Osubor PAGE 3Isy OsuborWorld Literature Ms. Getz19 May 2015

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel is a novel that follows the life of the de la Garza family. It is a novel that links together love, family and tradition. The de la Garza family consists of Mama Elena, the mother, and her three daughters, Gertrudis, Rosaura, and Tita. Tradition dictates that the youngest daughter, Tita, is destined to take care of her mother and in order to do that, she is forbidden from marriage and love. However, when Tita falls in love with Pedro Muzquiz, Mama Elena forbids their union and makes Rosaura marry Pedro instead. Tradition holds back many characters in this novel and stops them from achieving their full potential. While tradition is a major theme in Like Water for Chocolate, it is ultimately criticized by Esquivel because of its blinding and restricting nature. When tradition is followed, characters end up unhappy. Upon leaving the ranch for the first time in her life, Tita returns six months later to take care of her paralytic mother. This decision to take care of her mother fulfills the family tradition and makes Tita sad. She says: She felt an urge to run far, far away, to shield the tiny flame John had coaxed up inside her from her mothers chilling presenceInside she felt the effects of snuffing the flame; smoke was rising into her throat, tightening into a thick knot and clouding her eyes and making her cry (131). Esquivel critiques tradition through the actions Titas mother, Mama Elena, who is the embodiment of tradition. The tiny flame is the little bit of happiness Tita finds while away from the ranch. Tiny suggests that her joy is unstable, therefore her happiness is susceptible to the cold presence of Mama Elena and by proxy, tradition. Tradition is the antithesis of warmth and love as it is only done out of a sense of duty, therefore it brings no happiness or joy, instead it snuffs out the happiness that Tita finds. Esquivel critiques tradition by portraying how tradition is toxic to Tita, just like Mama Elena is. Titas decision to adhere to tradition and to take care of Mama Elena results in her dampening of her flame. The tradition she has to follow brings her sadness, makes her cry, and is a thick knot in her throat that doesn't let her breathe and it is a weight on her shoulders that cannot be alleviated. Esquivel alludes to the blinding nature of tradition, similar to the way Tita's eyes are clouded by the smoke. Tita takes care of her mother and this makes her want to run far away from the ranch where neither the weight of tradition nor Mama Elena can hold her down. Esquivel critiques tradition by demonstrating how following tradition restrains and suffocates Tita. An unspoken tradition is to leave the last chile on the plate uneaten. Eating the last chile is seen as gluttony, therefore it is thrown away. As a result, even though theyd really like to devour it, they dont have the nerve to take itthat stuffed pepper, which contains every imaginable flavor;Within it lies the secret of love, but it will never be penetrated all because it wouldnt be proper (58). Esquivel relates the last chile to tradition; the way that no one eats the chile relates to how there is reluctance to break tradition. Although many would like to break it, tradition holds them back, implying that they aren't able to reach their full potential. Regardless of how strong the want to break tradition is, many are too scared of what the public will say. Esquivel critiques tradition by demonstrating how those who break tradition find the secret[s] of love and these secrets would not be experienced if tradition was broken. If tradition was broken, it wouldnt be proper; in the same way, eating the last chile is frowned upon. Tita isn't allowed to eat the last chile when she is with her family and has to do it in secret. This is a parallel to how she loves Pedro in secret, but cannot share it for fear of breaking tradition and hurting her sister. Tita has the opportunity to find the secrets of love because she breaks tradition and eats the chile, however, she does this and loves Pedro in secret. Tita doesn't fully break tradition and is not able to fully break the chains of tradition, if she were to completely disobey tradition, she would not have to hide her love for Pedro and could be with him in public. Esquivel portrays Titas obedience of tradition as constricting as she cannot truly experience life while she is being suffocated by Mama Elena and she cannot truly experience love if she is too scared to break tradition. Esquivel critiques tradition by demonstrating how constricting it can be when it is followed and how freeing it is when broken. Comment by mn : need more than this little sentenceComment by mn : change wordalso do i reference what esquivel is doing enough? too much?Comment by mn : awkEsquivel demonstrates the constricting nature of tradition by proving . During an attack on the family ranch, Chencha, the maid is raped by bandits. After this event, she is scarred and becomes a shadow of her old self. Months later, she returns with a husband and is happier than ever. Tita exclaims, What a surprise it was to see Chencha standing in front of her. The Chencha of old, smiling and happyIt was amazing to see the recovery Chencha had made after the state of misery and despair in which she had left. No signs remained of the trauma she had suffered (151). After being raped, Chencha was no longer a virgin and as social tradition follows, women who marry must be virgins. However, Chenchas new husband, Jesus, marries Chencha regardless of this fact and in doing so breaks tradition. This severing of tradition brings back the old Chencha and infuses her life with joy. Jesus makes Chencha happy again and this would not have happened without the breakage of tradition. By breaking social traditions, Jesus draws Chencha out of her depression and brings happiness to her life again. Tradition also restricts the minds of the characters and makes them unwilling to try new things. John tells Tita the story of his grandmother, Morning Light, a Kikapu Indian who was captured by his grandfather. Morning Light was shunned by Johns family for many years and was only referred to as the Kikapu. When Johns great-grandfather gets sick, his wife Mary does her best to save him. [Mary] felt quite proud of herself for being up-to-date with the best scientific knowledge, which allowed her to protect her familys health using an appropriate modern methodnot like the Kikapu and her herbs! (112). Mary thinks the only way to save her husbands life is to use modern medicine and gives no thought to trying other methods of medicine. She insults Morning Lights method of healing and implies that it is impractical. Social tradition according to Marys family dictates that only scientific knowledge gives a person the ability to heal those who are. Her unwillingness to try new methods and her disdain for Morning Lights treatment affirms how tradition leads to narrow-mindedness. However, after she tries her to apply her scientific knowledge to treat her husband, it fails and he starts to bleed out. Morning light hears screams of pain and placed one of her hands on his wounds, the bleeding stoppedshe spent the entire afternoon at her father-in-laws bedside, singing strange melodies and applying curing herbs, wreathed in the smoke of the copal and incense she burned (113). Morning lights method of treatment is unconventional and is frowned upon by societal norms and tradition. She places her hands on his wounds and she is does what scientific and traditional knowledge cannot: stop the bleeding. She debunks the prejudice that has been placed on her and breaks tradition by healing him through her unusual methods. Esquivel emphasizes Marys inability to heal her husband through traditional methods in order to highlight the confines tradition places the characters in. Mary could not heal him through leeches, a normal way of treatment during those times, but Morning Light is able to by burning incense and applying the curing herbs that had been laughed at. Tradition restricts Marys will to try other methods of healing, almost at the cost of her husbands life. Esquivel contrasts the way in which tradition is portrayed and critiqued reiterates her view of tradition as blinding and binding. In Like Water for Chocolate, Esquivel ultimately critiques tradition because when tradition is followed, the characters are restricted to a narrow form of thinking but when it is broken, the characters are liberated and become more accepting. Comment by mn : editComment by mn : awk transitionEsquivel ultimately critiques tradition because it when the characters follow tradition, they are lead to unhappiness in their lives, however when it is broken, they find more fulfillment. Tita come back to take care of her mother when Mama Elena becomes paralyzed; this decision leaves her sad and suffocated. When the last chile on the platter isnt eaten, the joys of life cannot be experienced. Esquivel compares it to the constricting nature of tradition. On the other hand, when tradition is broken by the characters, they find new ways of looking at things and find love in their lives. Tradition is portrayed as the ___ that drags the characters down, never letting them achieve their full potential.