Even with the rice scorched, meat dried out, and dessert burnt, Mama Elena complimented Rosaura’s food and said, “as the first meal that Rosura has cooked it isn't bad.” But with Tita’s food, Mama Elena said, “It’s too salty.”
Gertrudis and Juan’s relationship was very sudden. It started when Gertrudis ate Tita’s food with roses. Gertrudis ran out naked after the heat made the wooden walls burst into flames. Afterwards Juan “abandoned the field of battle” and picked her up. In comparison to Tita and Pedro’s relationship, Gertrudis and Juan did not have to suffer from an loveless marriage.
After Mama Elena is informed that Gertrudis is working in a brothel, she “burned Gertrudis’ birth certificate and all of her pictures and said she didn't
…show more content…
want to hear her name mentioned ever again.” Mama Elena was ashamed of her daughter and wanted to cut all ties to her. The chile in walnut sauce symbolizes Tita’s loneliness. “She felt so lost and lonely. One last chile in walnut sauce left on the platter couldn't feel any worse than she did.” Chapter Four: April Tita “felt an immense tenderness toward the boy.” Tita even felt that she was the Roberto’s mother not Rosaura. “Rosaura had gained sixty-five pounds during her pregnancy, which made the labor to deliver her first child even more difficult.” Her body was also really swollen which made it even more difficult. I feel that Mama Elena is a hypocrite for saying, “Children should not be away from their mothers” to Tita. Mama Elena was never there for Tita and didn’t do much when raising her. Mama Elena tells Father Ignacio that it will be best if Rosaura and Pedro go to live in San Antonio because Rosaura will “receive better medical attention there.” Mama Elena feels that she does not need a man because she never needed a man for anything. “I’ve never needed a man for anything; all by myself, I’ve done all right with my ranch and my daughters. Men aren't that important in this life.” According to Mama Elena, the revolution is not as “dangerous as you make it out!” Chapter Five: May Captain Juan Alejandrez bowed to Mama Elena after she told him the her oldest and youngest daughter live in the United States, and her middle child died. The captain was moved by her words and said, “That is a pity, a very great pity.” The secret that Mama Elena and captain Juan Alejandrez kept to themselves was about Gertrudis. Mama Elena claimed that she died, and the Captain never told her that he was the one “who had carried off her daughter.” When Tita found out about her Roberto’s death she “felt the household crashing down around her head” and “felt a violent agitation take possession of her being.” She also began to disobey Mama Elena by tearing apart the sausages and hiding in the dovecote. Tita substituted a pigeon for Roberto because of her grief. In replace of Roberto, Tita “was trying to feed it some more worms” and didn't know that it died. Mama Elena’s one fear in life is heights. “She couldn’t bear the thought of having to climb up that ladder, twenty feet high.” When Doctor Brown finds Tita in the dovecote he sees her “naked, her nose broken, her whole body covered with pigeon droppings. A few feathers were clinging to her skin and hair.” Chapter 6: June Tita did not know what to do with her hands because “at her mother's, what she had to do with her hands was strictly determined, no questions asked… Now, seeing her hands no longer at her mother’s command, she didn’t know what to ask them to so, she had never decide for herself before.” Using the phosphorus experiment, Doctor Brown told Tita that “within our bodies each of us has the elements needed to produce phosphorus.” He also tells her that each person is born with a box of matches which will be lit with the “breath of the person you love." Doctor Brown’s grandmother’s theory is that “each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can't strike them all by ourselves… we need oxygen and a candle to help.” Through the words, “Because I don’t want to,” Tita is freeing herself from her mother. Throughout her whole life she had to listen to her mother and do whatever her mother wished, but now she is freeing herself from Mama Elena’s grasp. Chapter 7: July The ox-tail soup that Chencha brings causes Tita to return to her senses. “She noticed a smell that struck her. A smell that was foreign to this house...she cried as she hadn't cried since the day she was born.” When Tita returns to her senses, she “cried as she hadn't cried since the day she was born” and remembered old memories with Chencha. Tita discovered that Mama Elena was in love with Jose Trevino and that he was the father of Gertrudis. “During the funeral Tita really wept for her mother. Not for the castrating mother who had repressed Tita her entire life, but for the person who had lived a frustrated love.” Tita feelings toward her mother had improved a little as she understands what her mother went through. At first Tita was “convinced that John, who was always at her side supporting her without reservation, was her true love,” but when he saw Pedro she was not sure of her feelings anymore. Mama Elena’s death was caused by a “bottle of syrup of ipecac” that she had been taking in secret. Chapter Eight: August The birth of Esperanza was very similar to Tita in that she was also “born three months” premature, and was the last daughter of the family. Tita also fed the child the same diet she had as an infant: “gruels and teas.” Unlike Tita, Esperanza didn’t cry when she came out. Tita had to “carry the stew she was cooking up to the bedroom, so they could fool the child, who was lulled to sleep by the smell and sensation of warmth from the pan.” Unlike with Roberto, “Tita couldn’t or wouldn't take on the role of wet nurse… Now she knew better than to establish such an intense relationship with a child who wasn't her own.” Pedro and Juan broke the rule that in social gatherings “one does not bring up the subject of personalities, sad topics of unfortunate facts, religion, or politics.” Chapter Nine: September The King’s Day bread symbolized the warmth and happy memories of Tita’s childhood such as when Nancha bought her the “little movie” and Nancha’s cooking. Tita also remembered how Nancha “took care of her when she was sick” and “cooked what she craved.” Nancha bought the “little movie” for Tita with her wages.
The little movie “was an apparatus for projecting images on the wall using a petroleum lamp as a light source.”
During the preparation, “bits of candied fruit” and a “porcelain doll” are place in the middle of the King’s Day Bread.
The sentence, “You are worthless, a good-for-nothing who doesn't respect even yourself,” is ironic because just like Tita, Mama Elena has slept with someone that she doesn’t belong with. She is calling Tita a worthless person, when she has made the same mistakes in the past.
The title Like Water for Chocolate is significant because it symbolizes Tita’s emotions. When Tita was describing how to make hot chocolate, she said, “when the water comes to a boil for the first time, remove it from the heat. When it comes to a boil again and starts to boil over, remove it from the heat.” The high temperature of the water is crucial to the melting of the chocolate, so when Tita describes her emotions as “like water for chocolate” she is describing the intensity of her emotion (passion and anger).
Tita reminisces about her childhood and “she wished she had never grown up, never known Pedro, never had to flee from him. She wishes her mother would stop tormenting her… She wished Esperanza could marry, without Rosaura being able to stop her… she wishes Gertrudis would come
home.” Chapter Ten: October For Tita, having Gertrudis and her men at the ranch “had not made Tita feel oppressed by extra work, instead it had provided her with a real peace.” For Chencha, having the extra people made her angry and irritated. Tita said to her mother’s ghost, “I know who I am! A person who has a perfect right to live her life as she pleases. Once and for all, leave me alone; I won’t put up with you! I hate you, I’ve always hated you!” Afterward the ghost never bothered her again. The love triangle between Gertrudis, Juan, and Trevino and the love triangle between Pedro, Tita, and John is really different. When Tita was going to marry John, Pedro didn’t approve because of his jealousy. Pedro did not want her to be with another man. It is different in Trevino’s case, because all he wants is to help Gertrudis. “Now he was only her watchdog, protecting her flanks, not letting her out of sight for s second.” Trevino gave up on his love so she can be with the person she loved. Tita was thrilled to see John returning but was also felt really terrible for calling off their engagement. When Tita receive the huge bouquet of flowers from John she didn't have the same passionate reaction has she did when Pedro gave her flowers. Although she did feel an “enormous joy” with John, she felt more passionate with Pedro. Chapter Eleven: November Pedro is acting like a child because he believes that Tita is “starting to have doubts” about whether she will stay with Pedro or marry John. He says, “you aren’t tied to me anymore, a poor sick man.” Rosaura was able to hurt Tita deeply by telling her that she is a “laughingstock” and has no self-respect for being with a married man. Rosaura also told her that Tita will not be taking care of Esperanza because she won’t allow her daughter to mingle with “streetwalkers.” John was very supportive of her decision. He said, “Tita, it don't matter to me what you did, there are some things in life that shouldn't be given so much importance, if they don’t change what is essential… I would be delighted to be your companion for the rest of your life- but you must think over very carefully whether I am the man for you or not.” John is still in love with Tita, but he wants her to make her own decisions about who to be with. All he wants is for her to be happy. John’s knowledge of Pedro as his rival shouldn’t be a surprise because Pedro and Tita do display affection when they are with each other. I wasn't surprised because John probably already knew about Tita’s feelings whenever Pedro acted hostile towards him at the dinner party and when he “clicked his glass so violently against the others’ that it broke into a thousand pieces.” Chapter Twelve: December Their pact was to take into consideration Rosaura's desire to maintain her appearance. Tita and Pedro had to be discreet about their meeting and love for each other. The pact was broken when Rosaura did not approve of Esperanza marrying Alex. “She kicked, she screamed, she yelled… she broke their pact and hurled curses at Pedro and Tita.” Pedro request the song, “The Eyes of Youth” to make Tita remember their first time meeting. Pedro said to her, “I couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about asking for your hand right then.” Tita wanted Esperanza to attend school, but Rosaura “insisted that her daughter shouldn’t attend school, since it would be a waste of time.” She planned for her daughter to take care of her until she died and other knowledge would be useless. Tita claimed that if Esperanza were to attend school, she could “provide Rosaura with marvelous afternoon of entertainment and amusement, and second, because she would stand out at society balls.” Rosaura decided to let her daughter go to school after the arguments. Tita was pleased to see all the chilies disappear from the platter because in the past she “had felt like a chile in nut sauce left sitting on the platter out of etiquette, for not wanting to look greedy.” Pedro died “at the moment of ecstasy when he entered the luminous tunnel.” Tita eats the candles because she “needed to have plenty of fuel in her body” to enter the tunnel to be with Pedro.
1.Who is the narrator of the story? How is he or she connected to the story ( main character, observer, minor character)?
As the next few weeks go on we see Pedro and Tita's relationship develop. The biggest change is when Pedro's son Roberto is born. Tita begins to breast feed Roberto because Rosaura had no milk after the strain of her pregnancy. The author uses imagery to express the feelings of longing between Pedro and Tita by writing about the looks they gave each other. Specifically when Pedro looked at Tita, it was a look that, when matched with Tita's "fused so perfectly that whoever saw them would have seen but a single look, a single rhythmic and sensual motion." This look changed their relationship forever, it bonded them together and they would never be separated in their hearts. This shows that the theme of, true love can withstand anything, is true. After this interaction between them they had been less careful about hiding from Mama Elena and when the baptism rolled around Mama Elena had seen enough. She decided, in the middle of the party that Pedro, Rosaura and Roberto would be moving to San Antonio to be with her cousin. They left and after about a year Mama Elena passed
The story begins with Titas birth prematurely when Mama Elena was chopping onions. Tita grows up with Nacha the most dominant figure in her life, and follows Mama Elenas routine of cooking, cleaning and sewing. At every incident she can, Mama Elena criticizes Tita and even beats her if she tries to speak up. One day Tita tells her mother that Pedro wants to come and ask for her hand, but according to the family tradition she cannot marry because she is the youngest daughter. Mama Elena tells Pedro he can marry Rosaura- one of her older daughters, and Pedro agrees to the arrangement just to be closer to his true love- Tita.
In the book "Like Water for Chocolate," a major revolution develops between mother and daughter, Mama Elena and Tita. Like most revolutions, traditions are the major factor in the revolution that happens between these two; Tradition states that the youngest daughter must not marry, but must take care of the mother until she dies. Nevertheless, when a young man decides to ask for Tita's hand in marriage, Mama Elena flat out refuses to hear any more about the subject. She says to Tita on page 10, "If he intends to ask for your hand, tell him not to bother . . ." Then Tita realizes the hopelessness of her situation and from that moment on she swore "to protest her mother's ruling" (11). The revolution continues to build until finally after many years of torment by her mother, Tita leaves the family ranch. Then after awhile, when Mama Elena becomes paralyzed by bandits, Tita feels compelled to return to the ranch and care for her mother. In returning Tita felt that her return humiliated her mother because how cruelly she had treated her daughter in the past (130).
Write-up: Like all the daughters of Mama Elena, Gertrudis despised her very oppressive mother. She escapes her mother by running off with a rebel soldier, Juan Trevino due to a reaction of Tita's Quail in Rose Petal Sauce recipe.
Esperanza begins her journal by stating where she has been and where she has temporarily ended at. When she finally moved with her family, Esperanza immediately realizes that her place in the world was not going to be in the “small and red”
Elena finds that her own life is hell, while living under the rule of her tyrannical mother.
One of the most striking parts of the novel Sugar, by Bernice L. McFadden is her choice of names, especially that of the main character, Sugar. McFadden chooses a name that was unconventional for the time period and remains unconventional today. Not only is there significance in the name Sugar, but the names Pearl and Mercy also have deeper meanings intentionally chosen by the author to further expand upon their roles as characters within the setting of the novel. Each of these three character’s names represent a persona that can be applied outside of the constraints of the novel.
Pedro Tita's true love, and the eventual father of Roberto and Esperanza. But, couldn't marry Tita due to Mama Elena denying their marriage breaking Tita heart. Nevertheless, he allege his continued love for Tita throughout the novel and accompany her secretly. And John a doctor who cares for Tita when she has a disintegration John eventually falls in love with Tita and helps rehabilitate her, revealing to her the nature of the fire that resides in each individual. Tita becomes engaged to him. But remembers who her true love is and denies him in marriage and goes with Pedro. "When you're told there's no way you can marry the woman you love and your only hope of being near her is to marry her sister, wouldn't you do the same?"(pg.15) "No, Papa, I am going to marry with a great love for Tita that will never die." (pg. 15) "She remembered then the words that John had once spoken to her: ‘If a strong emotion suddenly lights all the candles we carry inside ourselves, it creates a brightness that shines far beyond our normal vision and then a splendid tunnel appears that shows us the way that we forgot when were born and calls us to recover our lost divine origin. The soul longs to return to the place it came from, leaving the body lifeless.”
The day came that her father gave permission to Juan Pedro Martinez Sanchez to marry her and take her all the way to Seguin, Tejas. “A nice sterling ring to it. The tinkle of money. She would get to wear outfits like the women on the tele, like Lucia Mendez. And have a lovely house…” (45). She saw it as a fairytale. “Because Juan Pedro wants to get married right away……..so they will get married in the spring when he can take off work, and they will drive off in his new pickup….to their new home in Seguin”(45).
... other," and "[make] mad passionate love wherever they happened to end up" (242). Unlike the first wedding, Tita too is infected with the powerful enchantment of the food. "For the first time in their lives, Tita and Pedro made love freely" (243). The novel ends with both Pedro and Tita, overcome with pleasure and emotion, dying in each other arms.
This causes Tita to take her anger out on Elena. This is the first time Tita has stood up for herself. Later in the story Elena grows sick and dies. Then her ghost comes back to yell at Tita for becoming pregnant with Pedro. With this I wonder, did Elena ever really love Tita? This is her daughter and she never showed compassion for her. Throughout the story she has treated Tita more like a slave than her daughter. Also in the story the readers find out that Elena went through the same thing Tita is experiencing. Elena was in love with a man, but her parents forbid the marriage. They then proposed that she marry another man and was forced to go through with it. Elena continued the affair with her love and became pregnant. The man that Elena loved was killed before she had any chance to run away with him. Leaving her heartbroken with a man in whom she does not love. So Elena, out of all people should understand what Tita is going through. Most people would assume that Elena would be all for Tita marrying Pedro, but for some odd reason she won 't let it happen. Some might wonder if Elena has the mindset of, “If I couldn 't have my love, neither can she”. This thought process is extremely childish though. Elena can see Tita suffering through this, but never changes her ways. Why would anyone want to see his or her own child suffer? Elena has to have some good in her; unfortunately she never seems to show it. Even as a ghost she curses Tita and her child. Now that in death she still can’t accept Tita and what she chooses. There doesn 't seem to be much love in this family. Even after all these issues and foolish family traditions, Rosaura has decided to not let Esperanza marry. No one has seemed to learn that not allowing their child to marry only causes
To understand fully the implicit meaning and cultural challenges the film presents, a general knowledge of the film’s contents must be presented. The protagonist, Tita, suffers from typical Hispanic cultural oppression. The family rule, a common rule in this culture, was that the youngest daughter is to remain unwed for the duration of her mother’s life, and remain home to care for her. Mama Elena offers her daughter, Tita’s older sister Rosaura, to wed a man named Pedro, who is unknowingly in mutual love with Tita. Tita is forced to bake the cake for the wedding, which contains many tears that she cried during the process. Tita’s bitter tears cause all the wedding guests to become ill after consuming the cake, and Tita discovers she can influence others through her cooking. Throughout the film, Tita’s cooking plays an important role in all the events that transpire.
The mother inherently concludes that there are only two types of women: respectable women and “sluts.” Through the entire story, the mother ofttimes implicates the daughter of being bent on becoming a “slut.” Her suspicion doesn’t appear to be aggravated by the daughter’s behavior. The daughter resembles good behavior this is shown by her first input in the story, “but I don’t sing benna on Sundays at all and never in Sunday school” (171). That is a response to her mother’s question, “is it true that you sing benna in Sunday school?” (171). Which was followed by the mother’s instruction that her daughter not sing benna in Sunday school.
I awaken this morning with the aroma of bacon calling me to the kitchen. Upon my arrival I witness the table set for five, complete with imported European coffee, buttered toast, maple syrup, fresh squeezed orange juice, and a stack of pancakes so tall it continues to wobble trying to find a center of gravity. Alongside the table stands Isabella, a teacher, visiting us from Santiago, Chile. She will be our houseguest for the next six months and is eager to teach our family all she knows about South America, including its cuisine. Isabella, however has not forgotten the pancakes of North America, eaten on a previous trip and is looking forward to a reunion with the fluffy stack standing beside her. Gary has left the house early this morning hoping to catch up with his patients prior to their being medicated for surgery. The boys nearly trample Isabella over in their rush out the door to meet the carpool's blaring horn signaling the urgency of departure time. Matthew, blazing by the breakfast table, wraps a piece of bacon tightly in a blanket of pancake, dips it into the warm syrup and without breaking stride, runs to meet the waiting car ready to take him to school.