Magical Realism

Today in class we talked about Like Water for Chocolate and how Tita’s emotions and infused in her cooking and those feeling then come out in those who eat her food. I feel that her cooking is the way that her feelings and emotions are expressed, she cannot simple say how she is truly feeling and what she thinks because Mama Elena has forbidden it so this is the only way she knows how to express them. I know that I have said this all in class but I just wanted to add some more to it.

I believe anyone who is a cook or enjoys cooking can agree with what I am about to say and that is your emotions and feelings go into what you are making and if you are happy it shows in the food just like if you are angry or upset that shows in the food also because it usually doesn’t turn out when you are feeling that way, where as when you are happy and in a great mood the food tastes awesome and looks great.

Another thing that I wanted to talk about was the magical realism in the novel and how this novel reminded me of the film Practical Magic starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. The film is about two sisters who come from a long line of real life practicing witches. The story intertwines their lives with the magic they do, which as soon as I began reading Like Water for Chocolate I immediately thought of Practical Magic because it too has magical realism. The magic that the sisters, aunts and girls practice is so apart of their everyday lives that it doesn’t stand out from out of the ordinary.

I believe when magical realism is used in a film or novel if it is done well you feel that it should be there and you could not picture the film or novel without it. Even in some cases if you took it away the story that is left is nothing without it. Good magical realism lets you enjoy what you are watching or reading without even thinking that it wasn’t real it lets us drift into another world different than our own, one some of us wish existed in everyday life.