46 pages • 1 hour read
Nilo CruzAnna In The Tropics
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 2003A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Symbols & Motifs
The Lector
The lector symbolizes the beauty of the old traditions and the past. Juan Julian is handsome and well-dressed, a suitable embodiment of the old-world idealism that gives Ofelia and Santiago the optimism and courage to carry on with their Cuban methods of pursuing the American dream. The lector also brings a tradition of education with him, as the lector was also valued as an informal teacher, reading out loud passages from literature that workers can carry with them in their memories. Thanks to the lector, workers don’t have to be literate to feel educated and to learn about life and love from the greatest writers, and this tradition is one that Ofelia in particular values, which is why she paid Juan Julian’s way to Florida herself.
Cockfighting
Cockfighting is a symbol of competitive masculinity, the kind that damages relationships, much like the cocks damage each other. At the start of the play, Santiago and Cheché drink and gamble illegally, and their dynamic is not exactly a friendly and generous one; Cheché is reluctant to loan Santiago money, though they are half-brothers who work together at the same family business. At the cockfight, Cheché is in control and in the advantageous position, not through hard work and ambition, but by dumb luck, which is actually very compromising. Cheché’s power as a man is not real, and his weakness leads to destruction. Santiago, Juan Julian, and Palomo all exhibit qualities of masculinity that actually support healthy relationships, so it makes sense that only Cheché seems to enjoy any success at all at the cockfight.
Marela’s Coat
The costumes are described by the playwright in very simple terms: “[t]hese workers are always well dressed. They use a lot of white and beige linen and their clothes are always well pressed and starched.” The lightness of the linen fabric reflects the warmth and humidity of the Florida climate, which is why Marela’s choice to wear her coat to work in Scene 5 of Act 2 is so startling to her family. A coat is a cold-weather necessity, one that makes sense in the context of Marela’s costume as Anna Karenina dressed to withstand the Russian winter; however, a coat is excessive in Florida. Marela’s coat symbolizes her loss of innocence after Cheché’s attack at the end of Act 2, Scene 3. His sexual assault robs her body of her natural and vital warmth, leaving her cold and exposed. Marela’s need to wear a coat to feel safe and protected is exacerbated by Cheché’s murder of Juan Julian, another violation that disturbs Marela’s world view.
Hair
Hair is a symbol of feminine sexuality and identity. Conchita talks of cutting her hair off “like Clara Bow” (44) when she is feeling disappointed and disillusioned with her marriage. As well, she tells Juan Julian about the Cuban tradition of burying hair in honor of Saint Candelaria, as a way to invite him to appreciate her as a woman. Conchita explains in great detail the shame of the boy who balked at the thought of burying her braid, a very unmanly refusal. Juan Julian, however, responds to her invitation positively, listening carefully to her story, and offering to bury her hair himself, “inside a manuscript” (45), preserving it in literature where it will be appreciated and valued. They begin their affair when Conchita hands him a pair of scissors and directs him: “[t]hen here, cut my hair” (45) and “he combs her hair with his fingers” (45).
