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How Does Mama Elena Use Symbols In Like Water For Chocolate

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Throughout history, humans have expressed affection and feeling in many ways. Some may craft poetry or dance while others convey affection through speech. In addition, many cultural traditions stem from affection, whether it be for the craft or for the family in which a person comes from. In reference to cultural traditions, food often presents itself as the most prominent differing element between cultures. "Like Water for Chocolate" conveys the idea of using food to display emotion while also creating symbols outside of the range of culinary art. Examples of symbols in "Like Water for Chocolate" include food and one of the characters: Mama Elena. To start, food arises as a prominent symbol multiple times throughout the course of the novel. Whenever a character feels intense emotion towards a subject, the emotion transfers into the food the character is making. For example, Tita was assigned to bake a wedding cake for her lover, Pedro, and Tita's sister, Rosaline, because …show more content…

Mama Elena often displays the societal expectations and pressures on the characters. Tita becomes a main opposition to Mama Elena, constantly attempting to disobey her rules set in place in order to be with Pedro. Very early in the novel, Tita is refused the right to marry Pedro due to the fact that she exists in the family only to serve the members when they age because Tita is the youngest child. Due to this, Mama Elena imposes multiple restrictions onto Tita such as cooking, being forbidden to marry, having to serve Mama Elena in her old age along with Rosaline, and other rules. Even once Mama Elena passes, her spirit looms over Tita, constantly forcing guilt and dread onto her. In a moment of conflict, her spirit even causes Pedro to be ignited and severly injured. Mama Elena's place in the novel is to display the injustice of societal and the traditional familial expectations and expose the absurdities of

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