1

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Like Water for Chocolate Handout*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

(by Jasmine Greer and Alysha Vu)

SEPTEMBER:
Chocolate and Three Kings Day Bread
Ingredients for Chocolate: Soconusco chocolate, Maracaibo chocolate, Caracas chocolate, and
sugar

Ingredients for Three Kings Day Bread: yeast, flour, eggs, orange-blossom water, milk, sugar,
butter,
candied fruit, and a porcelain doll

Plot: Tita starts to cook the chocolate beans, noting that she needs to make sure it is cooked not too
much nor
too little. Next, she turns the almond oil into lip ointment because of her lips chapping. She starts
to
be self-conscious about her appearance because she suspects she is pregnant. She heats the
chocolate
and mixes it with sugar, and she soon reminisces about Nachas love and care. These memories
inspire
her to cook with enthusiasm and to hope for peace between the sisters. Rosaura stops by the
kitchen to
ask Tita for help about her digestive problems, which makes her smelly and drives Pedro away
from her.
Over the time, Rosaura sleeps in a different bedroom than Pedro and has been gaining weight.
Rosaura
openly regrets their previous relationship of jealousy and hate since she has submitted to
depression from
the rejection of her husband. Without her husband, Rosaura is left with only her daughter,
Esperanza.
Tita gives the remedy for Rosauras bad breath instead of confronting her sister on Esperanzas
fate as the
youngest daughter. Rosaura leaves, and the ghost of Mama Elena appears, cursing Titas baby.
The bread

2
rises too much, and Chencha helps her prepare the bread. Tita places the porcelain doll on the
cake and
recalls the old tradition of finding the doll in the cake. Deciding to tell Pedro about the baby, Tita
tries to
take him to a place more private but gets interrupted by Chencha, who announces the arrival of
the
Loboses. On the way back to the dining room to carry the bread, the ghost of Mama Elena
appears.
Tita panics and feels ill, making Paquita comment that she looks pregnant. Suddenly, Gertrudis
returns
with Juan Alejandrez for Three Kings Day. They prepare hot chocolate for everyone. Then Tita
learns that
Gertrudis had become a general through her hard work and led a regiment of fifty troops.
____________________________________________________________________________________
_________

Analysis:
Heat is used to cook the chocolate for hot chocolate
_______________________________
______________________________________________________________________
____ [165]
Titas food brings the family together
-->example:______________________________________
_____________________________
Removing cocoa beans from heat =
_________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

[165]

If the cocoa beans are cooked too long, they burn. This symbolizes
____________________________________________________________________________
_
____________________________________________________________________________
__ [165]
Reference to cocoa butter shows Titas wish to hide proof of__________________
_________________________________________________________________________
[166]
Tita cooks her cocoa beans directly under fire without water makes references to her
previous affair
with____________________________________________________________________

3
_________________________________________________________________
Titas yearning for the memories of Nacha and her sisters show her desire for a united
__________________________________________________________ [167]
Usage of questions in the narration bring ________________________ to Pedros
possible response to the child [166]
Page 166 shows how Tita cannot concentrate because she is conflicted. The narration
would erratically switch topics from her cooking and to her worries and thoughts. This brings a
sense of _______________________________________________________ [166]
Usage of semicolons in Titas recollection of memories connect the idea of family and
love, making it more significant and apparent in the paragraph [167]
Life had taught her that it was not easy the right to determine the course of ones own
life would take more effort than she imagined [168] Passage gives _______________________ and ______________________________________. It shows reason
the Titas rebellion to her mother, who kept her tied down to the terrible fate as the
____________________________________.
But it seemed more likely that a corpse would come back to life than that Gertrudis
would come back home foreshadows
______________________________________________.
Rosauras _________________________________ pushes her away from her
husband, Pedro if thought as karma, can be Magic Realism [169]
She has
___________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____
___________________. These all contribute to make her physically less attractive, making her
relationship with Pedro dissipate, especially since she cannot get pregnant anymore. Also, the
illness makes her lose all her good feminine characteristic for good. In this society, women are
supposed to be able to cook, look pretty, and bare children; without any of that, she becomes
nothing but a burden to her family.
the Rosaura-Tita relationship had been like water boiling in oil [170] The usage of
______________ compares their bad relationship. _________________________and
__________________ do not mix, but they repel each other naturally. The fact that the liquids
are boiling indicate the high jealousy, anger, and emotion on their part.
Rosaura loses all feminine aspects, making her unattractive since she gained weight,
has flatulence, and cannot cook. This makes her the opposite of ___________________, who
is very attractive and can cook. [170]
The appearance of Mama Elenas ghost is the use of _________________________.
Also, the ghost represents Titas possible_____________________ of disobeying her mother
and getting pregnant. [170] [173]

4
Esperanzas fate of being the youngest daughter is like Titas fate. Rosaura traps her
own daughter with _____________________________ like Mama Elena had for Tita.
Ironically, Esperanza acts more like Tita than her own mother [171]
Also, the remedy used for Rosauras ______________________ can represent one of
the traditional, superstitious, and magical realistic elements in the tale.
The John, the person to who John, who had. Phrase can be
______________________, and is used to bring emphasis to a single thought. In this case, it
emphasizes her love triangle with _______________________________________, bringing
more suspense to the story. [172]
Mama Elena curses Titas child = __________________________________. Also, it
indicates that even after her death, she continues to battle with the Mama Elena within herself,
or the part of herself that pulls her away from Pedro. [173]
The cold gust in the kitchen uses the imagery of _____________________________
which suppresses her feelings and love [172]
The dough rising over the pan can represent her _______________________________,
as Titas belly may be getting bigger [174]
The lighting of the oven to maintain a comfortable temperature indicate her need to
control her passion better and to prevent herself from losing to her ____________________
and the ghost of Mama Elena [174]
The Three Kings Bread represents ________________________________ and
__________________ [174]
The narrative that show Titas thoughts bring more suspense to the tale [175]
When Paquita made Tita smell the smelling salts after Mama Elenas ghost appears
again, it shows another element of tradition and __________________________ again. [176]
When Paquita mention Tita looking pregnant, it creates____________________because
she IS pregnant. This irony bring more __________________________________ to the
audience. [177]
Gertrudis arrival for the Three Kings Bread show that __________________________
ties the family together [177]
Water and ________________________ is used to melt the chocolate carefully. This
shows that love of her family brings more life and ties the family together [178]
Gertrudis success as a _____________________________________ during this time
era gives great emphasis to her success as a woman, who completely disregards societys view
of _________________. [178]
The need to carefully heat the chocolate shows that need to balance to control ones
emotion but live fully [178]
Similar sentence structure in How she would have liked give emphasis to Gertrudis
desire to prove her mother that she is successful in her search for
________________________________. [179]

5
When Tita died, her familys past would die with her This quote indicates the entire
familys dependency on ______________________________. Tita is the one who ties the
family together, which greatly burdens her desire for personal freedom and goals. For example,
her relationship with Rosaura prevents her from perusing her love for Pedro. Her youngdaughter relationship with Mama Elena had prevented from marriage. However, she helps her
sister, Gertrudis, discover her personal __________________________ and fire making her
important to the family. [179]
Gertrudis exposition of her legs show that her_________________________ let her
escape from the __________________________ of the socially accepted and traditional
woman, who acts more reserved [180]
Also, Gertrudis dancing show that she has spirit and how she has freedom [180]
The reference to the future Mulatto baby gives emphasis on Gertrudis dependency on
Tita to keep her life together. In this case, Tita saves Gertrudis and Juans relationship from
falling apart. [180]
The last paragraph acts as a conclusion to bring suspense for the next chapter, and lets
the audience know that Tita still struggles with finding her
_____________________________________ or igniting fire [180]
Lastly, Chenchas responsibility to serve the troop shows the aspects of how family can
be a burden [181]

Extra Notes
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________

______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________
______________________________________________________________________
________