Quiz: Waiting for Snow in Havana

Quiz Waiting for Snow in Havana
1.) Carlos’s mixed feeling toward his father, he whom believes to be Louis XVI.
· Carlos in the beginning of the novel starts off by saying that his father is an amazing guy and gives us the impression that he wants to be just like him when he grows up as he tries to put on his trousers with his shoes already put on. Carlos never succeeded in doing this and this acts like a metaphor saying that Carlos will never be like his father. Towards the middle of the book, we continue seeing Carlos looking up to his father as they go together to buy firecrackers and all sorts of goodies Chinatown (in Cuba). Towards the end of the novel, however, we see that now, Carlos, reflecting back with a mature, grown up point of view, sees his father as a little bit of a traitor and cowards, for his fear of leaving Cuba and not staying with his children.
2.) Carlos starting a life in South Miami at such a young age with NOTHING.
· Carlos arrived to Miami when he was around not even a teenager year, still in his young lower-school days, and had a brutal awakening of the world around him. He was used to always being pampered and always having money to get everything he wanted, but when he arrived in Miami alone, he was forced to work, forced to conserve anything he had and this suffering is really what inspired Carlos to write this memoire.
3.) Conflict with Ernesto:
· Ernesto is Carlos’s adopted brother and he is not liked by his adopted parents or by anyone in the neighborhood. Well, I don’t mean that they hate him but they do not like his actions because he is a wreck. He is the one who always makes up the mischievous acts that Carlos and all his friends do. An example is when they all shot bb guns from the rooftops and Ernesto thought it would be funny and exciting to shoot with a rifle!


Motifs:
Lizards: The lizard is one of the biggest and most significant motifs in this novel. The lizard within itself is a reptile and a reptile is an animal that represents terror, and to a certain extent, dictatorship, for the alligators and crocodiles rule over the lakes and rivers and seas with no other competition. Carlos is petrified of lizard, and believes this tendency came from his grandmother. Cuba is shaped as a ‘caiman’ which is another reptile and they call Fidel ‘el caiman’ because of his dictatorship. This is a kind of metaphor showing the fear that Carlos has toward Fidel through lizards.
Jesus painting: This is a painting that “follows him” throughout his house and frightens him very much. Religion actually has a huge role in this book and in Carlo’s life beginning with the fact that most schools were Christian and he was raised in a very Christian very religious ambiance. The Jesus painting kind of has a little bit or irony because religion is supposed to rid you of fears and problems and this painting of Jesus just creates much more of that for Carlos. The most ironic part is that he ends up being a religious leader many years later!
Chi Chi’s lipstick: Chi Chi’s lipstick is something that Carlos hates the most. He hates within itself, but what makes him hate it even more is that his parents and Chi Chi’s parents always say that Chi Chi and Carlos will end up getting married. This lipstick represents Carlos’s fear of growing up and getting married and having to be independent, having to let go of the dependent life he was used to living. Unfortunately, he had to do so at a very young age in a very harsh way.
Major Theme: FREEDOM
This theme is very important throughout the book because his entire description of Havana and his childhood tickles for freedom. He wants freedom so badly because truly, he never had it. He always grew up with his parents on top of him and then when he came to Miami with Pedro Plan, he earned it but in a manner that one would not like to have earned something.
Minor Theme: STRENGTH OR WEAKNESS OF RELATIONSHIPS
Relationships are very important in this novel because they form the structure of the book. His relationship with his father’s is not that great because although his father wants to be very nice, and really tries like taking him to parks and blowing things up and going on the waves with cars, he doesn’t actually care about Carlos or any of his other children, which is demonstrated at the end of the book when his father stays in the revolutionary Cuba under Fidel, leaving his children alone in the US. His mother on the other hand, was a very sweet lady and had a wonderful relationship with her children. One example is when he had the birthday party: his father left him and his mother there and ran off “without looking back” as Carlos said. His relationship with his friends was all great and this helped him get through his childhood life without extreme boredom.
Scene with older point of view:
1.) Getting drunk in Chi Chi’s party.
2.) Getting bitten by the monkey (Blackieà El Negrito)
3.) When he and his friends try to make the firecracker explode and make the lizard reach space
Discuss the theme of humor (use examples):
Humor is a major theme in this book because although this is very serious, Carlos adds a touch of humor to entice the reader and leave them wanting more of his writing instead of always being so concrete with only facts and no spice!
· Getting in a fight with the bully, thinking that the bully’s body guards will kill him.
· Trying to make the lizard in the firecracker reach space.
· Describing the monkey’s oufits, the monkey (blackie) has all different outfits!!!