Monday, May 17, 2010

Food and Communication can lead to people to do good or bad things.

We need food as much as we need to communicate with others. Communication can have a big

impact in our lives. A few words can hurt someone's feelings or make people feel happy. In the

Book of J, the Odyssey and Like Water for Chocolate, communication plays an important role

and it has a special link with food. In the book of J, Adam and Eve's sinful act of eating the

forbitten fruit, led them discover a different world through communication. Also, in the odyssey,

Odysseus and his crew used food as a way to trick the giants and run away from them. And in

Like Water for Chocolate, Tita expressed her feelings to Pedro through food.

According to the Book of J, a conversation between the snake and Eve was what made her to

eat the fruit and also be offered to Adam. In this case the conversation turned the bad way. The

snake used the conversation as a way to trick to Eve. He conviced her that nothing wrong would

happen if she ate the fruit. However, this was not true. Adam and Eve were punished by

Yahweh because they did not listen what Yahweh told them. They were throw out of the garden

and now they lost their privilige of living a peaceful life. To the woman he said "Pain increasing,

groan that spead into groans: having children will labor". For the man "Now bitter be the soil to

your taste; in labor you will bend to eat from it, each day you live"(Harol Bloom, Pag. 64).

Despite what made Adam and Eve commit sin and be punished by Yahweh, after Adam and Eve

had eating the fruit, "The eyes of both fall open, grasp of knowledge of their naked skin"(63).

Adam and Eve's sinful act of eatin the forbidden fruit, led them discover a different world

trhough communication because they have discovered a new world and now they are aware and

learned the good and bad things. Moreover, food and communication can have a bid impact in

our lives. If they would not listen to the snake they would not being punished by Yahweh. But, in

the other hand if they would not do it they would not discovered a new world.

In the Odyssey, Odyssseus and his crew they were always involved between wars, conflicts

and disagreements with people and monsters that they met during their trips. Although, they

have lost some members of his crew, Odysseus always find a way to trick people by using food.

Since the Cyclopes were a group of giants, Odysseus created a plan to run away from

Polyphemus who was also part of the group and wanted Odysseus and his crew to be his meal.

Yet, "Cyclopes, have some wine, now that you have eaten your human flesh"(Homer 134). The

ruby red wine was so tasty that Polyphemus asked for more, not realizing that his way Odysseus

was going to hurt him without his noticing. Odysseus stabbed the oliwood stake in the Cyclops'

eye. But, the worse thing is that Polyphemus could never find out what was Odysseus' name

because while the Cyclop was drinking, Odysseus gave him the wrong name so they can run

away from them. However, it was more than one ocasion that odysseus used food as a method to

survive againts the monsters as he did right after he and his men travel to Aeaea. That was the

home of the beautiful witch goddess Circe. This witch converted to Odysseus' men into pig by

drugging them. When Odysseus went to rescue them, a man named Hermes approached him.

He offered to Odysseus an herb. "Take this herb with you when you go to Circe and it will

protect you from her deadly tricks" (Homer 149). Odysseus not only could survive with the help

of the herb, but also could convinced to Circe to change his men back to human being.

Since Tita and Pedro were not allow to get married, their love was forbidden. Tita's mother

tried always to keep them apart, making it so difficult for them to talk to one another. But, one

way Tita could show to Pedro that she loved him was how she cook. Her food always had a good

taste and also a kind of magic that made people to act as Tita's emotions. Sexual effects also

happened when Tita cooked the quails, a special dinner that she prepared for her family. "That

was the way she entered Pedro's body, hot, voluptuos, perfumed, totally sensuos" (Esquivel 52).

Pedro and Tita discovered that the meal "Was a new system of communication"(52), in wich

Gertrudis her sister received the sexual message and ended up acting wild and left the house.

Also, according to the book, when Tita was sad, her food could also made people to get sick as

happened when her sister Rosaura married to Pedro. Tita baked the cake for her sister's

wedding. "The moment they took their first bite of cake everyone was flooded with a great wave

of loging" (Pag.39). The cake caused intoxication to the guesses "An acute attack of pain and

frustation that seized that guest and scattered them cross the patio and in the bathroom, all of

them wailing over lost love"(39). As a result, we can conclude, that communication is very

important to survive inour society. Tita is a perfect example that a person cannot hold for so

long their feeilngs because one way or another we will end up demostrating it.

In conclusion, we are clear that food and communication are very essential to survivel. Each

character of the three books (the Bok of J, the Odyssey and Like Water for Chocolate) was

connected to food and communication. Although, Adam and Eve committed sin by eating the

forbidden fruit, they also discovered a new world by using food and communication. Odysseus

used food and communication as a way to trick people and fight againts the monsters that they

wanted to kill them. And Tita demostrated her feelings to Pedro through food.

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