The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Engle, Margarita. 2008. THE SURRENDER TREE: POEMS OF CUBA’S STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. NewYork: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0805086749

PLOT SUMMARY

In this free verse novel Margarita Engle tells the story of Cuba from 1850-1899.  Most of the story is told through Rosa, a “freed” slave who uses plants from the jungle to heal people.  She used to heal people for her owner, now that she has been freed; she heals people in hidden caves.  She does not discriminate among anyone; Rosa heals slaves, Spaniards, and Cubans.  Rosa’s husband, Jose, also tells part of the story.  He tells about trying to keep everyone safe and how hard it is on Rosa to lose some of the people she is trying to save.  Silva, a freed slave who has lost her family finds Rosa and starts learning how to heal people on her own.  Lieutenant Death is another person who tells part of the story.  He is a slave hunter who brings slaves back alive for money or brings their ear back as proof they are dead.  All of these points of view tell of the struggle that has been happening in Cuba for too long.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Engle uses a lot of sensory language to tell about Cuba’s struggle.  Her words paint a picture that is hard to read at times. Rosa describes their hospital saying, “The caves, this stench, the bat dung, urine, frogs, fish, lizards, maja snakes…”

She uses back and forth rhythm to show the sides of the fight such as when Lieutenant Death says: “They attack. We retreat. They hide. We seek.”  Engle also writes some words in Spanish.  There does not seem to be a pattern for the use of the Spanish words, but it does bring some of the Cuban culture into the book.

The different points of view show students how the struggle effects different groups of people.  On one page the Captain describes a new game he is playing and how he wants to buy it after he has won the war. On the previous page Silvia tells that everyone is so hungry they sing about making an ajiaco stew.

The use of poetry is a great way to tell another side of the story in Cuba.  Students often don’t learn the story from the point of view of the slaves.  Using only the necessary words to tell the story, the reader gets to the point quicker making this book a quick read.  It might be hard for some students to keep up with the changing point of view from page to page, but once they figure that out, they will learn so much from this story that will help them understand Cuba’s struggle for freedom.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “The Surrender Tree is hauntingly beautiful, revealing pieces of Cuba's troubled past through the poetry of hidden moments”

BOOKLIST Starred Review: “Engle's new book is written in clear, short lines of stirring free verse. The switching perspectives personalize the dramatic political history.”

 

CONNECTIONS

*Read in history class before studying the history of Cuba.

*Other books by Margarita Engle:

Engle, Margarita. THE POET SLAVE OF CUBA: A BIOGRPAHY OF JUAN FRANCISCO MANZANO. ISBN 0312659288

Engle, Margarita. THE FIREFLY LETTERS: A SUFFRAGETTE’S JOURNEY TO CUBA. ISBN 0805090827