The Choices In Like Water For Chocolate By Laura Esquivel

1063 Words3 Pages

Can true love defeat all the odds? This seems to be the main question going throughout Laura Esquivel’s, “ Like Water For Chocolate”. This story takes place in Mexico, with a young woman named Tita trying to be with her love, Pedro. With Mother Elena upholding family tradition it seems Tita will never find true happiness. In the beginning of the story Tita and Pedro seem to favor each other. Pedro then asks his father is he may ask for Tita’s hand in marriage. During the Meeting Mama Elena explains to Pedro and his father that Tita cannot marry, because she is the youngest daughter and must take care of her in Elena’s old age. Elena then proposes her other daughter, Rosaura to Pedro. Pedro then accepts and explains to his father that he just …show more content…

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

Show More
Related

  • Catalina De Erauso Analysis

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    There was an encounter with the sister in law of a Lima merchant, a misunderstanding with Catalina’s brother over his mistress and other occasions being betrothed to women in the New World. At one point in her travels she comes very close to dying on the way to Tucman from Concepcion. Two men on horseback save her and they take her back to their mistress’ ranch. As gratitude for saving her life she helps tend to the ranch for about two weeks. The mistress is so overwhelming thankful to Catalina that she offers her daughter for her to marry. “And a couple of days later, she let me know it would be fine by her if I married her daughter—a girl as black and ugly as the devil himself, quite the opposite of my taste, which has always run to pretty faces.” (28) These instances happened a lot, where because of her hard work throughout her life she was offered many women to marry. Those engagements, however, ended after she exploited the situation and rode off with gifts and dowry

    Read More

  • Commentary on Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

    601 Words  | 2 Pages

    Commentary on Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel The novel Like Water for Chocolate is the story of a woman fighting tradition in quest for love and freedom. The novel has diverse relations of apathy and love between the characters. The author Esquivel illustrates these relations by the use of the colors red and white. Throughout the novel Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel uses the colors red and white to symbolize love and apathy in the relationships between the characters.

    Read More

  • Like Water For Chocolate - Movie versus Book

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Like Water For Chocolate Mama Elena Quotes

    417 Words  | 1 Pages

    Mama Elena is the widow with three daughters: Rosaura, Gertrudis, and Tita, and she is also the main cause of Tita’s suffering in Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. Because of Mama Elena, Tita’s entire life is distorted and she has to spend her time with tears and despair. Especially, Mama Elena abuses the power of family tradition and misuses the power as the head of the household to decide her daughter’s marriage and life.

    Read More

  • Revolution in Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

    791 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Characters in Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

    1213 Words  | 3 Pages

    Write-up: Tita is the main character of the story, also the narrator, who suffers from unjust oppression from Mama Elena, her mother. She is raised to excel in the kitchen and many entertaining arts where she is expected to spend her whole life taking care of her mother. This is following the family tradition that the youngest daughter takes care of the mother until she dies. With her frivolous wants, Mama Elena denies her marriage and happiness to any man especially Pedro. She eventually breaks down and meets John Brown, the family doctor, who recovers her until she finds happiness again after Mama Elena's death with Pedro. Overall, Tita goes through a very dynamic change in the story which obviously entitles her to be a main character.

    Read More

  • War Rages On in Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    Though her mother keeps Tita from marrying the love of her life (Pedro) and living

    Read More

  • Food as a Metaphor for Unexpressed Emotions in Like Water for Chocolate

    1255 Words  | 3 Pages

    An oppressed soul finds means to escape through the preparation of food in the novel, Like Water for Chocolate (1992). Written by Laura Esquivel, the story is set in revolutionary Mexico at the turn of the century. Tita, the young heroine, is living on her family’s ranch with her two older sisters, her overbearing mother, and Nacha, the family cook and Tita’s surrogate mother. At a very young age, Tita is instilled with a deep love for food "for Tita, the joy of living was wrapped up in the delights of food" (7). The sudden death of Tita's father, left Tita's mother's unable to nurse the infant Tita due to shock and grief. Therefore Nacha, "who [knows] everything about cooking" (6) offers to assume the responsibility of feeding and caring for the young Tita. "From that day on, Tita's domain was the kitchen" (7). Throughout the novel, food is used as a constant metaphor for the intense feelings and emotions Tita is forced to conceal.

    Read More

  • Hispanic Culture in Like Water for Chocolate

    1774 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Comparing A Lost Lady and Like Water for Chocolate

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    The worlds about which Willa Cather and Laura Esquivel write hardly seen congruous. Written in different eras, in different styles, and in different cultures, Cather's A Lost Lady and Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate appear, at first glance, to have little in common. Cather's Victorian realism seems totally incompatible with Esquivel's surrealistic imagery, and yet, if we look closely, we can find common threads woven between the two works. Although differences are obvious, subtle similarities exist in setting, conflict, and central characters.

    Read More

  • Bless Me Ultima Character Analysis

    853 Words  | 2 Pages

    From beginning to end in the novel there are many events that test the strength and values of the Marez family. When Ultima comes to live out her remaining time with the Marez family, they treat her with the upmost respect calling her “La Grande” and taking her in as if she was family. In the during the story relationships are being tested, Antonio’s father Gabriel has a big dream of moving to California with the family, but refuses to leave until all three of his older sons come back from war (WWII). Soon after Antonio’s brothers return home from war, a short time after two of his brothers’ (Gene and Leon) leave and head to Vegas, crushing Gabriel’s dream. Although, only one brother (Andrew) has decided to stick around, Antonio and he begin to form a relationship that he didn’t have with the others. Since the arrival of Ultima many of the town people question the Marez family for allowing a bruja (witch) to live with them and because of her, many individuals take a stand against them. The Marez family and Narciso show great connection by rallying around Ultima, ...

    Read More

  • Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel

    1285 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rosaura also seems to be selfish and pea-brained. Even though she knows that Pedro and Tita have an affair, she agrees to marry Pedro. She should have thought about the consequences of such a marriage and then make a wise decision. She tries to steal her younger sister’s love but she is unsuccessful as even after marriage, Pedro doesn’t stop loving Tita. This clearly shows us that Rosaura was egocentric and perhaps, because she had no one to turn to.

    Read More

  • Themes in the Movie Like Water for Chocolate Directed by Alfonso Arau

    976 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main theme of the movie is love especially the love between the Tita and Pedro. We can feel love in different ways like through family deaths, time, distance, traditions and secrecy. The love between Tita and Pedro is a forbidden love stated by the tradition of Tita’s family. Pedro fell in love with Tita since the first time he saw her and when he tried to ask for her hand in marriage Tita’s mother, Elena, declined because of their traditions. Pedro married Tita’s older sister thinking that he could be close to her. Tita tries to obey her mother’s demands and suppress her feelings for Pedro but she never succeeded. They believed that what they felt was true love and that everyone else was against them. I personally don’t believe its true love. True love is when they don’t have doubts or worries about their relationship. In the movie, Tita and Pedro were always worried about each other. Tita always felt anxious when seeing Pedro and her sister together and doubt that Pedro really felt something for her. Also, when Pedro was away she went with another man and almost...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Love In The Time Of Cholera

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    In chapter 2 the author Gabriel Garcia Marquez shows an innocent and pure love. Marquez adds “Shoot me. He said, with his hands on his chest. There is no greater glory than to die for love”. Lorenzo Daza had took at him sideways, like a parrot, to see him with his twisted eye. .. That same week he took his daughter away on the journey that would make her forgot” (82). In this section the author introduces Fermina’s dad, who is not happy for the relationship her daughter have with Florentino because Florentino is poor and has nothing to offer to his daughter. Lorenzo Daza wanted her daug...

    Read More

  • The Choice Of Food: The Power Of Choice

    1086 Words  | 3 Pages

    In our fast pace society, we base everything on time and money. This need to save money and time has transformed the way we see food and purchase food. Food is an essential part of all cultures. It plays a role in every person’s life. The population has the power to choose what we eat and how the food industry is shaped. There are many important questions that we need to ask ourselves in order to keep the food industry in check. These questions are: How do we know our food is safe? What should we eat? How should food be distributed? What is good food? These are simple yet difficult questions.

    Read More

More about The Choices In Like Water For Chocolate By Laura Esquivel

Open Document