Analysis Of Like Water For Chocolate By Laura Esquivel

The Journey to Self-Actualization No human being is completely free. Individuals’ values, ideas and identities are influenced, and to a certain degree, shaped by the cultures and societies they live in. However, by realizing identity, an individual can find a sense of independence, which subsequently leads towards self-actualization. In the novel â€Å"Like Water for Chocolate†, by Laura Esquivel, the protagonist, Tita, faces her journey from a young, submissive daughter to a strong, independent woman who is eventually able to achieve self-actualization, which is reflected in her non-traditional sense of identity and independence, and is something that not only ties in with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, but I can relate myself to as well. Self-actualization refers to the desire to achieve one’s greatest potential or as Maslow writes â€Å"what a man can be, he must be† (Maslow). Abraham Maslow, a researcher and a pioneer in the field of psychology, s trongly believed that people can control their own behavior and have the abilities to reach their full potential. Maslow is perhaps best known for his â€Å"Hierarchy of Needs† that culminates in self-actualization. This hierarchy begins with so-called â€Å"basic needs† - psychological, safety, social, and esteem - and concludes with the â€Å"growth need†. Among other characteristics, Maslow describes self-actualized people as highly creative, independent, genuine individuals who are resistant to enculturation and accept themselves for whoShow MoreRelatedCharacter Analysis Of Like Water For Chocolate By Laura Esquivel1988 Words   |  8 Pagespart of the ongoing process of bettering ourselves. In the novel, Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, she explains the strengths and weaknesses over the character named Tita De la Garza. Within the context, Laura Esquivel develops Tita’s emotions through feminists. Tita is the novel’s protagonist, s truggles her needs for belonging and security. As well as her desires for adventure, sex, and liberation. In Like Water for Chocolate, it simply explains that there is no such thing as a good or badRead MoreLike Water For Chocolate By Laura Esquivel Essay1521 Words   |  7 PagesAbstract This paper was influenced through Laura Esquivel’s, Like Water for Chocolate, a tragic romance novel that is denied of love by family tradition. The key topics of this paper that analysis will be touching on are over main characters, theme, and symbolism. This paper explains the importance and the analysis of each main character by their description the author is providing a visual image for the readers to picture. Tradition is not only the theme of the novel but it shows how Mexican traditionRead More Exploring the Role of Women in Mexico in Like Water For Chocolate2639 Words   |  11 Pages Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel explains women’s roles in northern Mexico during the turn of the nineteenth century. The novel takes place in northern Mexico on a family ranch where many family traditions are carried out. Also, the novel describes some of the typical foods that were prepared and fiestas that were celebrated in the Mexican culture around this time. How ever, the novel mainly focuses on the roles of females in Mexican society at that time. The novel goes beyond explainingRead MoreArticle Summary of From Kitchen Tales to Table Narratives1447 Words   |  6 Pageserotic are seen as mutually incompatible when depicting women in literature. However, through the use of food in Hispanic fiction, many women authors have attempted to bridge this divide. The bodies of women have often been portrayed as confections like dessert, but the act of preparing food can also take on an erotic resonance of nurturing. In some readings of Hispanic womens fiction this has been read as empowering but Maite Zubiaurre argues in her essay Culinary Eros in Contemporary HispanicRead MoreSeason of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih1919 Words   |  8 Pagesfor women’s rights. On the other hand, in studying literary books as it will be in this paper, the mentioned definition is not applicable. Therefore, in this paper Feminist criticism will be used in order to study some characters’ lives in â€Å"Like water for chocolate† and â€Å"Season of Migration to the north† novels. Feminist criticism according to Oxford dictionary is a type of literary theory that points out different genders, races, classes, religions that are depictured in literature and will be usedRead MoreLiterary Analysis Essay811 Words   |  4 PagesLiterary Analysis Essay: In the fairy tales, the protagonists always gain their Snow Whites in the end and they all live happily ever after. In fact, all protagonists’ fate is decided by the narrator’s hand. Just like the literary works we have recently read, including the poems â€Å"Sunday Greens† by Rita Dove, â€Å"Sinful City† by Jaroslav Seifert and the excerpt from Like Water for Chocolate from Laura Esquivel, the characters’ fate was sealed from that moment. Therefore, the most relevant themeRead More Relationship between Sublime and Magical Realism Explored in The Monkey1435 Words   |  6 Pagesstory located within Isak Dinesens anthology Seven Gothic Tales, the reader is taken back to a â€Å"storytime† world he or she may remember from childhood. Dinesens 1934 example of what has been identified as the Gothic Sublime sets the stage for analysis of its relationship to other types of literature. What constitutes Sublime literature? More importantly, how may sublime literature relate to Magical Realist literature? Through examination of The Monkey, the relationship between Sublime literatureRead MoreEssay on Like water for chocolate6961 Words   |  28 PagesLike Water for Chocolate ~Laura Esquivel~ Ms. Diamond Name_________________________________ Magical Realism At about the middle of the 19th century (when scientific objectivity became â€Å"vogue†), the influence of many social forces caused aesthetic taste to change from romantic idealism to realism. Many writers felt that romantics—with their focus on the spiritual, the abstract, and the ideal—were being dishonest about life as it really was. The realists felt they had an ethical responsibilityRead MoreAn Allegorical Reflection on the Mexican Revolution4344 Words   |  18 PagesAn Allegorical Reflection on The Mexican Revolution Gender, Agency, Memory, and Identity in Like Water for Chocolate Leah A. Cheyne, barwench99@hotmail.com April 30, 2003 Alfonso Arau’s Like Water for Chocolate (1993) can be read as an allegorical examination of the Mexican Revolution, tracing the effects of the conflicting ideologies underlying the revolution through the displacement onto the family structure. At once removed and central to understanding the narrative, this portrayalRead MoreMagic Realism in Como Agua Para Chocolate2382 Words   |  10 Pagesthat emerged in the 1960s. [pic] Magical Realism [pic] Magical Realism A literary mode rather than a distinguishable genre, magical realism aims to seize the paradox of the union of opposites.   For instance, it challenges polar opposites like life and death and the pre-colonial past versus the post-industrial present.   Magical realism is characterized by two conflicting perspectives, one based on a rational view of reality and the other on the acceptance of the supernatural as prosaic reality