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Like Water For Chocolate Magical Realism Analysis

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What is magical realism? Magical realism by definition is: A literary genre or style, especially associated with Latin America that incorporates fantastic or mythical elements into an otherwise realistic fiction, this is according to Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (11 Edition). What this means is that the majority of the novel is real, but there are obviously fictional parts that we must accept as real. How is magical realism used in the book Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel? This essay, we will discuss three different incidences of magical realism in the book written by Ms. Esquivel. One of the incidents that will be discussed is how the author turns “tears into salt.” Another incident discussed is when Tita makes a cake and all the guests eat it and how the cake made everyone “long for love.” The third incident under discussion demonstrates how the author creatively uses a “box of matches” to signify a person internal soul and how it functions. Moreover, in this essay we will review specific details on how these examples are used in the plot Like Water for Chocolate. Stay tuned as this is an interesting genre to explore.
The initial incident in the …show more content…

The book delivers some highly imaginative descriptions. It also provides some descriptions of real events based in historical fact that make this novel believable and intriguing. Magical realism adds significant “umph” to each plot line by carefully portraying fictional stories in a realistic setting with overlays of fantastical events. By Laura Esquivel using magical realism in Like Water for Chocolate, she brings a creative glance into some long lost traditional beliefs from the Mexican culture and mythology. She is able to capture some exciting stories and portray them in such a manner that you do not want to put the book

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Laura Esquivel in the book “Like Water For Chocolate” uses many strategies throughout the book like imagery ,and exaggeration. Both imagery and exaggeration helped develop the tone and the mood ,and set the purpose the passages that were given to us by Esquivel. Esquivel is trying to convey to the readers that you don’t need to be just plain like other writers to have a good story to tell, as she demonstrates in her way of writing and strategies. The use of words that Esquivel uses gives us a better understanding of the strategies being used by the author, and what she is trying to say by using those words. There are many other strategies that Esquivel uses, but exaggeration and imagery have a huge role in the book, and not only in the passage where she describes Nacha, but in others where the food is involved.

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Like Water for Chocolate The theme of magical realism is manifested in the Laura Esquivel’s novel Like Water for Chocolate. Elements of magical realism are reflected mainly through Tita’s food recipes, as the food takes on supernatural qualities. The effects that they have on the characters in Esquivel’s book may seem far-fetched and yet it fits in with the nature of her book where impossible lactations, ghosts, the salt producing tears and so much more. These elements are cathartic releases for the characters. There are many instances in Like Water for Chocolate where Laura Esquivel uses magic realism.

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Magical Realism is a literary or artistic genre in which realistic narrative and an acceptance of magic in the real world. Julio Cortazar’s “House Taken Over” is a good example of magical realism, because the house is taken over by something that is unusual and supernatural. “The first few days were painful, since we’d both left so many things in the part that had been taken over” (pg.40). I chose this sentence to show that the thing that took over was really powerful like magic but was being used as dark magic in this story. Therefore, “House Taken Over” is an example because the story used spirits that were powerful and was scaring the people that lived in the house.

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