Literature Analysis #2

1.      Dreaming in Cuban, by Cristina Garcia is a story of a family and their migration from Cuba. It portrays the problems that the Pino family faces. Problems such as mental illness, death in the family, and loyalty to ones country. It also shows the obstacles that part of the family has to overcome in moving to America, and the obstacles that the rest of the family faces staying behind in Cuba.

This novel is divided into three books. Each book consists of several chapters of narration and one or more chapters of letters written by Celia, which is the mother. Each chapter is from a different point in each characters life. It helps show the progression of the character into the present. Celia Del Pino and Jorge Del Pino are the parents of Lourdes, Felicia and Javier who each have children of their own. Half of the story takes place in Cuba during the communist revolution, and the other half takes place in modern day America. A big mystery in the beginning of the novel is whether Jorge is dead or not, at the end of the story we find out he is.

2.      The theme of this novel is “Family Relationships.” The novel shows the way in which families can be twisted by physical separation, politics, and lack of communication, But regardless of what happens, a family is still a family.

3.      The novel’s tone is both solemn and blissful. The Pino family is going through a very difficult time trying to migrate to America and forgetting the past. Although they have many obstacles in their way, they are still a happy family because they manage to stay somewhat united after everything and continue to have high hopes for a better future.

·         “Celia grieves for her husband, not for his death, not yet, but for his mixed allegiances.”

·         “He will bring you and your father peace, a peace you never knew while he lived on this earth.”

·         “A sudden wave engulfs her, and for a moment Celia is tempted to relax and drop.”

4.      Cristina Garcia has a very unique way of writing. She was clever in the way she wrote her novel and grabbed her audiences’ attention and maintained it throughout the entire novel. Some of the most helpful literary elements and techniques used to express her tone and theme were: imagery, allusions, structure, diction, and symbolism. These five elements successfully tied her story and made it flow perfectly. Cristina was extremely descriptive throughout the entire novel and her diction was understandable for all ages.

·         "The sun yells at her through the paper window shades." - Imagery

·         ."Give the revolution a try, be a new socialist woman , a Fighter for Learning." –Allusions

·         Garcia’s structures her novel differently from most authors. She divided her it into three books. Each chapter is from a different person’s view point. Garcia also includes letters written by some of the characters. –Structure

·         “Her mother hurriedly wrapped gold-rimmed goblets with newspaper and packed them into a scuffed leather suitcase, all the while listening to the warnings on the radio.” –Diction

·         Symbolism is shown through the tree mentioned in the novel. It grows and forms new branches and after a while the leaves begin to fall off, but they never stop growing back, similar to a family. Families can go through many hardships and misfortunes, but they will always continue growing together as a family. -Symbolism