The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle
Bibliography
Engle, Margarita. 2008.
The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 9780805086744
Plot summary
This
poetic book is the story of Rosario Castellanos Castellanos, who was known as "la
Bayamesa" in Cuba, and her husband Jose Franciso Varona. The poems begin when Rosa is a slave child,
learning how to heal the sick and wounded with plants from the forest. After slaves were freed by rebel owners,
Spain did not recognize their freedom and continued to hunt and punish
slaves. At this point Rosa began hiding
escaped slaves in hidden villages and caves, and she became famous among the
rebels. Many people sought her out for
healing and training. The poems document
the multiple failed attempts of the Cuban rebels to overthrow Spain and end the
relinquishment of Cuba by Spain to the United States during the
Spanish-American War. Throughout the war
Rosa chose to heal all who needed help, even her enemy “Lieutenant Death” who
sought to kill her and bring Spain her ear as proof.
Critical Analysis
The
story is told through poems that alternate between five different
narrators: Rosa, Jose (her husband),
Lieutenant Death (the slave hunter Rosa meets as a child and who hunts her as
an adult), Sylvia (Rosa’s trainee), and the Emperor of Spain. Many of Rosa’s poems focus on the scents,
sounds, and sights of the Cuban jungle, because that is where she finds the
plants for her medicines and the shelter for her makeshift hospitals. Rosa’s peaceful nature shines through in
Engle’s words. Many of Lieutenant
Death’s poems are much more vengeful, illustrating the hatred he holds for
Rosa. For example, on his last hunt for Rosa, he says "I crush a flower
bud,/ popping it/ to squirt the juice/ that would have turned/ into a
blossom...;" since he cannot crush Rosa herself, he crushes something that
represents her. Engle also shows how the
years of war have affected Rosa, Jose, and the other rebels, making them weary,
hardened, and at times full of sorrow: "sometimes, war feels/ like just
one more/ form of slavery."
Review
Excerpts
2009 Newberry Award winner
2009 Pura Belpre Award winner
School Library
Journal , 6/1/2008:
Jill Heritage Maza says "the Surrender
Tree is hauntingly beautiful, revealing pieces of Cuba's troubled past through
the poetry of hidden moments such as the glimpse of a woman shuttling children
through a cave roof for Rosa's care or the snapshot of runaway Chinese slaves
catching a crocodile to eat."
Voice of Youth
Advocates, 6/1/2008: Stephanie Petruso says "this book is a
quick read and offers a rare glimpse into a historical period that is often
overlooked in schools. The poems are short but incredibly evocative of what it
feels like to be fighting oppression. It will be a great choice to hand to
reluctant readers or to history students to humanize a lesson about Hispanic
heritage or the Spanish American War."
Connections
Comments
Post a Comment