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Like Water For Chocolate Literary Analysis

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Formalist Plot You know what they say; you are what you eat! What kind of food you eat and prepare shows a little bit of who you are and in literature it can sometimes be used to convey meaning. In many ways the heart shaped cookies that one makes in february can represent their love for somebody in a way that words can’t. Sometimes we have to recognize that the smallest actions we make can tell a lot about our lives and our stories. In like Water for Chocolate, the preparation of food is used to describe the story of Tita is literal and metaphorical ways. In the story the preparation of food is well used to describe and illustrate the emotions of Tita through her life. Tita has been oppressed her whole life by Mama Elena. She has had to deal …show more content…

It is used to compare fire used in cooking to the flame sparked constantly between her and Pedro. Since she is not allowed to marry that does not stop her from loving Pedro and she compares the preparation of this food to the connection between them. “Tita knew through her own flesh how fire transforms the elements, how a lump of corn flour is changed into a tortilla, how a soul that hasn't been warmed by the fire of love is lifeless, like a useless ball of corn flour.” (Esquivel, 67) She describes her passion for food just like its her passion for Pedro it shows the reader what kind of person she is just by the way she prepares her food. The heat of the fire represents her burning passion for him. When Tita was preparing her Quail in rose petal sauce it caused an old flame to spark as she remembered all of her favorite memories of Pedro and how much she loves him. “It was the first deep emotion she had felt since her sister's wedding, when she had heard Pedro confirm his love, trying to hide it from everyone's prying eyes," (Esquivel, 47) It is the kind of food that can trigger senses throughout the body, and it is used to drive the plot in the story by causing the later on affair between Tita and

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