Comparative Essay on Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, and Odyssey by Homer

The two epic literature works, the novel like water for chocolate by Esquivel Laura, and the poem Odyssey by Homer, are romantic narrations of how the character titan ad Odysseus battle through hardships and cultural boundaries, just so to be with their loved ones. The writers employ high levels of literary devices, and creativity to present the characters and the themes in the best way possible. These are love stories, in the most creepy and weird form and incorporate symbolism, motifs, and appearance versus reality. Tita, a talented cook, barred by the tyrannical culture imposed by her mother, Elena, from opening her heart to Pedro expresses her love through her fantastic cooking as she presents different recipes and feeds them to the readers (Squivel, 110). She swiftly fights the tyrannical tradition of last born daughters being tied to their mother till death do them part while not considering the dreams of these daughters and when the mother dies, she comes out strong and challenges her sister Rosaura from making her daughter her keeper. Odysseus, on the other hand, utilizes his strength, bravery, and cleverness to take the audience through the Trojan War, the gods for and against him, that includes Poseidon, the god of the sea and his son (homer, 13). The Circe that converts his crewmen into pigs, the six-headed Scylla and his journey to the hades to present the barriers standing between him and the family he adores, not to mention the throne.

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The two authors utilize the aspect of appearance versus reality, with a shade of ghost existence to spice up the waging difference of love and hatred. Elena ghost appears to Tita when she lost her virginity to Pedro and was probably pregnant. The spirit curses both the mother and the unborn child and sets Pedro on fire. However, Titas power over the cruel tradition gives her the strength to stand tall and rebuke the ghost, casting it away. Homers also utilize this aspect through the many ghosts Odysseus' faces, and in a certain instance, he is romantically enslaved by a nymph, Calypso. The recipe book is the symbol for the love Tita holds for Pedro, and when everything in the ranch burns down, the evidence for her love, the recipe book is the only thing left behind. The bow, on the other hand, is Odysseus symbol for the king, the husband and the father he was, and when he finally gets his way back home, disguised as a beggar, Penelope, his wife only becomes certain of his being her husband when he succeeds in the test to fire the bow between a row of twelve arrows. It takes ten years for Odysseus to be in his wifes arm once again, as it takes twelve months for Tita to be in Pedros heart as the only woman there, and this passion burns them to death (Squivel, 254). It is an envisioning of the unconditional love for these women, Tita and Penelope, to their men, despite the temporal among other barriers.

Works cited

Homer.Odyssey. Translated by Robert Eagles. Introduction by Bernard Knox. United States of America: Penguin Books. 1996 p. 13

Squivel Laura. Like water for chocolate. Doubleday. Mexico. 1995. Pp. 1-256.