Food, Sex, Love in Like Water for Chocolate Essay

Have you ever experienced that euphoric sensation after eating an absolutely delicious food? You are not alone. Many have experienced this feeling and refer to it as a â€Å"foodgasm†. These types of connections between food and sex have long been established, but from where do they come? Do we make these connections through our cultural experiences or are they biologically programmed within us? In Like Water for Chocolate, the author, Laura Esquivel, portrays sex and food as being connected in a cultural sense. The basis for this conclusion rests largely in her use of tradition and her depiction of a Latino family strongly based in their culture. This cultural foundation, paired with the interactions between characters, food, and sex, gives the reader plenty of evidence to support this perspective. Esquivel uses the preparation, eating, and serving of food as a connection to love and sex, and as humans we have learned, through culture, to make this connection. Structured in twelve chapters, each representing a month of the year, Esquivel has created an entrancing love story that is sprinkled with culinary enchantments around every corner. Each chapter is prefaced with a recipe that is relevant to the progression of the novel, not to mention the many cooking tid-bits thrown in throughout each chapter. The preparation of food is clearly very important to the culture being represented. Tita, the main character and protagonist, was born in the kitchen and possesses all the superior traits of a culinary expert. She is also blessed (or cursed) with the ability to inject her emotions in to the food she cooks, in turn, infecting all those who consume the food with that emotion. In one section of the novel, Tita makes Quail, in Rose Petal Sauce, to express her passion for her sister, Rasaura’s, husband, Pedro, who she is deeply in love with. With that meal it seemed they had discovered a new system of communication, in which Tita was the transmitter, Pedro the receiver†¦ Pedro didn’t offer any resistance. He let Tita penetrate to the farthest corners of his being, and all the while they couldn’t take their eyes off each other. (Esquivel 52) It is customary, in many cultures, for a woman to prepare a meal for her significant other in order to show how much she cares for him. The fact that Tita has taken the time to cook such a complex and beautiful dish, to translate her love to Pedro, shows how much impact this cultural custom has on her. Through this particular interaction, Esquivel has displayed the influence that culture has over the preparation of food and it’s relation to love. The expectation for a woman to acquire the ability to prepare food for her significant other brings me to another question: Does a woman’s capacity for cooking significantly affect a man’s attraction to her? Esquivel brings this question to the forefront of the reader’s mind when she offers this comparison between Rasaura and Tita’s cooking. The rice was obviously scorched, the meat dried out, the dessert burnt. But no one at the table dared display the tiniest hint of displeasure, not after Mama Elena had pointedly remarked: ‘As the first meal that Rosaura has cooked it isn’t bad. Don’t you agree, Pedro? ’ Making a real effort not to insult his wife, Pedro replied: ‘No, for her first time it’s not too bad. ’ (50-51) She goes on to show Pedro’s reaction to Tita’s cooking saying, â€Å"It wasn’t enough he’d made his wife jealous earlier, for when Pedro tasted his first mouthful, he couldn’t help closing his eyes in voluptuous delight and exclaiming: ‘It is a dish for the gods! ’†(51). This comparison allows us to reasonably assume that Tita’s aptitude for culinary artistry did contribute to the growth of Pedro’s love. So, how might this reaction be culturally habituated? In almost all cultures, men are expected to provide and women are expected to cook. Even if a man is not consciously aware, they subconsciously factor this in to their choosing of a mate. It is culturally conditioned for a man to prioritize supporting his family over many other things. If a woman does not possess the ability to cook then a man may assume that she will not be able to support or provide for their family. This, of course, is not a strict rule of thought but, from my experience, it can be applied to many cases. Through comparison, Esquivel gives the reader evidence that Pedro loves Tita partially for her ability in the kitchen, and with prior knowledge we, as the reader, can attribute this connection to his cultural influences. We’ve determined that falling in love can be related to a woman’s ability to make food, but what about the relationship between food and making love? Earlier I made a reference to the word â€Å"foodgasm†, this portion of a quote, which I previously used, provides a great example of what a foodgasm might look like. â€Å"†¦ for when Pedro tasted his first mouthful, he couldn’t help closing his eyes in voluptuous delight and exclaiming: ‘It is a dish for the gods! ’†(Esquivel 51) It is instances like this one that finds Esquivel nudging the reader to make a connection between food and sex. Esquivel’s use of diction such as ‘voluptuous’ makes it practically impossible not to connect this experience to the effects of an orgasm. Thinking further on this connection, I think that giving food is a form of showing love just as making love is. As raunchy as it may seem, Pedro is receiving Tita through food. It is their unique form of making love. Esquivel makes another food/love connection on page 67 when she says, â€Å"Tita knew through her own flesh how fire transforms a tortilla, how a soul that hasn’t been warmed by the fire of love is lifeless, like a useless ball of corn flour. (67) It’s almost as if Esquivel allows characters, in this case Tita, to take on the form of food. With this being said, receiving food is like receiving the person who made it. In Tita and Pedro’s case, it was their way of making love before they could actually perform the act. I think that the importance of food to their relationship can be contributed to their culture’s emphasis on food. If food were not so important to their culture it would not be the medium for such an important interaction. In order to make and express love in Like Water for Chocolate, Tita makes food for Pedro further emphasizing the cultural connection between food and love. Some may argue that this relationship between food and sex is purely natural and scientific. In some sense this is true. Sex and Food are both biologically programmed drives that all humans possess. We have a strong need to procreate in order to further our species as well as a great need to eat in order to survive. These are facts of nature, but you can’t ignore the emotional connection that we have to food and sex. Tita and Pedro do not have these reactions to food in relation to sex simply because they need to eat or they have a great need to reproduce. Culture conditions us to eat because we love food not to simply eat to live. The same goes for sex. We are taught that in order to have sex one must have a connection to their partner; it is â€Å"morally sound† to think this way. This is especially true for the culture being represented in Like Water for Chocolate. Just in the way that Esquivel structures the novel you can get a sense of the importance food. The food must be treated with respect and love just as a person should be. Esquivel shows the significance of treating food well here: Something strange was going on. Tita remembered that Nacha had always said that when people argue while preparing tamales, the tamales won’t get cooked. They can be heated day after day and still stay raw, because the tamales are angry. In a case like that, you have to sing to them, which makes them happy; then they’ll cook. ‘(218-219) Esquivel’s personification of food demonstrates the meaning that food holds in this culture. It has feelings and you have to love it and nurture it. You don’t just eat food to eat it; you eat food because food is a beautiful part of life that you respect. In this way, Esquivel creates a strong connection between food and love through the cultural importance that the novel puts on the meaning of food rather than the natural tendency of humans to make this connection. After analyzing Esquivel’s novel, Like Water for Chocolate, I can say that the connection between food, sex, and love, in this context, is predominately based on cultural influences rather than natural ones. In making food, one is showing how much they care, just as Tita did for Pedro with her Quale in Rose pedal sauce dish. The ability to create such meals, in a man’s mind, is a reflection on a woman’s ability to provide for their family. By personifying food, Esquivel allows this process of cooking food and giving food to become much deeper than the simple act itself. The act of giving food then takes the form of giving ones self to the individual receiving the food. Whether it is between food and love, cooking and falling in love, or eating food and making love, culture is the force that defines these connections.

Play and sportsmanship Essay

In my opinion a sport in which levels of fair play and sportsmanship have totally been abandoned is American Football. With the amount of spectators the game gets, the coaches and chairpersons of the clubs like to put out their best players every game. Regardless of their physical health. There are countless times that players have been seen to go off with horrific groin strains and shoulder injuries, but the medical staff and coaches put them right back onto the pitch doped up with huge amounts of pain killers and drugs that will affect their performance. If a player of a sport that has the nature of American football, (being very physical and tough) goes on the pitch to play hyped up on pain killers then are clearly going to perform differently to that of a player who plays with spirit and strength. The other thing about this sport is the way in which each team is always reading the lips of the other teams coach to see what their next move is about to be. Surely if the oppositions know each others moves all the time then the fairness of the sport is lost. Today’s top athletes all use dietitions, health advisors and personal trainers to become the best at their particular sport. They all use performance enhancing techniques to improve their sporting ability and performance in competition. But is this against the Sportsmanship/Gamesmanship theory? With the production of illegal performance enhancing dugs being more and more common in the sporting environment of today , the governing bodies for the particular sports are having more and more trouble detecting whether athletes have used illegal stimulants to help them to train. To conclude. In today’s sporting world. Nations will use sport as a platform for political power. This can sometimes lead to sportsmanship being thrown aside and made way for other styles of gaming like gamesmanship. In my own opinion sportsmanship is still strong in many of today’s sports and athlete’s, but if the values of sportsmanship are not upheld, by the governing bodies of the sport, such as the FA then the sport is likely to become worse to be a spectator of and less fair to play in. If the bodies who govern the game do not maintain strong levels of justice and fair play within their own rulings then players will become less sportsmanship and the levels of the sports fair play will drop.

Social Entrepreneurism Module WA1 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Entrepreneurism Module WA1 - Coursework Example Model 2 enterprises- These are nonprofitorganizations that realize their funding from the surrounding environment and the business community. They operate to ensure a sustainable social value at the same time minimizing costs. Model 3 enterprises- these are social organizations that depend entirely on private business funds. They operate as a business with their returns going to the investors (Dees, Emerson & Economy, 2002). Value evaluation – these are the assessment activities carried out the business enterprises to come up with facts that help in decision making in the organization or assist the evaluators in generating periodic reports. Value evaluation involves assessment of issues such as the number of clients served over a certain period, the impact of the organization to the society and the environment and the level of customer satisfaction. Strategic service vision- These are the goals and targets set by the organization’s management to be achieved after a set duration of time e.g. by the end of the financial period. Strategic service vision helps the management come up with the organizations objectives, missions and vision Operating services strategy- these are the strategic plans and procedures laid by an organization on their daily operations. Different organizations have different service strategies depending on the products or services they provide. Operating service strategies are important in helping the organization realize its goals, missions and objectives. Examples of operating service strategies may include maintaining their customers by getting their contacts and following up on their progress or ensuring a clean, tidy environment and maintaining proper hygienic standards to portray a good image of the organization. The activities of value evaluation provide the facts and information required in decision making by the management.

Derivatives and Alternatives Investment Written Assignment Coursework

Derivatives and Alternatives Investment Written Coursework - Assignment Example The mechanism of interest rate swap is explained below with the help of a small example. Let consider to party A & be involved in the interest swap for a period of 5 years. The payment made by A will be calculated at 6% fixed interest rate where as for B the rate is calculated at 6 months floating. The principal let us consider as $10 million. Cash flows for the above case are described in the diagram below: Payment at the end of half year Period Fixed Rate Payments Floating rate Payment 8 months Libor Net cash from A to B 1 300000 337500 -37500 2 300000 337500 -37500 3 300000 337500 -37500 4 300000 325000 -25000 5 300000 325000 -25000 6 300000 325000 -25000 7 300000 312500 -12500 8 300000 312500 -12500 9 300000 312500 -12500 10 300000 325000 -25000 -2500000 b. Is hedging this portfolio necessary?   Hedging can be defined as a process which control or reduce the risk associated with any kind of trade. Hedging can be done taking into consideration of the market potion which may arri ve in the future, which is exactly opposite to that of the present physical market condition in terms of price. Hedging the portfolio is a better option for the asset manager in view of long run profit making. At present there are a fixed rate SWAP in case of EURO market, and floating interest rate with bank of Ericaca for tenure of 1 year. However, If the central bank withdraws the support behind the asset price then there will be a chance of a decrease in the asset price. So to hedge to invest for a 1 year term will help the investor to get the profit. We can consider two different scenarios: if the asset price goes down in next one year or if the asset price goes up in next one year. In the first instance, if the asset price goes down the value of the contract will decrease, so the asset management company will incur loss in future transaction, but the purchase that he has to make will gain profit for him. On the other hand if the value of the asset increases over the year then a t the end of the term, the asset manager will gain profit for his future transaction, but on the other hand to purchase the new asset he has to pay more hence there is a possibility of loss. So in both the cases there is a chance of loss which can be overruled by the profit of long term contract or hedge that the asset management company have take as a precaution. c. Is hedging this portfolio necessary without IRS? The portfolio would require hedging even without the IRS because of the German equities which belongs to the Euro region and needs hedging. The USD LIBOR lending is hedgined by the futures contract but the equities require further hedging with the help of long term futures. Reference Corb, H. (2013), Interest rates Swaps and other Derivatives, Columbia University Press. a) Credit default Swap or CDS can be defined as an agreement between seller and the buyer, in case of loan default. It is a financial swap agreement, where the buyer makes a series of payment to the seller and gets the payoff if the loan gets default. The concept was first invented by Blythe Masters of JP Morgan in the year 1994. According to Schutz (2012), it is an essential insurance contract to hedge the credit risk associated with any kind of loans. It is a kind of derivatives, the value of which depends on the possibility of a company defaulting. Schutz in his writing mentioned about the existence of two different kinds of

Discuss the balance between ludological (gameplay) elements and Essay

Discuss the balance between ludological (gameplay) elements and narratological (story) elements in games. Is one more important - Essay Example The ultimate goal of such analysis is to move from a taxonomy of elements to an understanding of how these elements are arranged in actual narratives, fictional and nonfictional.† [Pradl 1984] A typical application of narratological methodologies would include sociolinguistic studies of storytelling and in conversation analysis or discourse analysis that deal with narratives arising in the course of spontaneous verbal interaction. The study of narrative is particularly important since our ordering of time and space in narrative forms constitutes one of the primary ways we construct meaning in general. The narratological approach is characterised by its overriding concern with narrative structure, and the close attention it pays to the effects that this structure has on the shaping and unfolding of narratives. Literary theory and narratology have also been very helpful to understand cybertexts and videogames. Narratology theories are used to bring the aspect of storytelling, a s cenario, a scene, characters and a plot of which the user plays through and experiences and takes part in the story that unfolds. Rhetorically Narratological elements in games, especially in videogames, are somewhat makes them more stunning to public and to players. They somewhat brings the beauty inside the game. The players, sometimes, tend to spend more attention to the story of the game than to the gameplay or the environment of the game. Take along this RPG’s (role-playing games) for example, Star Wars the game, players tend to stay focused and tuned-in on the story than being focused on the interactivity of the game. In other words, they are having the willingness to complete the game mainly because they want to know what happens next in the story. They become eager to advance the game from one level to another for the next plot. Apparently, game designers tend to have their work based on books, epics, legends, myths, heroes, or even on films. By this, they attract play ers more. As far as Narratology is concerned and used in videogames and in cybertexts, here comes ludology - â€Å"the academic study of videogames† [Keats 2006]. Using narratological elements as framework in designing a game is indeed very useful, yet it cannot be the only framework to be applied. Ludology from the words ludus means game and logus study. It speaks of the gameplay of a game. It scrutinizes the interactivity of the game. The acts you will make in order to move inside the game, the graphics, the setting, colours, sizes and shapes, etc. It talks about how the game will appear on screen. Ludology is obviously widely used in games. It is where critiques site their comment. They would not say â€Å"This game sucks. It has a vague story.† The ludology perspective is useful and can stand alone than narratology is. It directly applies to some games. For example players do not play tetris for a story. They would not bother asking â€Å"Where is entertainment he re? Where is the story?† Also in popular games like Mario by Nintendo are better suited as a game and criticised on its gameplay and graphics rather than on the story. Most players tend to play a Mario game not to see if Mario meets Princess Peach but for each level’s design and other gameplay elements that make the game more exciting. Narratology and ludology are being opposed by most. However, these two adjacent and independent perspectives must be clearly understood to arrive on to a bigger

Spain Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Spain - Research Paper Example Spain is re-known as the land of flamenco and bullfights, blazing heat and dusty landscape churches and castles. Moreover, it is also home to a rich cultural heritage which has been influenced by many people who have conquered Spain over thousands of years ((Lior, and Tara 4) (Faiella 7). The evidence of Spanish culture is visible everywhere, in the ancient ruins and castles that dot the landscape; in the art, music and folk dances enjoyed in different regions; in the festivals, called fiestas celebrated throughout the year and in the languages spoken around the country (Lior, and Tara 4). Undoubtedly, Spain belongs to a select group of developed western democracies- nevertheless, little over three decades ago- Spain was a comparatively shy nation mostly isolated from its European neighbors and ruled by dictatorship- even more than other countries cannot be appreciated without some understanding of its history (Christopher, Bill, and Begona 1). One explanation for the prevalent interest in Spain’s political culture is the remarkably peaceful as well as successful political transition since 1975. From a dictatorial political structure to a contemporary liberal democratic system, a succession of deep changes which have far reaching cultural consequences. Up to 1975, Spain was an abnormality in Europe, the longest as well as last surviving remnant of the military autocracies of the 1930’s. A bare seven years afterward, Spain not only held free elections, parliamentary government and a ratified democratic constitution, nevertheless had established a center left social democrat regime. Spain accomplished this by a blend of modernization as well adaptation of existing establishments as well as creative ideologies such as the substitution of unyielding unitary democratic structure of the Franco autocracy with a quasi-federal constitution producing a structure of autonomous communities which acknowledge the political , economic, as well as cultural diversity of

Applied decision methods Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Applied decision methods - Speech or Presentation Example t, I can use Linear Programming to come up with an optimal production programme to determine the production level of the processes so that the customers’ orders are met and the total production costs are minimal. TQM calls for continuous improvement of the quality of the products and services through proper feedbacks and research (Management Guide, 2013). Consequently, in my current job as customer service of YMCA, I will pay attention to customers’ (current and potential customers) feedback of any kind by listening to them, analyzing their response to the advertisements, checking their comments on social media and directly interacting with them to get what they have to say about our products and services. Then I will do research on how realistic the feedback is before recommending appropriate changes to my colleagues. This will enable us to meet customers’ needs thus meeting their expectation as we expand the YMCA’s portfolio. Besides, TQM admonishes for planning and checking on the proceedings of a strategy (Management Guide, 2013). Thus I will plan how to achieve customers’ satisfaction of a certain level, collect relevant data on how to achieve the goal and th en strategize. Thereafter, I will keep on checking on the suitability of our methods. From the QM, the optimal solution is to ship 800 units from Houston to Dallas, 600 Units from Phoenix to Atlanta and 200 Units from Memphis to Denver. The total cost involved using the above combination is 13000