logo

53 pages 1 hour read

Sandra Benitez

A Place Where the Sea Remembers

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1993

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Introduction

Teacher Introduction

A Place Where the Sea Remembers

  • Genre: Literary Fiction
  • Originally Published: 1993
  • Reading Level/Interest: 790L; adult
  • Structure/Length: 176 pages
  • Protagonist/Central Conflict: This novel follows several characters in the Mexican village of Santiago, weaving together various storylines. At the core of each story is a conflict that reveals different aspects of love, loss, redemption, and cultural identity.
  • Potential Sensitivity Issues: Some scenes of violence, including domestic violence; sexual abuse and rape; discussions of miscarriage; class and racial tensions

Sandra Benitez, Author

  • Bio: Born on March 10, 1941, in Washington, DC; a well-known author who writes primarily about the lives and experiences of Latin American women; works often explore themes of family, identity, cultural heritage, and women’s roles within Latin American communities
  • Other Works: Bitter Grounds (1997); The Weight of All Things (2000); Bag Lady: A Memoir (2016)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:

  • Tradition Versus Modernity
  • Life and Death
  • Preserving the Memories of Others

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Teaching Guide, students will:

  • Develop an understanding of the literary and socioeconomic contexts regarding the use of magical realism by Latin American authors that impact the characterization of Benitez’s story.
  • Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Tradition Versus Modernity, Life and Death, and Preserving the Memories of Others.
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text