Chapter One

In chapter one, we met many, many characters including Tita, Great Grandma (Tita's mother), and Nacha (the cook). We saw the symbol of "Onions & Tears" in the very beginning during Tita's childhood.

Tita always cried very, very loudly when anyone would cut onions, even while she was in her mother's womb. She cried so hard one day that it induced an early labor and she came out crying. We're not sure, but as of right now, we think that perhaps onions are a indicator for sadness. "She was already crying as she emerged; maybe that was because she knew that it would be her lot in life to be denied marriage." This gives evidence as to why onions represent sadness/hopelessness. Tita was literally born into the role of her mothers future caretaker, preventing her from leading a desirable life.

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 12, 2017 at 6:53 AM

    This blog was extremely well thought out and written!! This symbol in my opinion has a lot more underlying meaning than most of the other common symbols throughout the book. My group has cold/chills as our symbol. I totally agree that onions could be an indicator for Tita's sadness. The way Tita feels in relation to her mother is cold, because of her mothers actions. I personally think that the onions are connected to the cold/chills as an expression of Tita's emotions. Also the tears are a symbol of Tita's emotions and are in result to her mother. Overall all of the symbols throughout the book are connected in some way.

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