Beyond Silence

In the film Beyond Silence, the protagonist Lara must learn how to adjust between the world of her parents which is soundless and her own world of music which is full of sound. It is difficult for her because her parents cannot understand her passion for music, especially her father who sees her passion for the clarinet as a sign of her allying herself with his sister Clarissa.

It does not seem fair that her father should treat her the way he does. He clearly loves her but is unable to understand the necessity of her lifestyle. As his wife reminds him Lara is his child but he does not “own” her. Lara's mother always seems to be smiling, despite her handicap. She loves her family and does not hold it against Lara for wanting to do what makes her happy.

Lara has to learn to communicate in ways other than speaking mainly because her parents are deaf but also because she is unable to express herself properly through words. She is very vocal in expressing her opinion to her elders once she gets older, but usually it is drawn out through a heated argument and she says things which are true yet hurtful. She learns sign language to communicate with her parents on a literal level, but the music she plays is also her way of communicating. She mentions how she prefers to play the “melancholy” pieces as opposed to the more upbeat and contemporary ones her aunt prefers. She puts all of her heart and soul into her music and by listening to it one can better understand her feelings. Unfortunately her parents are unable to hear her music which makes it more difficult for them to understand. Her father eventually learns at the end that though he may not understand her music, she is his daughter and he must accept her wishes.

Simple Passion

The narrator's relationship with time is very telling of the way she deals with her emotions. She does not live in the present because "A" is not in her present. She can only live in the past and future, constantly looking forward to the next time she'll see him and in her free time reminiscing about past experiences with him. She is distracted from her own life, to the point where she isn't really living anymore but in a constant state of waiting. To live in the present would mean she would have to accept that "A" wasn't really a part of her day to day life. He was there occasionally but only for sex, which she recognized but labeled as "making love" or "passion". She never once says that she loved him. It is important to distinguish between passion and love because they are not necessarily the same thing. In her case, the passion of their relationship was her way of reconnecting with her life. She didn't feel passionately about anything other than A, but by the end she comes to realize that she can live her life without him. That it was just a matter of living through the passion, which was only temporary.

Though the narrator says that she isn't writing about A or about herself, I think her writing was a method of better understanding herself and her situation. This is the point of the personal essay, not simply to tell a story but to gain some insight into yourself. She reflects on her writing at the beginning and is surprised to find that she does not feel the same way anymore. It is through her writing that she is able to get over A and move on with her life.

Like Water for Chocolate II

110 From the first, they had established a communication that went far beyond words.

This quote explains the relationship between Tita and the Indian cook at Dr. Brown’s house. Though they come from different cultures they are joined in their love and appreciation of food and cooking. In a way this understanding that they have is an example of how the reader is meant to receive the book. The recipes and cooking instructions are another means of drawing the reader into the story. The idea that we can communicate through food is very important to Tita/Esquivel.

111 That is but one small example of the huge difference in ideas and opinions that existed between the representatives of these two very different cultures, a gulf that made it impossible for the Browns to feel any desire to learn about the customs and traditions of Morning Light.

This is another example of two cultures mixing and finding it difficult to understand one another. What joins Dr. Brown’s grandmother “the Kikapu” to the white family that does not originally accept her is her talent at healing. She does not use recipes to connect with them but it is her nurturing nature and ability to care for human beings in a way that is similar to a cook that finally breaks down the barrier.

115 …each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can’t strike them all by ourselves; just as in the experiment, we need oxygen and a candle to help. In this case, the oxygen, for example, would come from the breath of the person you love; the candle could be any kind of food, music, cares, word, or sound that engenders the explosion that lights one of the matches.

Though we have switched from food to chemicals, they both work in similar ways to connect people to one another. Tita expresses herself through her food and this is the one way she can communicate with Pedro, by cooking from him and seeing his reaction. Because Tita won’t talk to Dr. Brown his only means of communicating with her and connecting with her is through his scientific experiments.

Like Water for Chocolate

The recipes at the beginning of each chapter are interesting because they apply directly to what is happening in the story. Sometimes the food or the way it is prepared is symbolic. When Tita is castrating the turkeys to make them fat she thinks that it would be more appropriate for her to be the one being neutered since she is forbidden to marry and have children . The roses obviously represent her love/lust for Pedro which inhabits Gertrudes. On a more simple level the recipes also give insight into their lifestyle. The traditional recipe calls for pheasants but they don't have pheasants so Tita uses quail etc.

Although Rosaura is an unappealing character, I feel some sympathy toward her. She must live with the knowledge that her husband loves her sister and will never care for her. She will never have a romantic relationship with him. Also everyone is aware of this situation and it makes her look like a fool. She is reminiscent of one of the ugly stepsisters in Cinderella.

The scene with Gertrudes running of with one of Pancho Villa's men is interesting not only for the fact that they are riding off having sex on a horse, but because it gives the story more historical background. It tells the reader how the revolution is happening around them in Mexico and how Tita is blissfully ignorant of it. Or rather too wrapped up in her own life to worry about the state of the country.

Volver

I found it odd that at the beginning when Paula shows Raimunda what she's done, she asks her mother "what are you going to do?". She was just raped by a man who she thought was her father but the main issue is what they are going to do with the body. While Raimunda comforts her for a moment, they never really discuss it and Paula soon seems to have 'moved on'. I felt that such a traumatic event would have effected her more than the movie shows. I suspect that this is because the movie is really more about Raimunda and her relationship with her mother than her relationship with her daughter. Paula is somewhat insignificant in that she is still treated like a child and does not really grow at all as the movie progresses.

Duras Day II

"If I were you I'd let it go on growing, let its shadow grow a little every year on the walls of the room that is called--wrongly, I believe--yours." (pg87)

Chauvin says this to Anne when they are discussing the tree outside of her bedroom. With this sentence he shows that he understands Anne's feelings of displacement and restlessness. He knows what she is feeling, whether she has admitted it to herself yet or not. He knows that she does not feel at home in the house with her husband and that she doesn't truly want to be there. That's why he says the tree doesn't matter because it's not really where she's meant to be.

"I don't know any more than you do. Talk to me." (pg 87)

Chauvin repeats this phrase or something along the lines of it several times during their conversation. It is usually right after Anne has asked him a question about the couple involved in the murder. He says he doesn't know anymore than she does yet he creates answers which are completely made up, merely conjecture. Anne is interested in the circumstances of the murder and the emotions the couple experienced to bring them to that point. But Chauvin is more interested in hearing Anne talk about herself and her house, which he is very familiar with. At times it seems like the conversation about the murder is just an excuse for them to meet and talk.

"The night, fatigue, and childhood made him cling to her, his mother, and they walked on together." (pg 91)

This quote shows the boy as a child, reliant on his mother. However throughout the story, Anne does not assume a very maternal position. She undoubtedly loves her son, but she treats him more as a companion than a son. She also says that she wishes he were grown up already, and I think that is because of how she already treats him like an adult at times. In fact, there are several instances where the boy seems to assume the role of parent more than Anne does. When she is in the bar, the boy returns several times to check that she is still there and she doesn't pay any attention to him. The boy is more protective of her than she seems to be of him.

Duras Day I

The dynamic between Anne and her son is odd because it seems to change drastically from the first chapter at the piano lesson to the second chapter at the bar.
During the piano lesson, the boy is treated more like an object that needs to be molded into the form his mother wants him to be. She wants him to learn piano because she thinks the music is beautiful, not because he enjoys it. And instead of defending him when the piano teacher is cruel to him, she agrees and says how difficult he is, when really he isn't being difficult so much as unresponsive. He doesn't throw fits or argue, he just refrains from giving the adults what they want, which is ultimately to treat him like something other than a child.
Later the next day at the bar, Anne suddenly seems like a loving, protective mother. She talks about how she always brings her son for a walk. However her real motivation for coming is her curiosity about the murder and she lets him wander away from her.
Her fascination with the murder is somewhat strange to me and it seems that there is something more to the story that we as readers don't know yet. When she is talking to the man it says that she "lies" about knowing about the murder. This may be a further attempt to conceal her curiosity which she may think is indecent, or there may be something more to it.