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

Written by Margarita Engle

1. Bibliography

Engle, Margarita. 2008. The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom. New York: Henry Holt, ISBN:9780805086744

2. Plot Summary

The Surrender Tree is a book of poems written in free verse.  The poems follow the lives of different characters that lived in Cuba during the three wars that Cuba fought for Independence from 1868 to 1898.  The main character, Rosario Castellanos Castellanos or Rosa, is a nurse or witch as some would call her, because she uses flowers and herbs to cure people of their sickness.  Rosa is a freed slave, but Spain, who owns Cuba at the time, refuses to recognize that freedom.  The Spanish soldiers and bounty hunters hunt down freed Cuban slaves and runaways and return them to their owners, kill them, or heard them into concentration camps.  The poems are also written from the point of view of a character called Lieutenant Death, who is a bounty hunter and has made it his mission to hunt down Rosa and turn her over to the Spanish army. 

During the story Rosa becomes very good at healing people and teaches others to help her.  She creates a mobile hospital and moves from one location to the next so that the Spanish soldiers cannot find the hospital.  She is a part of the Cuban rebel army, but cares for all in need including Spanish soldiers.  This heartfelt story written in verse portrays the story behind Cuba’s fight for independence and Rosa’s courageous struggle to survive.   

3. Critical Analysis

The Surrender Tree is a riveting book written in verse that follows the life of different people that lived in Cuba during the Cuban wars for independence from 1869 to 1898.  The main characters are Rosa, a freed slave, rebel, and nurse and Lieutenant Death, a bounty hunter that captures freed slaves and rebels and turns them over to the Spanish Army.  The poems are also written from the perspectives of “Lieutenant-General Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau, Marquis of Tenerife, Empire of Spain”, the leader in charge of the Spanish army, Jose, a rebel and Rosa’s husband, and Silvia, a young girl who lost her family during the war.

The writer uses repetition, alliteration, and carefully chosen words and stressed syllables to create a different rhythm for each poem.  No two poems are exactly a like.  When the character’s are in danger, the writer uses less syllables on a line to create a since of urgency.  One example would be when the farm and mansion owners free their slaves and burned their homes in order to protest Spain’s control over Cuba.  The lines of the poems were short and to the point.  The words in the poems are filled with emotion and make the reader feel as if they are a part of the story.  The writer often cuts sentences in half to help create the flow of the text, which adds to the emotional impact and sound of the poem.  One example is an excerpt from one of Rosa’s poems.  “The Little War?/ How can there be/ a little war?/ Are some deaths/ smaller than others, / leaving mothers/ who weep/ a little less?”  This poem shows Rosa’s anger over the war and her sorrow do to the loss of so many lives. 

This novel is rich with culture and the history of Cuba’s fight for independence.  It portrays the harsh realities of war and life in a country ravaged by disease, sickness, and death.  The main character Rosa often explains that she is fighting a war against death rather than against Spain’s troops, even though she is considered a part of the rebel army.  I recommend this book for upper middle school students and high school students do to the difficult subject matter.      

4. Review Excerpts

2009 Newberry Honor Book

2009 Winner of the Pura Belpre Medal for Narrative

2009 Bank Street

Claudia Lewis Award

2009 Bank Street Best Book of the Year Award

2009 Honor Book for the Lee Bennett Hopkins Award

Booklist, (starred review)-“Engle writes her new book in clear, short lines of stirring free verse. Caught by the compelling narrative voices, many readers will want to find out more.”

Horn Book-“A powerful narrative in free verse . . . haunting.”

School Library Journal- “Hauntingly beautiful, revealing pieces of Cuba’s troubled past through the poetry of hidden moments.”

Kirkus Reviews-“Young readers will come away inspired by these portraits of courageous ordinary people.”

VOYA- “The poems are short but incredibly evocative.”

5. Connections

Research and learn about the Cuban Wars for Independence.  Rosa was based off of a woman known as Rosario Castellanos Castellanos or Rosa la Bayamesa.  Look up Rosa and the other characters and find out more information about them.

Read other poetry books by Margarita Engle and discuss common elements found in her poetry.

The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano by Margarita Engle ISBN: 978-0312659288

Hurricane Dancers: The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck by Margarita Engle ISBN: 978-0805092400

The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba by Margarita Engle ISBN: 978-0805090826

The Wild Book by Margarita Engle ISBN: 978-0547581316

Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba by Margarita Engle ISBN: 978-0805089363

Have the students choose a poem from the novel The Surrender Tree that stood out to them and read it to the class.  Discuss why they chose the poem and the words the author uses that helped convey emotion or the message found in the poem.