The Magical Journey in Like Water For Chocolate

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Tariq Ameer #116

11-IB Lit P-A

March 15th 2012

The Magic Journey of Like Water For Chocolate

        Magic realism is an artistic, literary genre in which magical elements are combined with the real world. The story begins and ends with magical scenes, which not only make the story more interesting but also causes the reader to be drawn between the two views of reality. In her novel, Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Esquivel uses magic realism in order to develop the plot in unique ways.

        The story starts with the birth of the protagonist Tita. Tita was very sensitive to onions that even when she was in her mother’s belly she cried. Her crying has led Mama Elena to have a premature labor, and Tita came into this world in a flood of tears (5,6). Although Esquivel uses figurative language, most of the things stated in the book should be taken literally. For example, during Tita’s birth there was a flood of tears; and after the water was dried up, the salt that remained was used for cooking for an exceptionally long time. From the first few pages the author intrigues the reader.

        Throughout the book there are various instances of magic realism associated with food that Tita has prepared. While preparing the Chabela Wedding Cake for Pedro and Rosaura’s wedding, Tita was very sad and cried into the icing. When Nacha tasted it to make sure that the tears did not affect the flavor, she was overcome with these strong feelings of longing, and it may have possibly caused her death (36). At the wedding, when people started eating the cake, they also experienced feelings of longing for lost love. They start sobbing, feeling pain and frustration, and vomiting (39). Sometimes when you eat a specific food, you feel sad and remember somebody, but in this story all feeling and emotions are taken to the extreme. The theme of food is universal, so when you mix emotions and food, more people can relate to it. The way Tita feels while preparing the food, is the way the people feel when they it eat it, but in a more extraordinary way. Another example of how Tita’s food affects is how the quail in rose petal sauce acted as an aphrodisiac to Getrudis (51). While preparing it, Tita felt aroused and hot, so when Getrudis ate the food she was lustful and literally inflamed. The water evaporated before touching her skin and the wood was set on fire, due to the extreme heat coming from her body. Tita expresses her emotions though her food, like a musician conveys his feeling through music. Another way of how magic blends together with food is when Tita drank the ox tale soup. Tita was mentally unstable, and hasn’t spoken for six months. When Chencha brought Tita some ox-tail soup, her senses came back to her. This proves that the ox-tail soup can cure any illness whether physical or mental (123). Without magic realism Getrudis would have not ran away and Tita wouldn’t have been cured.

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        Other instances where magic mixes with reality is when the ghosts appear. Throughout the novel Tita encounters several ghosts including Mama Elena, Nacha, and Morning Light. The first ghost she encounters is Nacha’s spirit after she dies. While preparing the food, Nacha’s spirit dictated the recipe, helping and comforting Tita at the same time (50). The second time was when Rosaura was giving birth to Roberto. Tita prayed for Nacha’s help, and suddenly Nacha’s spirit appeared and guided her safely to bring the baby into the world (72). Mama Elena appears to Tita to scold her about her relationship with ...

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