On the other hand, Santiago and Ofelia do not want to automate the factory because the machines would displace workers. Consequently, Nilo was forced to perpetuate the lie and could not play outdoors with his friends as he had previously. If one may read the story of her hair as one reads a face or a book, then Juan Julian believes that Conchita's hair should be placed inside a book instead of beneath a tree. Powell's is an independent bookstore based in Portland, Oregon. ", Unable to tolerate her parents' bickering anymore, Marela leaves. 101-23, or pp. In 2000, Cruz was appointed playwright-in-residence at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey, while receiving a similar appointment at the New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, which commissioned and produced Anna in the Tropics in 2002. Early in the play, after Ofelia and Conchita have provided Juan Julian with the backgrounds of some of the workers whom he has met, they explain Cheché's opposition to having a lector at the factory, saying that this opposition stems in part from Cheché being from the North and having lived outside their culture. Spanish and Italian were the two languages most often spoken in the factory. Because it was a lector who cuckolded him (one, moreover, from Cuba), Cheché distrusts anyone arriving at the factory to fulfill that role, even if that someone should happen to be a professional like Juan Julian. ", In this comical scene at the family house, Ofelia and Santiago, who are not on speaking terms, conduct a conversation by using their daughter Marela as an intermediary. Irma S. Rombauer, The Joy of Cooking (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1941), 271. Visit our sister site Bibliography.com for additional articles on how to cite your sources correctly. Cruz, Nilo, Anna in the Tropics, Theatre Communications Group, 2003. Often he would have to sit down and collect himself after reading a profoundly moving passage. "Only a fool can fail to understand the importance of having a lector read to us while we work," she says. For years the habano has been considered the epitome of what a good cigar should be. Richly illustrated with photographs, many taken within cigar factories, this book describes in detail the processes of tobacco cultivation, curing, and, finally, the rolling of the cigar by hand. Santiago and Ofelia preside over the new cigar brand's inauguration as workers dressed in their finest clothes arrive at the factory. Conchita dismisses Cheché's cynical view as yet another one of his idiosyncrasies, for she says that "Cheché has a knack for turning the smallest incident into a loud and tragic event." The lector responds quickly to the insult—one made against him and the gods—by making an act of supplication. Marela is Ofelia and Santiago's youngest daughter. He asks his brother to fetch him a calendar, for Santiago must now calculate a schedule of payments for a loan that he needs to launch this new line of cigars. For her, literature offers a way of learning about the world. Plot Summary As the ship pulls into port, Marela confesses that she has followed the palm reader's advice and put the lector's name in a glass of water filled with brown sugar and cinnamon so that he would accept their offer of employment. Conchita agrees, asking him why he chose to read Tolstoy. The Hill We Climb, her debut poetry collection (currently #1 bestseller in Books on Amazon US) and is scheduled to be released on September 21 (currently only in 80-page hardcover for $19.99). ... Anna Karenina, Around the World in 80 Days, ... 55 of Dr. … The lector falls to the floor as the shocked workers look to see where the shots came from. Cheché, seeking fulfillment of his sexual desire, takes Marela by force, a violent act that foreshadows his eventual murder of the lector. In an unintentional play on words, Santiago says it is because Americans "are not socialists when they drink." Ofelia has someone fetch Santiago, with the hope that he will be able to put the matter to rest. The irony of the situation—one whose comic effect is not lost upon Cruz as a dramatist—is that, without Marela's presence, the couple would be at a complete stalemate. Juan Julian and Marela flirt and philosophize with each other as they discuss the many types of light that exist in the world. The women then discuss dreams In an exchange in which both characters use strong metaphorical language to describe the other's condition, Juan Julian notes a sadness in Conchita's eyes after they make love; he recommends that she listen to a canary sing for five minutes a day to ease her sorrow. Drama for Students. When her father announces the production of a new cigar inspired by the pages of Anna Karenina, Marela models for the label that bears the Russian heroine's name. Meanwhile, Conchita and Juan Julian make love on one of the factory tables. However, the boy was too embarrassed to dig a hole in the park where everyone could see, so Conchita took her braid back from him, dug a hole to shame him, and buried the braid herself. Cruz earned a master of fine arts degree from Brown University in 1994. Describe the role ritual plays in the daily life of the cigar factory workers. She relates the story of Rosario and how her lover died as a result of her casting a spell on him. He is in love with Kitty. The first and most provocative example exists in the relationship between Cheché, his wife Mildred, and the previous lector, a triangle that is broken when Mildred and the lector run off together. When two or more consecutive notes come from the exact same page number in the same source, a full bibliography is used, and it is the first note citing that particular source, refer to the following example: This means that both notes refer to page 471 of Leo Tolstoy’s book Anna Karenina. Sontag, Susan, Preface, in Plays: Mud, The Danube, The Conduct of Life, Sarita, by Maria Irene Fornes, PAJ Publications, 1986. Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina (New York: New American Library, 1961), 471. He is trying to collect on the debt owed to him by his brother. Cheché, noticing that Marela seems to have been daydreaming more than ever lately, comments on the quality of her work. Othello (1604) has often bee…, EDWARD ALBEE 1975 Ofelia says that he's being silly, but Santiago insists that this is what he must do to restore his self-respect. John Steinbeck, East of Eden (New York: Penguin Classics, 2016), 49. Santiago agrees, saying, "To the factory I need to go back.". A "southern belle from Atlanta," Mildred is Cheché's wife who ran away with the cigar factory's previous lector. 20, September 2003. Despite having taken a lover, Conchita still loves her husband. Barnes, Clive, "Tropics Smokin'," in New York Post, November 17, 2003. Palomo tells Cheché, another man whose wife has had an affair, that he can't stop thinking about Conchita and her lover. The following ibid. Palomo is about to take inventory, but Conchita says that she must first clean up the mess from the party before she can help him. Santiago does not understand Cheché's habit of crossing out days on the calendar before they have expired. Palomo, a cigar roller, is Conchita's husband. TOM STOPPARD 1993 The community grew in size until, by 1890, it had reached a population of 5,500 and was incorporated into the municipality of Tampa as Ybor City. Seeking an outlet for her disappointment, she once again launches an attack against him for being unable to appreciate the finer points of literature. These personal motivations take yet another dramatic turn when Palomo, wanting to seize control of his wife's affair, suggests that Conchita tell her lover "to make love like a knife" because, he says, "everything has to be killed." Cheché makes some insinuating comments about how the women have fallen under the spell of yet another love story, saying that "For some reason I never hear the story the same way that you do"; but they refuse to let him spoil the enchantment and enthusiasm they feel now that a professional lector is in their midst. 416 quotes have been tagged as english: Jeffrey Eugenides: ‘Emotions, in my experience, aren't covered by single words. ", Pascual Torino wears a handkerchief around his neck as he wraps cigars at the factory. Ybor began developing a small community around the factory "with the hope of providing a good living and working environment so that cigar workers would have fewer grievances against owners." Teodoro, an eighty-year-old man who died three months ago, should have, in Marela's opinion, given up his job years ago because his heart "couldn't take the love stories." "If you're looking for a job, we're not hiring …," says Cheché. He enjoys hearing Juan Julian read, paying rapt attention to the tale of Anna's illicit affair, yet he sides with Cheché when a vote is taken to determine whether the lector should stay. He is a native of Spain, which once colonized and governed Cuba. Because Ofelia once had the opportunity to model for a cigar label but had to settle for a marmalade label instead to avoid causing a scandal for her mother, Ofelia consents to Marela posing for the new Anna Karenina label. If she cannot find a canary, then he suggests that she listen to him sing while he's in the shower. Exploring the agricultural and industrial development of the tobacco industry from its beginnings in the nineteenth century to the advent of the Castro regime, Stubbs' book offers insights into why so many Cubans sought a more prosperous life in Tampa's cigar factories. As a lector, Juan Julian sees himself as a descendent of the cacique, a Taino Indian chief, who translated the "sacred words of the deities." He awkwardly tries to woo Marela, though his efforts often end in a leer. Juan Julian joins the discussion, citing the tradition of having a lector as going back to an ancient Taino custom, for the Taino Indians believed that tobacco leaves "whisper the language of the sky." All Rights Reserved. Santiago declares that Juan Julian shall stay. Like a good storyteller, especially one who wishes to keep his job, Juan Julian ends the story shortly thereafter to heighten the element of suspense. Conchita then warns her sister against casting spells. Cruz, however, modifies Tolstoy's classic love triangle by adding an element of sexual ambiguity that creates a psychological frisson between husband and wife. Cheché finally relents, but when neither one of them can find a piece of paper upon which Santiago may write a promissory note, Santiago carves the amount he owes on the bottom of Cheché's shoe with a knife, signing his name with an S below the sum. Cookie Salazar is the friend who lends Marela a fur coat which she wears in imitation of Anna Karenina. His sexual orientation remains ambiguous, yet he seems possessive of Conchita whenever they are among other workers, especially Juan Julian. Ibid. He has forgotten that he is carrying the book in his hand and does not hand it over until she promises not to read ahead. Marela is nervous with anticipation at the lector's arrival, a nervousness that grows with each passing minute. Juan Julian continues making his overture, saying that he would find "an old, wise banyan tree" and bury Conchita's hair by the tree's roots, but she says that she will cut her hair short like the film star Clara Bow, thus ending the ritual. Palomo then asks Conchita to show him how the lector made love to her, and she responds by saying, "You would have to do as actors do"; that is to say, he would have to surrender. Cheché adds insult to injury by saying that he can see no reason why someone would want to contribute part of his or her wages to someone who reads romantic novels. Juan Julian's readings permit Marela and Conchita greater freedom of imagination with which to lead their lives and fulfill their dreams, and Ofelia, among others, feels a strong connection to the past as she moves forward into the future. taking shortcuts, and he shows Marela some of the faulty cigars she has wrapped. For Further Reading…, Arcadia The couple shares a toast with Juan Julian, and then the three of them exit. ." brother, for God's sake!" Palomo wants to know more about his wife's sex life, and she complies by providing him with salacious details that he seems to enjoy vicariously. Rosario remains alive in body but not in spirit. The playwright, using the relationship of Anna Karenina, her husband, and Vronsky as a model for developing character relationships within Anna in the Tropics, presents his characters in triangular relationships to one another so as to better underscore the shifts in power and control that exist between them. One of the most popular child actors in film history, Child superstar Freddie Bartholomew was born Frederick Cecil Bartholomew in Harlesden, London, the son of Lilian May (Clarke) and Cecil Llewellyn … Conchita adds, "Stories should be finished or they suffer the same fate as those who die before their time. Juan Julian announces that Anna Karenina (pronounced Ah-nah Kar-eh-neen-ah with a Cuban accent) will be his first selection. Clive Barnes, writing for the New York Post, questions whether Anna in the Tropics should have won the Pulitzer Prize, observing that "[t]here have been worse winners—and better ones." "That's all for today from Anna Karenina," he says, greeted by the sound of applause. Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, 110-112. "You look beautiful," he tells her just before Juan Julian joins them. https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/anna-tropics, "Anna in the Tropics Marela is so entranced by the story of Anna Karenina and her lover Vronsky that When Ofelia asks about the workers that machines have displaced, Cheché points out that machines need workers to operate them; therefore, very few jobs are lost. He then announces that the factory will begin producing a new brand of cigar and that Marela will pose as Anna Karenina for the cigar's label. Because so many ships from Europe and South America stop in Cuba, Conchita expects the lector to bring new books with him. She closes the book before he grabs her by the arm. . "Yes," replies Conchita. Marela, full of joy, confesses that she does not want the night to end. Mamet, who has won numerous prestig…, factory •beery, bleary, cheery, dearie, dreary, Dun Laoghaire, eerie, eyrie (US aerie), Kashmiri, leery, peri, praemunire, query, smeary, teary, theo…, Herzog As the lector reads to the workers, Cheché enters without a sound, his head "heavy with dark thoughts." Ofelia, who has had much to drink, then tells a story of how when she was seventeen she was forced to model for a guava marmalade label rather than offend her mother by posing for a cigar label and causing a scandal. Though the language Cruz uses in Anna in the Tropics is more like common speech compared to that of his other works, it is nevertheless charged with poetry that creates what Randy Gener calls "a living image of the exile's experience." Copyright © 2020 LoveToKnow. One of Conchita's complaints about Palomo is that she cannot conduct a "civilized conversation" with him because he is unable to comprehend the lessons that may be learned from great works of literature. It differs from the first example in that it only includes the last name of the author since the author’s full name would have been provided in the earlier note. Manola takes such delight in hearing romantic tales that sometimes she becomes "a sea of tears" when listening to them. In all of the above examples, the place of publication, publishing company, and year of publication are not listed in the note because they will be found in the bibliography. Carmela is the palm reader who tells Marela that Juan Julian, a professional lector from Cuba, will come to their factory to read for them if she sweetens his name with sugar water. Upon learning that he had won the award, Cruz had this to say (quoted in an article in the New Theatre): "By honoring my play Anna in the Tropics, the first Latino play to earn the Pulitzer Prize in Drama, the Pulitzer Prize Board is not only embracing my work as an artist, but is actually acknowledging and securing a place for Latino plays in the North American theater." Their banter is interrupted when they hear the sound of Cheché arguing. Irma S. Rombauer, The Joy of Cooking (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1941), 25. In Ghost Fragment: Rasputin 6, there is a quote from Anna Karenina, written by Leo Tolstoy. Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, 54. Ibid. "I don't like men," Palomo answers as the sound of a gunshot and laughter reverberate. Later, Cheché, unaware of the growing capacity for violence within himself, complains once more about the need for a lector at the factory, saying rather matter-of-factly that hiring Juan Julian will create "another tragic love story." The role of an intermediary appears in key scenes throughout the play, and it fulfills the purpose of facilitating communication between men Given the set of numbers [7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42], find a subset of these numbers that sums to 100. In the opening act, when Ofelia and her daughters stand at the docks waiting for the lector to arrive, Marela informs her mother that she has written the lector's name on a piece of paper and placed it in a glass of sugar water to increase the chances that he will accept Ofelia's offer of employment. Cheché argues that having a lector at the factory will create "another tragic love story." The rhythms of speech remain strong from beginning to end as Cruz occasionally presents his characters' beliefs and interior states of mind through vivid metaphorical passages, such as the one in which Marela describes her dream of snow or when Marela and Juan Julian, rising above the insult, smiles and makes a gesture of supplication to the gods before taking a puff. Marela enters dressed in a long black gown like the one Anna wears on the night of the ball, and everyone comments on how beautiful Marela looks. He explains that he discovered books one summer while he and his family were forced to remain inside their house in order to maintain the appearance that they had gone away on a trip. The lector, as a descendent of the cacique, or chief Indian of the Tainos, performs a similar intermediary function when he reads aloud to the workers, for, explains Juan Julian, the cacique would "translate the sacred words of the deities." My father does me the honor of burying it." Rather than spend money on machinery, they decide to produce a new line of cigars, which they intend to advertise widely. Tears falling from her eyes, Marela insists that this would not be a wrong thing for her to do. That's when, says Juan Julian, "I became a listener and I learned to appreciate stories and the sound of words.". I learn things from all of them." Even though the note refers to more than one page, ibid. As Ofelia says, "Only a fool can fail to understand the importance of having a lector read to us while we work," for the workers are educated as a result. In the original storyline of Destiny, Rasputin was the focus of the game's plot, as he was kidnapped by the Hive and taken to the Dreadnaught. THEMES When Palomo asks the lector which character in the novel he identifies with most, Juan Julian replies, "I like them all. Therefore, he demands that Cheché return the machinery he wants to introduce. Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, 110-112.