Rumana Shakur

English 2400

October 29th, 2020

Midterm Essay 

Words can create a vivid picture

 

“Like water for chocolate” is an excellent sentimental story of an impossible passionate love during the Revolution in Mexico. The romance is trailed by the sweet smell of the kitchen secrets and cooking, with a creative mind and innovativeness. The story is that of Tita De La Garza, the most youthful of all little girls in Mother Elena’s home. As per the family tradition she is to watch after her mom till the day she dies, and subsequently can’t wed any men. Tita discovers comfort in cooking, and soon the kitchen turns into her reality, influencing each feeling she encounters to the individuals who taste her food. Almost as if she were casting spells on her food that only affects certain people. 

 

While the plot of the film version of “Like water for chocolate”(1992) is a Traditional transition – the movie kept the overall storyline, plot and setting very similar to the text but changes some minor details that filmmakers see fit and/or necessary, to Laura Esquivel’s text version of “Like water for chocolate”(1989), there are a lot of similarities and differences. An interesting point to note is that the movie is directed by Alfonso Arau. At the time this movie was produced, Arau was married to Laura Esquivel. Esquivel probably had a lot of say to the direction of this movie, on top of the fact that she was the one who wrote the screenplay. Therefore, the perspective of which this movie acts out the story was fairly close to Esquivel’s original, intended perspective.

The minor differences and similarities give the readers and viewers different perspectives. For example, in the film it starts off with showing us Tita’s father’s death and why he had a heart attack which they showed a bit later on in the film. However in the text it starts with Tita’s very dramatic birth. In the film Tita’s birth was humorized compared to the text that states, where she came into the world in a “great tide of tears” which also symbolized Tita’s lifelong sadness that was awaiting her. The opening to the film and text were different, the tone and mood in the film and text were also very different. 

 

Another major difference that I felt was that the characters in the movie were quite different from the way it was described in the book. One of these characters I will focus on is Mama Elena. While reading the text I visualized Mama Elena as a short, old grumpy woman who was threateningly violent at any time but she didn’t need anyone to protect her, she was strong as stated in the text of “Like water for chocolate”, “I’ve never needed a man for anything; all by myself, I’ve done all right.” (4,284). When she found Tita crying she gives Tita “a tremedous slap that that left her rolling in the dirt…” (2,83). However, in the movie she is represented as a tall, thin woman who didn’t look extremely violent. I was also surprised at the way she was able to be polite and courteous to the guests at the wedding. She came off a little too arrogant to me personaly. 

 

Also, the scene where Mama Elena goes to her bedroom and very sadly looks inside her secret box made me realize she too had emotions and care, despite the tyrannical figure she is. Similarly, the scene in which Mama Elena sobs for Getrudis in her bedroom showed that she actually did care for Getrudis. She did not destroy the presence of Getrudis in her home because of pure hatred — she was upset about it and did care, which seemed very unlike her to me while I was reading the text. 

 

In conclusion, people have different views and imagination. Every scene can not be imagined exactly the same by everyone. There are bound to be some differences. The mood and tone in a text or film can also drastically change the feel of a piece, which in “Like water for chocolate” did. The film had me getting mad and triggered at Pedro, Mama Elena and Rosaura. Sometimes accusing Tita of murder since her food seemed to have caused deaths (my opinion). The opening of the film gave away Mama Elena’s past too quickly whereas in the text it kept the mystery of Mama Elena’s husband’s death. Mama Elena’s characterization in the text was vastly different then what I had visualized while reading. She seemed a little more humane, she definitely wasn’t the nicest to Tita but was better than i thought compared to the text.