Tita - The protagonist of the novel, Tita is the youngest daughter of Mama
Elena, prohibited by family tradition from marrying so that she will be free to take care of her mother later in life. The novel follows Tita's life from birth to death, focusing mostly on her tortured relationship with Pedro and her struggle and eventual triumph in pursuit of love and individuality.
Mama Elena - The tyrannical, widowed matriarch of the De La Garza clan. Mama Elena is the prime source of Tita's suffering. Her fierce temperament inspires fear in all three of her daughters. She keeps Tita from her true love, Pedro, and it is later revealed that Mama Elena herself once suffered from a lost love, embittering her for the rest of her life.
Pedro - Tita's true love, and the eventual father of Roberto and Esperanza.
Denied marriage to Tita by Mama Elena, he agrees to marry Rosaura, breaking Tita's heart. Nevertheless, he asserts his continued love for Tita throughout the novel and pursues her secretly. Pedro dies after he and Tita are finally blissfully united while making love at the novel's end.
Rosaura - The second daughter of Mama Elena, Rosaura marries Pedro, much to the despair of Tita. Rosaura leaves the ranch when Mama Elena sends her and Pedro to San Antonio to keep Pedro and Tita apart. Her first child, Roberto, dies as an infant; her second, Esperanza, prohibited like
Tita from ever marrying, weds Alex after Rosaura dies.
Gertrudis - The eldest daughter of Mama Elena. Gertrudis escapes the ranch after reacting mysteriouslly to one of Tita's recipes. She runs away with a rebel soldier, works in a brothel at the Mexico-Texas border, and eventually returns to the ranch as a general in the revolutionary army. It is eventually revealed that Gertrudis is the offspring of a hidden, extramarital affair between Mama Elena and her true love, a mulatto man.
Dr. John Brown - An American doctor who cares for Tita when she experiences a breakdown, and the father of Alex. John eventually falls in love with Tita and helps rehabilitate her soul, revealing to her the nature of the fire that resides in each individual. Tita becomes engaged to him, but eventually denies him marriage to pursue Pedro.
Nacha - The ranch cook, of unspecified indigenous background. Nacha is the prime caretaker for Tita throughout her childhood, and provides her with the love and support that Mama Elena fails to give. She is also the source for most of the recipes in the novel. Nacha dies on the day of
Rosaura's wedding but returns throughout the narrative as a spiritual guide
so that she could find love in a safe a secure environment. Nanny has her
Janie's Grandmother is the first bud on her tree. She raised Janie since she was a little girl. Her grandmother is in some respects a gardener pruning and shaping the future for her granddaughter. She tries to instill a strong belief in marriage. To her marriage is the only way that Janie will survive in life. What Nanny does not realize is that Janie has the potential to make her own path in the walk of life. This blinds nanny, because she is a victim of the horrible effects of slavery. She really tries to convey to Janie that she has her own voice but she forces her into a position where that voice is silenced and there for condemning all hopes of her Granddaughter become the woman that she is capable of being.
The novel begins by “Abena, my mother, was raped by an English Sailor on the deck of Christ the King one day in the year 16** while the ship was sailing for Barbados. I was born from this act of aggression. From this act of hatred and contempt,” (Condé 1). Her mother Abena was a slave and Tituba was born into slavery. Tituba was concemption is due to a white sailor raping her mother, an example of a white man dominating a black woman. The hierarchy is clearly established between the black people like Abena and Tituba, and the white slave owners. The policing of this hierarchy causes Tituba to see the very dramatic deaths of her mother Abena and a father like figure in Yao. Tituba’s early life experiences is only the beginning of despicable acts done to her and the people she cares
basis of the plot and themes of this novel. The fond memories she possessed of her mother and the harsh ones of her father are reflected in the thoughts and
She honored her parents as she should, but longed for them to pass. In the beginning of the story she said "I had never expected my parents to take so long to die.” She had taken care of them all of her life she was in her fifty’s and her parents in their ninety’s. She was ready to live and break free of all the rules and duties put upon her, they were like chains binding her and holding her down. She was ready to explore to go on journeys and adventures she was already aging all she wanted was to be free. Her parents’ death let her run free, she left Hong Kong to start over and maybe find love, in any way possible, maybe even through food or luxuries. She wanted to be rebellious of her parents I’m sure she knew they wouldn’t approve but she didn’t care she wanted change. All her life she had followed so many rules, she had to fight to teach, to learn, to be with friends, her fight was finally over. She now had no one to rebel against, she now had the freedom to
High school sports are approached with clashing opinions. Some of these opinions are positive, and supportive of athletics. “Athleticism, among many activities, offers teens a physical outlet to exert their troubles, anger, emotions, and other feelings” (Chen 1). This can be observed in nearly all of the football players in Friday Night Lights. This can also be noticed in the world today. “Athletics help high school students understand their own abilities and talents” (Chen 1). This piece of evidence is very accurate when describing high school athletes. Sports can make a high school student humble. As can be seen by the preceding information, high school athletics can have a positive impact on a student’s life.
Why is some human being dying to wait for organ transplants? This is the likely question in many individual’s mind when they are faced with the desperate dilemma. Healthcare is experiencing a shortage in organ donation and the people that need these organs is only growing (Meckler, 2007). Unfortunately, the shortage of organ is taking a toll on individuals waiting to receive their lifesaving organ. Medical advancement made it possible for organ transplants assist individuals that are in desperate need of a new one to continue to live a normal life. In some cases, these individuals waiting for an organ transplant are their only hope of life to continue. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services statistics states 119,000 are on the waiting
...an affect how kids do in school with the sports interfering with homework and studying time. Some teenaers focus more on sports than school in some cases while hoping for a sports scholarship. This can hurt their future. With so much focus on practicing with sports, school gets less attention than it needs.
to be with Tom, but not really because she only did it because she thought she
The second person point of view helps the reader to connect with the girl in this story. It shows the reader a better understanding of this character and how she is being raised to be a respectable woman. This point of view also gives us an insight on the life of women and shows us how they fit into their society. Through this point of view, the reader can also identify the important aspects of the social class and culture. The daughter tries to assert a sense of selfhood by replying to the mother but it is visible that the mother is being over whelming and constraining her daughter to prepare her for
Partaking in school sports can have benefits and drawbacks. A student could be gaining confidence or wearing out their body. Sports is like betting, you win big or lose big. Winning meaning earning friends, gaining confidence, and maintaining better health. Losing meaning visits to the emergency room, countless injuries , and not being
to assist him. All of her actions are done out of devotion and allegiance to
The goal of sports is to prepare its participants for life and turn them into well-rounded individuals. In school there are requirements. If students do not maintain a certain GPA they cannot play, and if they get into trouble in or outside of school they will most likely be put on a suspension or kicked off the team. In order to play they have to have clean records. This is just a few of the many benefits of teens participating in sports. Due to this, most teens will most likely not give into peer pressure and do something that may jeopardize their athletic standing. By being a part of something bigger than themselves, teens will focus harder in and away from school, which in turn helps them become prepared for adulthood. In sports, coaches are teaching teens how to make better decisions about their lives, as well as the sense of accomplishment of their hard work and a job well
Preeclampsia is a serious condition that develops only during pregnancy. It is also called toxemia of pregnancy. This condition causes high blood pressure along with other symptoms, such as swelling and headaches. These symptoms may develop as the condition gets worse. Preeclampsia may occur 20 weeks or later into pregnancy.
People often consider a problem based on an individual case and their position may lean closer to one side or the other. Based on the Arguments For and Against Abortion article about a survey in which abortion should be legal or not, "the data show those who believe abortion should never be legal are the minority among those who support abortion in all cases or those who support it under certain circumstances" (2014). People tend to judge others by appearance or their identity, but don 't try to understand the circumstances. For example, 20% of the respondents agreed “under no circumstances” (2014). They discuss that no matter what their issue is, if women terminate a pregnancy, then it would count as immoral dilemmas and an offensive action. Their thinking is involved that when a fetus exists, it is a human being and deserves to live on the Earth. This group of people is described as “stop abortion now” side. Otherwise, there are still a lot of people standing in a neutral position. They understand the difficulty that women have been through and afterwards. Based on different aspects and point of views of trying to judge a problem, some people deduced that bringing a child in life without fully raised is worse than an