Like Water for Chocolate Book Report

Like Water for Chocolate

by Laura Esquivel

I. About the Author

Laura Esquivel was born on September 30, 1950 in Mexico City, Mexico. She began her career as an author while working as a teacher in kindergarten.

Like Water for Chocolate was her first novel that was published on 1990 and became an international hit after the release of its film version in 1992.

Esquivel wrote other novels such as The Law of Love (1996), Between the Fires (2000), and Malinche (2006).

Esquivel won several awards from her novels. ABBY Awards was given to her by the American Booksellers Association and 11 Ariel Awards by the Mexican Academy of Motion Pictures.

II. Purpose

This novel showed us the importance of the kitchen in Esquivel's life. The kitchen, in her point of view, is believed to be the most important part of the house for in the novel, it is characterized as a source of knowledge and understanding that brings happiness and pleasure in life.

The main character in the story came from Esquivel's great aunt, Tita, who was really forbidden to be wed and took care of her own mother until she died.

The title of the novel refers to the extreme emotions found in the story that actually came from Esquivel's ideas when she's cooking her mother's and great grandmother's recipes. Like water for chocolate is a Mexican idiom that tells us that moments where there are upwelling surges of emotions from the heart that are about to explode if experience any emotion such as joy, anger or sorrow.

III. Historical Background

Like Water for Chocolate took its place during the Mexican Revolution in early 20th century Mexico. In the story, Chapter 5: May, Mama Elena's ranch was visited by revolutionaries. And their as an incident where Mama Elena pulled the trigger of her shotgun as a warning, for the Captain of the soldiers tried to enter her house which she told them that their forbbiden to enter.

This scene showed us a part of the revolution that...