In both the play, Blue Beach by Victor Hugo Rascon Banda and the novel Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquirel symbolism plays a vital role throughout the central ideas. In both of these pieces of literature the symbolic objects are a hotel with everything in it and the use of cooking respectively. These objects reflect the families. In the play Blue Beach, the hotel portrays the breaking down of the Garza family, while in the novel Like Water for Chocolate, the use of cooking by Tita gives the reader the idea that the Tita is being held against living her own life, and instead living the life which her mother wishes to put upon her. .
Throughout the play Blue Beach, the reader gets the idea that the family is very broken down and is being held by a very thin string. The members of the family seem very bitter towards each other and very resentful toward each other. Within the play the author gives numerous examples of how the family is bitter and not caring. The Garza family is anything but normal. It seems that the son, Sergio and the mother, are the most unemotional out of the whole family. One example that shows how bitter Sergio can be is when he asks Matias to bring him a coconut. Matias gives Sergio the coconut drink and instead of Sergio being satisfied with it he says, "Crazy Bastard. What's this?- (65). He spits out his drink because he believes it to be sour, but when he asks the others to drink it to prove himself right they see nothing wrong with it. I believe that this is showing that no matter what Sergio touches it seems foul and disgusting. This is due to what he went through when he was younger.
The author takes it upon himself to direct many of the symbolic objects within the play toward the mother. This includes when the mother asks Matias to bring her flowers, and when he does this she is anything but satisfied. Matias asks her how the flowers are, and she says that they are beautiful, but as soon as she smells them she says that they are rotten.
Figurative Language and Imagery: Page18- "A water fall of blond hair- " his finances shot down in flames- Page19- " like a limp black snake- Page20- "Square boy... " " like a sleepwalker." ... Chapter4: The start of "The Chocolate War" is now becoming apparent. ... Page23- "He watched the class like a hawk." ... Symbolism: The chocolates represent the book itself and the school. ...
