Hello, could you please critique my essay for grammatical errors and for effectiveness/clarity of ideas. THANK YOU.
An analysis of how Laura Esquivel addresses the struggle of attaining personal identity and freedom through the characterization of Tita De la Garza in Like Water for Chocolate, as compared to Haruki Murakami's treatment through character development in specific stories of The Elephant Vanishes.
Here's the essay:
Like Water for Chocolate-a novel rich in history, culture, food, and scandal; a breathtaking portrayal of a love affair, of the strength of character of desperate women, and of humbling traditions-captivates both the soul and mind, enchanting its readers by way of causing them to become immersed in its story-line. Prominent among its themes is that of finding an identity-or a lack thereof-which seems to pervade the lives of those most engaged in the process of self evaluation and discovery, and as such Laura Esquivel's novel is comparable to Haruki Murakami's The Elephant Vanishes, in which the characters from several stories seem to be in a state of perpetual dislocation and disconnection from the world around them. Tita in Esquivel's novel, best portrays this struggle of gaining personal identity and freedom amidst repressive, external forces, while specific characters from stories in Murakami's collection such as "Sleep", "The Wind-Up Bird and Tuesday's Women", or "A Slow Boat to China", reflect a struggle that arises instead from both external and internal forces. Particularly important however, is Esquivel and Murakami's contrasting approach to addressing the theme-be it through symbolism, language or characterization-that requires close critique.
In Like Water for Chocolate, Tita De la Garza's principle struggle steams from the fact that she has little control over her affairs. From the day she was born, her fate was already sealed, and she would be expected to acknowledge tradition. Her life was not hers to live, for Mama Elena-her mother-dictated everything that she did, for whose house was it if not Mama Elena's, who made it clear that "in the De La Garza family, one obeyed-immediately" (Esquivel 12). There was nothing Tita could say to change anything, and being quite aware she knew that she could never "have even the slightest voice in the unknown forces that" condemned her world (11). Therefore, in order to possess some level of control over herself, she had to forge an identity so that she would also be able to communicate with others in her surrounding without been restricted by Mrs. De la Garza. In order for Tita to achieve this, Laura Esquivel uses food as a means of communication-which affords Tita with a chance to acquire personal identity and freedom-because it becomes a medium through which she can conceal her emotions and express herself more liberally. Thus, Laura Esquivel employs food as a symbol to articulate Tita's struggle to gain identity, because food represents both what Tita desires and her emotions, which define her character.
Arguably, Murakami's approach to the theme of attaining personal identity and freedom is best exemplified in the short story "sleep", which by no surprise-considering its storyline and syntax-also reflects the author's crafty, mysterious, out-of-this-world style. The female narrator in the story is an ordinary housewife who does everything that she's supposes to do-except to tend to herself. She becomes increasingly intolerant of her surrounding; more specifically she can no longer bear to remain aloof and to pretend to suppress her inner desires and ambitions. She realizes that the only way to break free is to forge an identity of her own. To achieve this, Murakami describes the narrator as having a "wakefulness [that] was always...beside..." her when she stopped sleeping (Murakami 75). Not sleeping was a way of her expressing her rejection of traditions and conformity, and a representation of her transition to individuality and personal freedom. The narrator was no longer part of the "life that had swallowed [her] up so completely..." that she felt as if her footprints were being flown away "...before she even had a chance to turn and look at them"(Murakami 81). Reality became an object, a simple thing to manipulate, and she remarked "...how easy it is to make it work" for her benefit, for her to explore and accentuate her passions (Murakami 96). It was this same passion that allowed Tita to realize her destiny and to experience romance with Pedro. In the novel, Laura Esquivel describes how those who ate Tita's food were "flooded with a great wave of longing", and how it kindled within people a renewed passion for their inner desires (Esquivel 39). Thus, Esquivel employs magic realism to illustrate how Tita's emotions and passions transcended into the food and into everyone who ate her food; which reinforces Tita's desire to acquire freedom and individuality.
By making Tita creative by very nature, as in her "creation was...the most perfect..." (12), Laura Esquivel was able to distinguish her from the other characters because it was another avenue for which Tita could move towards individuality. Had Esquivel not added creativity to Tita's character, she would not have been successful at illustrating the effects that Tita's food had on people, as well as to effectively develop the character into a motherly figure-something that brought her close to attaining a personal identity as she grew closer to Pedro. Pedro was part of what defined Tita's identity-he was not only her love, but her life-that is why it was imperative that Esquivel characterized Tita as creative in order to demonstrate her move towards gaining freedom and an identity. While creativity is employed as a character trait as well in Murakami's "Kangaroo Communiqué", his approach is different from Esquivel in that he manipulates diction and takes advantage of a first person narration to relate the protagonist's true feelings. For example, in the narrator's letter to a woman who visited the store he works in, he talks more about himself and about his random theories, than what he actually intended-to reply to the woman's complaint. Although, this may seem futile on the surface, this style works because Murakami is able to reveal more about the character and his struggle for an identity, while pretending to at the seem time. This fits in well with the character's desire to "...lead a general existence and yet be a distinct, separate entity", as he shows readers his general discontent with his present life, and his desire to attain a personal identity (Murakami 65).
Also effective is Laura Esquivel's use of a simple bedspread as symbolism to show all of Tita's struggles and anxieties that had accumulated over the years. It was another way that Tita could express herself, considering that she was constantly under Mama Elena's authoritarian power. It's important to point out this fact because in many of Murakami's stories the characters, to a certain extent, express their desire for personal freedom and individuality in a bolder manner than Tita in Like Water for Chocolate, as a result of the differences between both authors' approach to the theme. For example, in The Wind-Up Bird and Tuesday's Women the narrator attempts to create his own identity in a seemingly mundane world of his by breaking free from the norm. To illustrate his move towards individuality, Murakami describes the character as not been able to remember things well as if there was a hole in his memory; as in "...no matter how I rack my brains, I can't place her voice" (Murakami 13). Instead of using indirect objects such as food, or bedspread-as Esquivel does-to address a character's move towards freedom and individuality, Murakami characterizes his protagonists in a way that reflect their inner desire to be different-they do not flow with the tide, so to speak.
The themes of personal identity and freedom is prevalent throughout both Like water for Chocolate and The Elephant Vanishes stories. To illustrate the theme, Esquivel primarily utilizes symbolism, as suppose to Murakami who incorporates diction and language. Despite these differences, both effectively engage their readers through their creative use of literary devices to convey a particular message.
An analysis of how Laura Esquivel addresses the struggle of attaining personal identity and freedom through the characterization of Tita De la Garza in Like Water for Chocolate, as compared to Haruki Murakami's treatment through character development in specific stories of The Elephant Vanishes.
Here's the essay:
Like Water for Chocolate-a novel rich in history, culture, food, and scandal; a breathtaking portrayal of a love affair, of the strength of character of desperate women, and of humbling traditions-captivates both the soul and mind, enchanting its readers by way of causing them to become immersed in its story-line. Prominent among its themes is that of finding an identity-or a lack thereof-which seems to pervade the lives of those most engaged in the process of self evaluation and discovery, and as such Laura Esquivel's novel is comparable to Haruki Murakami's The Elephant Vanishes, in which the characters from several stories seem to be in a state of perpetual dislocation and disconnection from the world around them. Tita in Esquivel's novel, best portrays this struggle of gaining personal identity and freedom amidst repressive, external forces, while specific characters from stories in Murakami's collection such as "Sleep", "The Wind-Up Bird and Tuesday's Women", or "A Slow Boat to China", reflect a struggle that arises instead from both external and internal forces. Particularly important however, is Esquivel and Murakami's contrasting approach to addressing the theme-be it through symbolism, language or characterization-that requires close critique.
In Like Water for Chocolate, Tita De la Garza's principle struggle steams from the fact that she has little control over her affairs. From the day she was born, her fate was already sealed, and she would be expected to acknowledge tradition. Her life was not hers to live, for Mama Elena-her mother-dictated everything that she did, for whose house was it if not Mama Elena's, who made it clear that "in the De La Garza family, one obeyed-immediately" (Esquivel 12). There was nothing Tita could say to change anything, and being quite aware she knew that she could never "have even the slightest voice in the unknown forces that" condemned her world (11). Therefore, in order to possess some level of control over herself, she had to forge an identity so that she would also be able to communicate with others in her surrounding without been restricted by Mrs. De la Garza. In order for Tita to achieve this, Laura Esquivel uses food as a means of communication-which affords Tita with a chance to acquire personal identity and freedom-because it becomes a medium through which she can conceal her emotions and express herself more liberally. Thus, Laura Esquivel employs food as a symbol to articulate Tita's struggle to gain identity, because food represents both what Tita desires and her emotions, which define her character.
Arguably, Murakami's approach to the theme of attaining personal identity and freedom is best exemplified in the short story "sleep", which by no surprise-considering its storyline and syntax-also reflects the author's crafty, mysterious, out-of-this-world style. The female narrator in the story is an ordinary housewife who does everything that she's supposes to do-except to tend to herself. She becomes increasingly intolerant of her surrounding; more specifically she can no longer bear to remain aloof and to pretend to suppress her inner desires and ambitions. She realizes that the only way to break free is to forge an identity of her own. To achieve this, Murakami describes the narrator as having a "wakefulness [that] was always...beside..." her when she stopped sleeping (Murakami 75). Not sleeping was a way of her expressing her rejection of traditions and conformity, and a representation of her transition to individuality and personal freedom. The narrator was no longer part of the "life that had swallowed [her] up so completely..." that she felt as if her footprints were being flown away "...before she even had a chance to turn and look at them"(Murakami 81). Reality became an object, a simple thing to manipulate, and she remarked "...how easy it is to make it work" for her benefit, for her to explore and accentuate her passions (Murakami 96). It was this same passion that allowed Tita to realize her destiny and to experience romance with Pedro. In the novel, Laura Esquivel describes how those who ate Tita's food were "flooded with a great wave of longing", and how it kindled within people a renewed passion for their inner desires (Esquivel 39). Thus, Esquivel employs magic realism to illustrate how Tita's emotions and passions transcended into the food and into everyone who ate her food; which reinforces Tita's desire to acquire freedom and individuality.
By making Tita creative by very nature, as in her "creation was...the most perfect..." (12), Laura Esquivel was able to distinguish her from the other characters because it was another avenue for which Tita could move towards individuality. Had Esquivel not added creativity to Tita's character, she would not have been successful at illustrating the effects that Tita's food had on people, as well as to effectively develop the character into a motherly figure-something that brought her close to attaining a personal identity as she grew closer to Pedro. Pedro was part of what defined Tita's identity-he was not only her love, but her life-that is why it was imperative that Esquivel characterized Tita as creative in order to demonstrate her move towards gaining freedom and an identity. While creativity is employed as a character trait as well in Murakami's "Kangaroo Communiqué", his approach is different from Esquivel in that he manipulates diction and takes advantage of a first person narration to relate the protagonist's true feelings. For example, in the narrator's letter to a woman who visited the store he works in, he talks more about himself and about his random theories, than what he actually intended-to reply to the woman's complaint. Although, this may seem futile on the surface, this style works because Murakami is able to reveal more about the character and his struggle for an identity, while pretending to at the seem time. This fits in well with the character's desire to "...lead a general existence and yet be a distinct, separate entity", as he shows readers his general discontent with his present life, and his desire to attain a personal identity (Murakami 65).
Also effective is Laura Esquivel's use of a simple bedspread as symbolism to show all of Tita's struggles and anxieties that had accumulated over the years. It was another way that Tita could express herself, considering that she was constantly under Mama Elena's authoritarian power. It's important to point out this fact because in many of Murakami's stories the characters, to a certain extent, express their desire for personal freedom and individuality in a bolder manner than Tita in Like Water for Chocolate, as a result of the differences between both authors' approach to the theme. For example, in The Wind-Up Bird and Tuesday's Women the narrator attempts to create his own identity in a seemingly mundane world of his by breaking free from the norm. To illustrate his move towards individuality, Murakami describes the character as not been able to remember things well as if there was a hole in his memory; as in "...no matter how I rack my brains, I can't place her voice" (Murakami 13). Instead of using indirect objects such as food, or bedspread-as Esquivel does-to address a character's move towards freedom and individuality, Murakami characterizes his protagonists in a way that reflect their inner desire to be different-they do not flow with the tide, so to speak.
The themes of personal identity and freedom is prevalent throughout both Like water for Chocolate and The Elephant Vanishes stories. To illustrate the theme, Esquivel primarily utilizes symbolism, as suppose to Murakami who incorporates diction and language. Despite these differences, both effectively engage their readers through their creative use of literary devices to convey a particular message.