Did you know that food is connected to one’s knowledge? Indeed it is in certain cases, food can give you knowledge but, it can also take it away. I will explain this theory with the help of the Book of J, the Odyssey and, Like water for Chocolate .
In the Book of J by Harold Bloom we meet a man and a women who were soon called ‘’Adam and Hava.’’ They us an example of how food can give you knowledge. In the book, God creates two trees, the Tree of Life and the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil from which no women or men were consent to touch or eat. In the book we meet a wise man named Yahwen he once said to the world, ‘’from all the trees in the garden you are free to eat except the tree of good and evil.’’ Eve forgot and ignored these words and ate an apple from the tree of knowledge tempted by the serpent, now evil was allowed to enter the world. After taking a bit she gave Adam the same apple. If Adam and Eve would have never been tempted to touch the tree of knowledge they would’ve never recognize what was good and bad, and through their actions is that today we have learn to tell the difference between the two. Eating the apple gave them the knowledge to see things from another perspective they were able to gain the knowledge they didn’t have before .
In the ancient Greek epic poem “Odyssey,” we learn about the time when Odysseus and his men landed on the island of the lotus-eaters. Odysseus’s men were offer a sweet fruit called ‘’lotus flowers’’ "Whoever ate that sweet fruit lost the will to report back, preferring instead to stay there, munching Lotus, oblivious of home"(Homer 127). Eating the fruit caused them to sleep, stop thinking, and stop caring about ‘’home’’ in another words, it made them lose knowledge of what they already knew. This story like the previous one shows us a couple of men who instead of gaining knowledge like Adam and Hava, lost their knowledge by eating the lotus flowers.
In the story Like Water for Chocolate, we meet Tita who is one of the main possessive characters in the novel. As we read the story we come across the time when Tita couldn’t remember her ‘’life.’’ Feed up with the way Mama Elena treated her and her metal abuse ,She went on to live with a man named John. John at the time was her doctor,One day Chencha showed up at John house, chencha used to be a server in Mama Elenas house her and tita used to cook meals together when tita lived in the ranch.One day she went to visit tita and took her a ox-tail soup, Tita noticed a familiar smell from far away it smell like ox-tail soup ‘’ox-tail soup she couldn’t believe it.” (Esquirel 124) After tasting a spoonful of the soup Tita returned to her senses. She was able to gain her knowledge once again and everything went back to normal. This example takes us to the time when Tita’s mom Elena got sick. Mama Elena was known for her bad temper so no one wanted to take care of her, after hearing the news tita knew she was the only person who can helped her mom she knew she was the youngest daughter the one who had to take care of mama elena till the day she died. She returned to the ranch and was in charge of making her mom’s meals and bathing her. One day she decide to make her an Ox-tail soup the same soup Chencha made he.Tita was attempting to revive Mama Elena’s knowledge due to her medications it was hard for her to stay on top of everything going on. Tita took Mama Elena the soup as soon as she walked away she heard‘’ Tita come here! I told you to take this away!’’(Esquirel 131) Mama Elena didn’t appreciate what Tita had done for her, her ego and attitude didn’t allow her to drink the soup. If Mama Elena would’ve drank some of the soup she would’ve recover some of her lost knowledge the same way tita did when she had the soup but instead she refuse and not only did she not recover a couple of months after she died.
Another great example can be found in Like Water for Chocolate. Here we meet Esperanza who happens to be Rosaura daughter, Tita’s niece. After Rosaura passed away, Tita had to take care of Esperanza. She always took good care of her since Rosaura was sick for couple of month after giving birth to Esperanza. As time went by we met Esperanza’s daughter who followed her mom’s foot steps, the same steps her mom pursue from Tita. ’’Perhaps I am as sensitive to onions as Tita, my great-aunt , who will go on living as long as there is someone who works her recipes’’(Esquirel 246). What tita thought Esperanza will now be thought to Esperanza’s daughter and the food knowledge of the family will be pass on to many generations.
Therefore, food and knowledge go hand in hand. In the case of “The book of J” men and women were able to obtain knowledge through a fruit. In “The Odyssey”, eating the fruit caused them to lose knowledge and in the case of “Like Water for Chocolate” we learn about the time when knowledge was obtain but also when it was taken away. All different stories with the same analogies.
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