Lectura_y_comprension_fragmento_cap1_1

Page 1: Introduction to Reading Strategy

Narrative

  • Perspective: Consider in which person the text is written.

  • Relationship: Analyze the relationship between the narrator and the protagonist.

Symbolism

  • Food Significance: In Como agua para chocolate, food carries both literal and symbolic meanings. Reflect on personal or familial attitudes towards food.

Magical Realism

  • Concept: Recall examples of magical realism in works by Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel García Márquez.

  • Laura Esquivel's Approach: Pay attention to how Esquivel incorporates magical realism.

About Laura Esquivel

  • Background: Born in 1950 in Mexico City.

  • Notable Work: Como agua para chocolate was her first novel and gained instant popularity.

  • Structure: The novel is divided into twelve parts corresponding to the months of the year, with each chapter featuring a recipe related to its contents.

Excerpt from Como agua para chocolate

  • Opening Scene: The narrator describes Tita's poignant and sensitive nature, shedding tears even while in the womb during cooking.

  • Cooking Sensitivity: Specific mention of Tita's connection with food through smells and tears, highlighting a deep familial bond with cooking.

Page 2: Tita's Birth and Family Dynamics

Birth Circumstances

  • Emotional Birth: Tita’s birth was surrounded by tears, indicating her sensitivity and a foreshadowing of her struggles.

  • Mamá Elena's Control: Implies that Tita is denied marriage according to family tradition.

Tita’s Growing Awareness

  • Desire for Dialogue: Tita attempts to voice her thoughts despite the family’s oppressive communication norms.

Family Cooking Traditions

  • Culinary Participation: Tita enjoys cooking, finding joy and nostalgia in the process, especially when making traditional dishes.

  • First Encounter with Pedro: Tita's first touch with Pedro and the awakening of feelings leads to a significant love confession.

Page 3: The Wedding and Its Consequences

Tita’s Emotional Connection

  • Wedding Cake Scene: The wedding cake had an unexpected emotional effect on the guests, evoking nostalgia and tears.

  • Mamá Elena's Oppression: Tita’s mother prohibits her from marrying Pedro, leading to a forced marriage arrangement for Pedro with Tita's sister.

Impact of the Cake

  • Collective Reaction: Tita’s tears mixed in the wedding cake create a mass emotional and physical response among the guests, showcasing the intertwining of emotion and culinary experiences.

Comprehension Questions

  1. Commonalities between the narrator and Tita.

  2. Utilization of water remaining after Tita’s birth.

  3. Tita’s attitude toward cooking and its origins.

  4. Tita's victimization by family traditions.

  5. Characterization of Mamá Elena and Tita's relationship.

  6. Details of Tita and Pedro's first meeting.

  7. Strange effects of the wedding cake on guests.