Title: "Tell me what you do with what you eat and I will tell you who you are" Using food to improve characterization and relationships, in Like Water for Chocolate and Zorba the Greek.Texts: Zorba the Greek, Nikos KazantzakisLike Water For Chocolate, Laura Esquivel"Tell me what you do with what you eat and I will tell you who you es” – the use of food to enhance characterization and relationships, in Like Water For Chocolate and Zorba The Greek. Food is intertwined with our lives because we consume food and it becomes a part of us. It is therefore not surprising that Nikos Kazantzakis and Laura Esquivel use the food approach of their characters to represent and provide insight into their character. Like Water for Chocolate and Zorba the Greek both use this connection between "what you do with what you eat" and "who you are" to enhance characterization and relationships between characters. More abstractly, Kazantzakis and Esquivel's depictions of food highlight the thematic exploration of passion and how to make the most of life. At the very beginning of Zorba the Greek, food is used to reflect the relationship between the two main characters, as Zorba begs to accompany the narrator. in Crete "Well, take me, shall we say, as a cook. I can make soups that you have never heard of or never thought of" The soups pleased me too - We will eat and let's drink together. These “soups you’ve never heard of” accurately illustrate the nature of the relationship between them. The philosophical ideas about life exchanged between the Narrator and Zorba throughout the novel are embodied in this interaction since the Narrator “never tires of listening” to Zorba who “explored thoroughly the earth and the human soul” . Reciprocally, Zorba is influenced by the Narrator's philosophical teachings and his changed perspective on life. “You have to forgive me boss… I can’t say nice sentences and nice compliments.” These “soups” give the reader insight into the influences the characters have on each other and provide a metaphor for the nature of their connection. Similarly, Esquivel uses food to represent Tita's relationship with Pedro. Rosaura's inability to breastfeed Roberto means that Tita has had to "take charge of his diet" as she notices that she can breastfeed. “The baby, instead of separating them, actually brought them closer together. It was as if the child's mother was Tita and not Rosaura” .