Why the Recipes?

In every chapter of Like Water for Chocolate Tita describes different Mexican recipes that she weaves into her story. She goes back and forth between talking about her life and descriptions of how to make food, such as a Chabela Wedding Cake and Christmas Rolls. Her descriptions of the recipes seem to be very random and uninteresting because at first I did not understand what they had to do with the novel. As I read on, I discovered that each recipe has a huge significance to Tita’s story. Because cooking is such a huge part of Tita’s life, it makes sense that she would incorporate her recipes into her story.

I did some research online to see what other people say about the incorporation of recipes within the novel, and I found out that many people enjoyed the recipes. Erica Bauermeister states, “Like Water For Chocolate is a deceptively simple book - a love story set in Mexico, interspersed with recipes, related in unadorned, uncomplicated language. Yet when the ingredients are combined and simmer, subtle and unusual flavors emerge.” She doesn’t go into much detail about the recipes, but it is clear that she enjoyed them, as well as Shonneky Langham who states, “At the beginning of each chapter there is a recipe that corresponds to some pivotal event in the story. I know it sounds cheesy but it really works well for the pace of the book. These recipes only add an element of intimacy to the novel. The way to a man's heart in this story is, literally and figuratively, through his stomach.” Like both of these critics, I believe that the recipes eventually added to the story, but I didn’t catch on so quickly.

Arranged Marriages

So I began reading Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquirel and I can’t seem to be able to put it down. The above link is a helpful and positive review of the book that explains why the book is so interesting. As I began reading this book, my attention was instantly caught once Mama Elena, the protagonist’s mother, said to Tita, the main character, “If he intends to ask for your hand, tell him not to bother. He’ll be wasting his time and mine too. You know perfectly well that being the youngest daughter means you have to take care of me until the day I die.” From this quote I learned that arranged marriages are a big part of Tita’s culture, and I also began to absolutely HATE Mama Elena. What will happen to Tita when she gets older? Who will take care of her if she is not allowed to marry? I began to research more about arranged marriages, and I discovered that the practice continues today, especially in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan and India. It even happens in America. I have a friend whose friend just had her marriage arranged, and she decided to go along with it even though she has never met her future husband. I find the whole process to be very odd and unfair, but it is not a part of my culture; therefore, I do not understand it. I guess kids today, like Rosaura and Pedro in Like Water for Chocolate still go through with arranged marriages to remain respectful towards their parents. I have not finished the book yet, so I do not know what will happen to Tita and Pedro, but I hope they overcome the obstacle that Mama Elena places in front of them.

Why the Sunflower?

After completing the novel and my projects for the book, I couldn’t help but wonder why Wiesenthal named the book The Sunflower . Before I started researching what sunflowers are used to symbolically represent, I always thought that sunflowers represented happiness. I asked myself, why would a flower that represents happiness be a major symbol in a novel about the Holocaust? In the novel, Wiesenthal walks past sunflowers that are placed over Nazi soldiers’ graves, and is mesmerized by them. I didn’t think that Wiesenthal would find happiness from flowers planted on a soldier’s grave; it just didn’t add up to me. I looked online and found that the sunflower actually represents hope in a dark time. If you are interested in reading more on how the sunflower got its meaning, this link will be very helpful. After reading this website, I figured that the sunflower meant so much to Wiesenthal because he needed hope during a time as horrible as the Holocaust. These sunflowers were the only form of comfort Wiesenthal had, and this was probably why he made The Sunflowerhis title. This link talks about titles, and what makes them good. I believe that Wiesenthal did a great job of choosing The Sunflower as a title. It seems simple, but it has a lot of meaning behind it, and I believe that’s what most titles of novels should be like.

Albert Speer's Guilt

Just the other day I was in the car with my friend and her parents, and we were talking about books we were currently reading for school. I told them about how I was reading The Sunflower, by Simon Wiesenthal. To my surprise, they had no idea that Wiesenthal was a writer, they just knew him from his success as a Nazi Hunter. I thought this story was interesting to add to my latest blog, because I knew Wiesenthal as a writer before I read about him being a Nazi Hunter. Some would say Wiesenthal is more famous for catching Nazi’s than his writing.

Albert Speer’s response to Wiesenthal’s question in part two of The Sunflower is very intriguing. Speer was a high ranking Nazi who was one of the planners of the Third Reich; he was Hitler’s minister of armaments. Albert Speer was on trial at Nuremberg, and was one of very few who took responsibility for his actions during the Holocaust. In his response to Wiesenthal, Speer says, “Afflicted by unspeakable suffering, horrified by the torments of millions of human beings, I acknowledged responsibility for these crimes at the Nuremberg Trials.” After reading Speer’s response, it is clear that he has not forgiven himself for what he had done during the Holocaust. He does not expect Wiesenthal to either, but he is understanding. He thanks Wiesenthal for being compassionate and tolerant, as well as “showing clemency, humanity, and goodness.” Speer does not expect anything out of Wiesenthal. He does not even expect Wiesenthal to be nice to him. When Wiesenthal doesn’t reproach him, or “comfort him with his anger,” Speer becomes very appreciative. Albert Speer’s response to Wiesenthal’s question was very respectful. When I read it, it made me more sympathetic towards him, after all Speer did help Hitler in the massacring of millions of Jews. I do not think that what he did during the Holocaust was right, nor do I think he should be forgiven, but his response makes him seem more humane.

After reading all the responses in part two, I found Speer to be the most intriguing because Speer has a different point of view compared to everyone else who responded to Wiesenthal’s question. Some who responded were Jews, some were religious leaders, and some were journalists, but none of them were actual Nazis like Speer was. One of the links I added above talks about Speer’s life, and the other one is an anaylsis of his life, and I recommend reading the section called, Speer’s Guilt and Sense of Responsibility.