Melissa Schreiber
Professor: Dr. R.E. Benander
ENGL222
21 Feb 11
Laura Esquivel’s first novel Like Water for Chocolate is a fiction novel based on real recipes. Esquivel reveals her genre of magical realism through the love of food, and the heat given off from the De la Garza ranch. I love her incorporation of women searching for individualism, and the strength all the women in the house hold. Magical realism is a literary work of art that allows the outside reader an escape from reality. Magical realism is when the natural order of things becomes unnatural and or extraordinary. The combination of the natural and supernatural allows authors to express great emotions they may have not been able to discuss. The style of magical realism is confusing and trying to understand how parallel realities are created is intense for an uneducated reader. This novel must be understood to appreciate it as a work of art, and Esquivel demands that the reader enjoy the aroma while they divulge into every chapter. Chapter one makes Christmas Rolls, these rolls are warmth that Tita would normally receive from her favorite food and even they cannot overcome the coldness induced by her starved love. Tita's understanding of life through food fails to comfort her, and the inadequacy of food as a substitute for love is demonstrated.
The recipes title each chapter and the ingredients are overwhelming, as are the De la Garza sisters and their passion for life. The more heat they conjure up the more food that needs preparing. Each delicious recipe is an outlet for Tita the protagonist, to express her emptions. Tita’s life is real and the obstacles she must face are greater than mine, and therefore this novel allows me to escape and pray Tita finds herself as well as her freedom. To be educated is to be empowered and I am wiser as a woman for having read Laura Esquivel's first novel Magical realism provides the 21st century with a historical yet magical escape to understand the past and never take the future for granted.
I like how you expanded this to include the specific examples: that is very well done. You make a good point about how novel provide both escape from reality, but also perspective on reality. I agree that literature is practical and useful in this way, not just escapist entertainment.
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