Political Allegory and Character Archetypes in

Like Water for Chocolate

Samantha Parker

















ELA
Mr. Cook
22 September 2014



Allegory is used to give characters and objects an overall moral meaning. Laura
Esquivel, author of Like Water for Chocolate, includes magical realism to the allegory. Like
Water for Chocolate is a political allegory that uses characters to represent oppression,
rebellion, and peacemaking.

Laura Esquivel shows the political archetypes of oppression using the character Tita as
a symbol. Tita demonstrates oppression by being constantly controlled by the dictator, Mama
Elena. To illustrate, Tita [does not] have an opinion (11). Mama Elena uses very significant
statements that cause Tita to experience verbal oppression. Another illustration that exemplifies
Tita being oppressed is when Mama Elena says to Tita, For generations not a single person in
my family has ever questioned this tradition, and no daughter of mine is going to be the one to
start (11). Mama Elena proves that Tita was experiencing oppression from her by not being
able to live her own life as an individual. Furthermore, Mama Elena responds to Tita with a
harsh command. She describes her food as, nasty and bitter and demands, Take it away
(130). To summarize, Tita felt oppressed because her mother, Mama Elena was giving her
demands that exemplify oppression. Esquivel uses Tita as a symbol of oppression in the book.

Laura Esquivel shows the political archetype of rebellion using the character Gertrudis
as a symbol. An example of her rebelliousness was where Gertrudis tastes the forbidden rose
petal sauce which caused her to become very sexualized. When Gertrudis had sex with Juan,
breaking Mama Elenas rule, it was a sign of rebellion. In addition, Her body was giving off so
much heat that the wooden walls began to split and burst into flame (54). In other words,
Gertrudis was performing another act of rebellion by breaking another part of Mama Elenas rule
to not fall in love. When Juan, Gertrudis lover, leaned over, put his arm around [Gertrudis]
waist...and carried her away (55), the action broke the rule of the dictator, Mama Elena.
Breaking the dictators rules is the definition of rebellion.

Laura Esquivel also shows the political archetype of peacemaking using the character
Chencha. Esquivel illustrates peacemaking in the scene where Chencha walked for about three
hours, until she had a good excuse to invite Tita back home to live and watch over Mama Elena.
Esquivel wrote, Finally after walking for three hours, Chencha had the answer! As always, she
had come up with the right lie Chencha had invited her to come back home, but Tita had
refused (129). This exemplifies that Chencha tries to make everything right between everyone,
which is a typical feature of her being a peacemaker. In addition, Laura Esquivel wrote, About
three months ago, after tasting a spoonful of soup that Chencha had made and brought to Dr.
John Browns house, Tita had returned to her senses (123). In other words, Chencha was
being a peacemaker by helping Tita find her voice.
Esquivels use of political allegory adds to the narrative because it gets the readers
mind thinking whether or not the figurative language or the political archetypes are just specific
ideas relating to politics throughout the story. The moral lesson that Esquivel was portraying
through the whole book is the idea that dictators have a huge deficient impact on the people
within the society. This moral lesson occurs throughout the story so far, because the characters
are perceiving the outcomes as well as consequences of being controlled and sustain denial of
true love. Laura Esquivel demonstrates this moral lesson with political archetypes that represent
oppression, rebellion, and peacemaking.
Excellent job. There are a few errors that need a little cleaning up, but overall your extra effort to
come in after school has proven worth it.

GRADE: 48/50