Fruit of the Drunken Tree

What role does class and socioeconomic privilege play in the novel? What is the impact of socioeconomic inequality on Petrona’s relationships with Chula and Mamá? How does Mamá’s personal history of poverty affect her relationship with Petrona?

The novel features extreme weather in several sections, including a heat wave, a drought, and flooding. What is the role of nature in the story? What structural and dramatic significance do these weather events carry? Does nature seem to be at odds with the human drama, or does it mirror and echo it?

Eyes and the gaze constitute an important motif in the novel. As you consider the examples of this motif, what patterns do you notice? Which characters watch and which characters are watched? What do the patterns of the observers and the observed reveal about power and agency in the novel?

The novel’s protagonists are children. Do they mature over the course of the story? Consider the protagonists’ actions, reflections, and narrative styles. How is their growth evident?

Chula describes her family structure as “a kingdom of women” (7). Is her perception accurate? How do gender roles shape the characters’ lives? Compare and contrast gender roles in the Santiago family with those of the Sanchez family.

The novel has been compared to the work of Isabel Allende and Gabriel García Márquez who are foundational authors of the genre of magical realism. Are there elements of magical realism in Fruit of the Drunken Tree? What role do magic, mythology, superstition, and the occult play in shaping the plot?

The final sentence of the novel is Petrona’s declaration that “the less you know, the more you live” (300). Does the novel as a whole support this conclusion? In what ways is the pursuit of knowledge valorized or punished?

After fleeing to the U.S., Chula and Cassandra exhibit divergent attitudes toward their past, with Chula dwelling on the past and Cassandra doggedly moving on. Does the novel favor one of these two viewpoints?