real”, to disguise its own status as artifice, to present
language as constructed of one-to-one relationships between the word (signifier) and the
thing that the word represents (signified); in short, realism appeals to our ideologically
constructed sense of the real and addresses the reader in such a manner as to incite a “Yes.
That’s it, that’s how it really is” response. Realists are often impelled by social reform, often
focus on people in social situations that require compromise, develop characters that are
unheroic—flawed and unable to be “true to themselves”--, and often emphasize external,
material reality, yet recognize the complexity of human psychology.
In the mid 20th century magical realism reared its head as an influential, if not genre, style of
literature, usually Latin in origin. Distinct from realism, magical realism aims to seize the
paradox of the union of opposites. The realistic laws of cause and effect are suspended:
whereas events in realistic novels occur for reasons that are eventually made clear and lead
logically to the conclusion of the plot, in magical realism events don’t follow these “normal”
expectations so we often see things happening without an explanation and or reasons we
can’t or don’t expect—we are left to accept even the strange without surprise. In realistic
novels, characters are given individualized names, personalities, and family histories
individual to themselves. We identify with these characters because their specific humanity
engages us and their individuality resembles our own. Magical realism defies our experience
of fictional selves. We see archetypes (and so often stereotypes) rather than individuals—
characters (in all their totality) are symbolic and representative of human characteristics more
so than are they depictions of singular beings we are to “know” as mirrors of our whole
selves. The fate of these magical realism characters often seems decided in advance and
doesn’t deal in fairness, justice, or even probability.
Magical realism aims to seize the paradox of the union of opposites. For example, it
challenges polar opposites like life and death and the pre-colonial past versus the postindustrial present. Magical realism is characterized by two conflicting perspectives, one
based on a rational view of reality and the other on the acceptance of the supernatural as
prosaic reality. Magical realism differs from pure fantasy primarily because it is set in a
normal, modern world with authentic descriptions of humans and society. According to
Angel Flores, magical realism involves the fusion of the real and the fantastic, or as he
claims, “an amalgamation of realism and fantasy.” The presence of the supernatural in
magical realism is often connected to the primeval or “magicali Indian mentality”, which
exists in conjunction with European rationality. According to Ray Verzasconi, as well as
other critics, magical realism is “an expression of the New World reality which at once
combines the rational elements of the European super-civilization, and the irrational
elements of a primitive America.” Gonzalez Echchevarria believes that magical realism
offers a world view that is not based on natural or physical laws nor objective
reality. However, the fictional world is not separated from reality either. The term "magical
realism" was first introduced by Franz Roh, a German art critic, who considered magical
realism an art category. To him, it was a way of representing and responding to reality and
pictorially depicting the enigmas of reality. In Latin America in the 1940s, magical realism
was a way to express the realistic American mentality and create an autonomous style of
literature. Jorge Luis Borges gave the definition of magical realism when he said, “I imagine a
labyrinth of labyrinths, one sinuous spreading labyrinth that would encompass the past and
the future and in some way involve the stars.”
Characteristics of Magical Realism
Hybridity—Magical realists incorporate many techniques that have been linked to postcolonialism, with hybridity being a primary feature. Specifically, magical realism is illustrated
in the inharmonious arenas of such opposites as urban and rural, and Western and
indigenous. The plots of magical realist works involve issues of borders, mixing, and
change. Authors establish these plots to reveal a crucial purpose of magical realism: a more
deep and true reality than conventional realist techniques would illustrate.
Irony Regarding Author’s Perspective—The writer must have ironic distance from the
magical world view for the realism not to be compromised. Simultaneously, the writer must
strongly respect the magic, or else the magic dissolves into simple folk belief or complete
fantasy, split from the real instead of synchronized with it. The term "magic" relates to the
fact that the point of view that the text depicts explicitly is not adopted according to the
implied world view of the author. As Gonzales Echevarria expresses, the act of distancing
oneself from the beliefs held by a certain social group makes it impossible to be thought of
as a representative of that society.
Authorial Reticence—Authorial reticence refers to the lack of clear opinions about the
accuracy of events and the credibility of the world views expressed by the characters in the
text. This technique promotes acceptance in magical realism. In magical realism, the simple
act of explaining the supernatural would eradicate its position of equality regarding a
person’s conventional view of reality. Because it would then be less valid, the supernatural
world would be discarded as false testimony.
The Supernatural and Natural—In magical realism, the supernatural is not displayed as
questionable. While the reader realizes that the rational and irrational are opposite and
conflicting polarities, they are not disconcerted because the supernatural is integrated within
the norms of perception of the narrator and characters in the fictional world.
Common Themes
The idea of terror overwhelms the possibility of rejuvenation in magical realism. Several
prominent authoritarian figures, such as soldiers, police, and sadists all have the power to
torture and kill. Time is another conspicuous theme, which is frequently displayed as cyclical
instead of linear. What happens once is destined to happen again. Characters rarely, if ever,
realize the promise of a better life. As a result, irony and paradox stay rooted in recurring
social and political aspirations. Another particularly complex theme in magical realism is the
carnivalesque. The carnivalesque is carnival’s reflection in literature. The concept of
carnival celebrates the body, the senses, and the relations between humans. "Carnival" refers
to cultural manifestations that take place in different related forms in North and South
America, Europe, and the Caribbean, often including particular language and dress, as well as
the presence of a madman, fool, or clown. In addition, people organize and participate in
dance, music, or theater. Latin American magical realists, for instance, explore the bright lifeaffirming side of the carnivalesque. The reality of revolution, and continual political upheaval
in certain parts of the world, also relates to magical realism. Specifically, South America is
characterized by the endless struggle for a political ideal.
Common Aspects of Magical Realist Novels
The following elements are found in many magical realist novels, but not all are found in
each novel and many are found in novels that fall under other genres.
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Contains a magical element
The magical element may be intuitive but is never explained
Characters accept rather than question the logic of the magical element
Exhibits a richness of sensory details
Distorts time so that it is cyclical or so that it appears absent; another technique is to
collapse time in order to create a setting in which the present repeats or resembles
the past
Inverts cause and effect; for instance, a character may suffer before a tragedy occurs
Incorporates legend or folklore
Presents events from multiple perspectives, such as that of belief and disbelief or the
colonizers and the colonized
May be an overt rebellion against a totalitarian government or colonialism
May be set in or arise from an area of cultural mixing
Uses a mirroring of either past or present, astral and physical planes, or of characters
**In magical realism, the simple act of explaining the supernatural would eradicate its
position of equality regarding a person’s conventional view of reality. Because it would then
be less valid, the supernatural world would be discarded as false testimony.
Critical Theories
The following schools of criticism may serve as lenses through which to analyze the
work. The most obvious and common applications of critical theory in relation to Like
Water for Chocolate are feminist and postcolonial criticism. Therefore, more detailed
definitions of these applications appear after the following general outline.
FORMALIST CRITICISM (aka “New Criticism”)
Definition: “The text, the text, and nothing but the text.” The basic commitment of
Formalism is to a close reading of literary texts. Formalist critics argue that in analyzing a
work, the only evidence worth considering is that which is intrinsic to the text (within the
work itself) and nothing extrinsic (outside the work), need be considered. Formalist critics
explore questions of technique as an entrée into meaning. They seek to understand how an
author or poet employs figures of speech, symbolism, narrative frames and the other literary
tools at his or her disposal to achieve an artistic “unity of effect.” In sum, the Formalist says
that a work of literature must stand or fall on its own merits.
Recurring Question: How do the literary elements found in a particular text work together
to achieve a unified artistic effect?
FYI: There is good general agreement concerning the meaning of Formalism/New
Criticism. Students will recognize that what they have been coached to do in school often
amounts to seeing the work of art through the Formalist critical lens.
BIOGRAPHICAL CRITICISM
Definition: The biographical critic studies events in the life of the author in order to
determine how they may have influenced the author’s work.
Recurring Question: What real life event or personality inspired the author to create a given
plot twist or character? Where does real life leave off and the imagination take over?
FYI: Sometimes (as in the above-referenced “Critical Encounters in High School
English,”) this approach has been referred to as “psychological” criticism.
HISTORICAL CRITICISM
Definition: Historical critics examine the social and intellectual milieu in which the author
wrote. They consider the politics and social movements prevalent during the time period of
the text’s creation. They do so in order to determine how the literature under examination is
both the product and shaper of society.
Recurring Question: How did the text in question influence contemporary events and how
did contemporary events influence the author’s creative choices?
FYI: “New Historicists” like Michael Foucault take this avenue of inquiry one step further
by arguing that each historical period is rife with competing versions of the truth. They
maintain that a single, oracular truth is ultimately unknowable and that readers should open
themselves up to a more democratic approach to literature, embracing a broader variety of
texts as worthy of study.
FEMINIST CRITICISM
Definition: The primary agenda of Feminist critics is to investigate how a literary work
either tends to serve or to challenge a patriarchal (male dominated) view of society. They
maintain that literature should be analyzed with the goal of explaining how the text
exemplifies or reveals important insights about sex roles and society’s structure. They point
out that the traditional “canon” – those works long deemed to be the best that has been
thought and said in human culture – tend to define females as “other,” or as an object,
compared to the male’s privileged subject status. Feminist criticism focuses on social
relationships, including the patterns of thought, behavior, values, enfranchisement and
power between the sexes. It is “a political act whose aim is not simply to interpret the world
but to change it by changing the consciousness of those who read and their relation to what
they read…” (Judith Fetterly)
Recurring Question: How does the text mirror or question a male-dominated (phallocentric)
view of reality?
FYI: This lens is also sometimes called “Gender Criticism.” An important implication of
Feminist criticism is the pressing need to open up the “canon” to include previously ignored
texts by women.
MARXIST CRITICISM
Definition: This is criticism inspired by the historical, economic and sociological theory of
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Its focus is on the connections between the content or
form of a literary work and the economic, class, social or ideological factors that have shaped
and determined it. Marxist criticism is perpetually oriented to investigating the social realities
that condition works of art. Its preoccupations are with matters of class status, economic
conditions, what is published and what is repressed in the literary marketplace, the
preferences of the reading public, and so forth.
Recurring Question: Who has the power/money in society? Who does not? What happens
as a result?
FYI: Marxist criticism resembles Feminist criticism insofar as it is “engaged” in the world;
its purpose is to ferment change, especially in the cause of addressing economic injustice, by
stimulating discussion and raising “consciousness.”
PSYCHOLOGICAL CRITICISM
Definition: Criticism that analyzes literature from the position that texts express the inner
workings of the human mind; this approach often focuses on the choices of humans as
moral agents. Leo Tolstoy, the accomplished Russian novelist, believed that the purpose of
literature was “to make humans good by choice.” Literature through the power of story has
the ability to engage the individual imaginatively in other worlds and other times. It invites
the reader to put him or herself in the position of other human beings; to empathize. The
Psychological critic is interested in every phase of human interaction and choice as
developed in the text. Literature constantly informs us about and leads us to question what
it means to be a human being. The Psychological critic closely follows these revelations and
takes them as a central subject for analysis.
Recurring Question: What is the text telling us about what it means to be a human
being? Would you act like the main character in the same circumstances?
FYI: This literary lens has also been known as “Humanist criticism” in an earlier era. Be
careful with this one, however. It is sometimes fused with Psychoanalytic Criticism (see the
Thomson text), which is criticism that analyzes literature largely based on the theories of the
unconscious control of the psyche of Sigmund Freud. Students often find Psychological
Criticism a natural fit since it draws on their own understandings and experiences of how
people treat each other.
ARCHETYPAL CRITICISM (aka Mythological Criticism)
Definition: This approach to literature stems from the notion that texts ultimately point out
the universality of human experience. Built largely on the psychology of Carl Jung,
Archetypal criticism contends that there are certain shared memories that exist in the
collective unconscious of the human species, a storehouse of images and patterns, vestigial
traces of which inhere in all human beings and which find symbolic expression in all human
art, including its literature. (Think, for example, of the spontaneous associations you have
while watching a sunset. They are not unique.) Practitioners such as Northrop Frye and
Joseph Campbell have discerned a complex and comprehensive correspondence between the
basic story patterns of humans – comedy, romance, tragedy and irony – and the myths and
archetypal patterns associated with the seasonal cycle of spring, summer, fall and
winter. The death/rebirth theme is said to be the archetype of archetypes.
Recurring Question: What universal patterns of human experience are evidenced and are
being explored in the text?
FYI: Students enjoy this form of criticism when they are helped to recognize its power in
interpreting mega-hit entries from the popular culture such as “Star Wars” or “Groundhog
Day.” However, it does take a fair amount of bolstering to acquaint students with some of
the archetypal patterns as a point of entry.
READER RESPONSE THEORY
Definition: This theory notes that a literary text is not separate and closed-off; rather, its
meaning is completed when the individual reader comes in contact with it and in the course
of reading constructs a new version of what the text is saying. Reader Response theory
notes that reading is ultimately a personal and idiosyncratic activity. For this very reason,
this undoubtedly true “theory” does not qualify as a “critical lens” because it preeminently
champions the undoubted right of each individual to his or her own opinion about a piece of
writing without the need to justify or otherwise defend one’s perceptions. In school,
students are invited to respond to a text subjectively all the time. This happens, for example,
when teachers ask them to “make connections” between the text and their own experience
and knowledge of the world. Reader response is how most people spontaneously react to
literature. It is healthy, indispensable, and inherently subjective and, for that reason, not
what we are trying to coach students to accomplish when writing a literary analysis paper.
Recurring Question: How did you like the book?
FYI: Notice that we have made reference to “reader response” as a theory about how
people make sense of text and not as a critical lens—a term we reserve for a set of ideas used
to build an objective, provable case for the interpretation of a text. Many commentators (see
both the PPS and Thomson resources) do not make this distinction.
POSTCOLONIAL
A type of cultural criticism, postcolonial criticism usually involves the analysis of literary
texts produced in countries and cultures that have come under the control of European
colonial powers at some point in their history. Alternatively, it can refer to the analysis of
texts written about colonized places by writers hailing from the colonizing culture. In
Orientalism (1978), Edward Said, a pioneer of postcolonial criticism and studies, focused on
the way in which the colonizing First World has invented false images and myths of the
Third (postcolonial) World—stereotypical images and myths that have conveniently justified
Western exploitation and domination of Eastern and Middle Eastern cultures and peoples.
In the essay "Postcolonial Criticism" (1992), Homi K. Bhabha has shown how certain
cultures (mis)represent other cultures, thereby extending their political and social domination
in the modern world order.
Postcolonial studies, a type of cultural studies, refers more broadly to the study of cultural
groups, practices, and discourses—including but not limited to literary discourses—in the
colonized world. The term postcolonial is usually used broadly to refer to the study of works
written at any point after colonization first occurred in a given country, although it is
sometimes used more specifically to refer to the analysis of texts and other cultural
discourses that emerged after the end of the colonial period (after the success of the
liberation and independence movements). Among feminist critics, the postcolonial
perspective has inspired an attempt to recover whole cultures of women heretofore ignored
or marginalized—women who speak not only from colonized places but also from the
colonizing places to which many of them fled.
Postcolonial criticism has been influenced by Marxist thought, by the work of Michel
Foucault (whose theories about the power of discourses have influenced the new
historicism), and by deconstruction, which has challenged not only hierarchical, binary
oppositions such as West/East and North/South but also the notions of superiority
associated with the first term of each opposition.
Adapted from The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms by Ross Murfin and Supriya M.
Ray. Copyright 1998 by Bedford Books.
More on Feminism/ Feminist Criticism
Feminist literary criticism, arising in conjunction with sociopolitical feminism, critiques
patriarchal language and literature by exposing how these reflect masculine ideology. It
examines gender politics in works and traces the subtle construction of masculinity and
femininity, and their relative status, positionings, and marginalizations within works.
Beyond making us aware of the marginalizing uses of traditional language (the
presumptuousness of the pronoun "he," or occupational words such as "mailman") feminists
focused on language have noticed a stylistic difference in women's writing: women tend to
use reflexive constructions more than men (e.g., "She found herself crying"). They have
noticed that women and men tend to communicate differently: men directed towards
solutions, women towards connecting.
Feminist criticism concerns itself with stereotypical representations of genders. It also may
trace the history of relatively unknown or undervalued women writers, potentially earning
them their rightful place within the literary canon, and helps create a climate in which
women's creativity may be fully realized and appreciated.
One will frequently hear the term "patriarchy" used among feminist critics, referring to
traditional male-dominated society. "Marginalization" refers to being forced to the outskirts
of what is considered socially and politically significant; the female voice was traditionally
marginalized, or discounted altogether.
Feminist criticism became a dominant force in Western literary studies in the late 1970s,
when feminist theory more broadly conceived was applied to linguistic and literary matters.
Since the early 1980s, feminist literary criticism has developed and diversified in a number of
ways and is now characterized by a global perspective.
French feminist criticism garnered much of its inspiration from Simone de Beauvoir’s
seminal book, Lé Deuxiéme Sexe (1949; The Second Sex). Beauvoir argued that associating men
with humanity more generally (as many cultures do) relegates women to an inferior position
in society. Subsequent French feminist critics writing during the 1970s acknowledged
Beauvoir’s critique but focused on language as a tool of male domination, analyzing the ways
in which it represents the world from the male point of view and arguing for the
development of a feminine language and writing.
Although interested in the subject of feminine language and writing, North American
feminist critics of the 1970s and early 1980s began by analyzing literary texts—not by
abstractly discussing language—via close textual reading and historical scholarship. One
group practiced "feminist critique," examining how women characters are portrayed,
exposing the patriarchal ideology implicit in the so-called classics, and demonstrating that
attitudes and traditions reinforcing systematic masculine dominance are inscribed in the
literary canon. Another group practiced what came to be called "gynocriticism," studying
writings by women and examining the female literary tradition to find out how women
writers across the ages have perceived themselves and imagined reality.
While it gradually became customary to refer to an Anglo-American tradition of feminist
criticism, British feminist critics of the 1970s and early 1980s objected to the tendency of
some North American critics to find universal or "essential" feminine attributes, arguing that
differences of race, class, and culture gave rise to crucial differences among women across
space and time. British feminist critics regarded their own critical practice as more political
than that of North American feminists, emphasizing an engagement with historical process
in order to promote social change.
By the early 1990s, the French, American, and British approaches had so thoroughly
critiqued, influenced, and assimilated one another that nationality no longer automatically
signaled a practitioner’s approach. Today’s critics seldom focus on "woman" as a relatively
monolithic category; rather, they view "women" as members of different societies with
different concerns. Feminists of color, Third World (preferably called postcolonial)
feminists, and lesbian feminists have stressed that women are not defined solely by the fact
that they are female; other attributes (such as religion, class, and sexual orientation) are also
important, making the problems and goals of one group of women different from those of
another.
Many commentators have argued that feminist criticism is by definition gender criticism
because of its focus on the feminine gender. But the relationship between feminist and
gender criticism is, in fact, complex; the two approaches are certainly not polar opposites
but, rather, exist along a continuum of attitudes toward sex, sexuality, gender, and language.
Adapted from The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms by Ross Murfin and Supriya M.
Ray. Copyright 1998 by Bedford Books.
Sample Essay Prompts in Relation to Schools of Criticism
Formalist prompt
Food and its preparation is a central organizing metaphor in Like Water for Chocolate. Discuss
the symbolic significance of cooking as it is developed over the course of the novel and
explain how the working out of this conceit reinforces the main message of the novel’s
conclusion.
Psychological prompt::
Tradition is an indispensable force in the functioning of any human society. Without
tradition, we would have to invent a meaning for each new situation. What is the role of
tradition in the interactions of the De la Garza family? In Like Water for Chocolate would you
describe tradition as a net force for self-actualization of the individual or for
repression. What is the novel’s message regarding tradition?
Feminist prompt:
What is it to be a good woman? Like Water for Chocolate presents several models for strong,
powerful or otherwise influential women in terms of its developed characters: Mama Elena,
Rosaura, Gertrudis and Tita. Which of these characters is the best feminist, in your view as
supported by the textual evidence? Be sure and define your terms in the course of your
essay.
Archetypal prompt:
There are repeated magic incidents and dream-world or fairy tale-like descriptions of events
in Like Water for Chocolate. How does the frequent resort to “magical realism,” as this
technique has been labeled, shape the reader’s experience of this novel and connect it to a
larger romantic pattern?
Of Other Cultural Significance
Dichos- Spanish sayings and proverbs.
The Mexican Revolution, Pancho Villa, and Emiliano Zapata- The Mexican
Revolution began in 1910 as an uprising against Porfirio Diaz, whom many saw as a tyrant.
Pancho Villa was one of the leaders of the Revolution, and, with the Villistas, led the a battle
which overthrew Diaz and gave power to Francisco I. Madero. Emiliano Zapata was another
prominent leader in the revolution, and was immensely popular amongst the Mexican
people. He was especially beloved amongst the peasant class and common people. He also
had quite the reputation as a womanizer, and even had female Zapatista soldiers who held
officer roles and led gangs in the Zapatista movement.
Terrible Mother Archetype- Opposite of the Great Mother archetype (nurturing, fertile,
protective) the Terrible Mother embodies fear, destruction, and death. India’s Kali is a classic
example of this archetype.
Group Assignment
Your group's task is to teach the chapter of Like Water for Chocolate to which you've been
assigned.
Your presentation will be no more 20 minutes in length, with a 5 minute debriefing by me to
follow. Every member of your group must participate in the completion of the final
product, which will include the following components. Please note: This is a guide to help
you. You are not limited to these elements, nor are you required to address all of
them. Indeed, you are encouraged to become engaged in the work and go beyond what I've
outlined here:
1. A discussion of the important symbols/ motifs in your chapter of the novel. Some of the
most prominent symbols/ motifs in the novel include but are not limited to:
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fire and heat
food
rebellion
strength and destruction
Internal vs. external power
spirits
nature
2. A discussion of the important themes/motifs of the novel that are present in your
chapter of the novel. Some of the most prominent themes/motifs include but are not
limited to:
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Gender roles (traditional and redefined or inverted)
o domesticity vs. power and influence in a masculine realm
o The reconciliation of the traditional and contemporary roles of women
Imprisonment/ domination vs. independence and rebellion
Fertility and barenness
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Love and desire
o Example: Love relationships (i.e., physical, spiritual, maternal, fraternal,
patriotic):
 Tita / Pedro
 Rosaura / Pedro
 Tita / John
 Mama Elena / the mulatto
 Gertrudis / Juan
 Gertrudis /José Treviño
 Tita / Roberto / Esperanza
 Tita / Nacha
 Tita / Chencha
 the Federales / the Revolutionaries (love of country)
duality (life and death, frigidity and desire, etc.)
Sisterhood
3. A discussion of the important philosophical and/or subgenre underpinnings of the
novel. Some might include but are not limited to:
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Critical theory (Formalist, Psychological, Feminist, Postcoloniam or Archetypal criticism)
Magic Realism
The existential struggle to define oneself
Be sure that all members of your group are participating in this assignment. The easiest way
to do this is to divide the tasks, which include:
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A PowerPoint presentation (PLEASE NOTE: PowerPoint slides should represent
an outline of your material. Do NOT write out your presentation word-forword. Bulleted lists are preferred over paragraphs).
A handout for each member of the class (40 is the magic number) to support your
presentation
Quotes (on the presentation and on the handouts) to support your group's analysis.
Presentation topics and dates and the composition of the groups will be provided in class.
Assignment Value: 60 pts.
Discussion/Analysis Questions
1. How does the past present itself in the present? How does the past dictate the future?
2. Discuss the role of tradition/ritual. Why does Esquivel place emphasis on them/in them?
3. Note Esquivel’s insertion of the “lessons” (social mores)—i.e.: “growing up one realizes
how many things one cannot wish for, the things that are forbidden, sinful, indecent” (175).
How do the characters, specifically Tita, respond/react to these lessons/mores? What does
Esquivel say through these responses? Consider the insertion of the “dichos,” as well: i.e.
“And remember that the lazy man and the stingy man end up walking their road twice” (12).
What is Esquivel saying/accomplishing through these dichos.
4. What are the dominant symbols in the novel? How do they function? Evaluate their effect
on the reader.
5. Note examples of the melting of time. Why does Esquivel do this and what is she
accomplishing?
6. Consider the structure of the novel. Why does Esquivel structure the novel as a calendar?
A recipe book? Look at juxtaposition (not of the two here, but each with another).
7. What significance does the backdrop of the war/revolution serve?
8. What role does each daughter fill in relation to Mama Elena, tradition, family unit?
(Rosaura, Tita, Gertrudis)
9. Mama Elena, arguably, is couched in irony. Note as many ironic details/elements you can
about her. Why does Esquivel assign so much irony to her?
10. What is the significance of the narrator being Tita’s great grand niece?
11. How does cooking function in the novel? Cite at least three examples.
12. Find and cite moments of transition in Tita’s life. What does she move from and to?
What is the significance/result of each transition? What causes/allows the transitions?
13. Analyze the women in terms of the following: (1) How is the past versus the present
expressed as a consequence of the future? (2) What “tainted” acts does each commit? What
is the effect on tradition?
14. One message of the book is to follow one's desires, whatever the cost. The cost in this
instance is great, and the prize, Pedro, seems so unworthy an object of desire. Explore
Esquivel's intentions in presenting Pedro as she does.
15. Do you think you know at the end of the story what the author's intention was?
16. The three De La Garza sisters possess differing personalities. By tracing their trajectories
through the course of the novel, discuss the way each sister embodies a female stereotype.
What statement might the author be making through these types about options in the lives
of women?
17. What does the novel tell us about the domestic life of women?
18. Discuss the role of ghosts in the novel.
19. Tita is supposed to have crocheted a giant bedspread. What might the significance of this
be? Explain your answer.
20. In your opinion, is Tita a strong female figure? A feminist character?