What is The Drunken Tree?

The Drunken Tree in the back yard of the Santiago home represents the dangers of drugs and the capacity of drugs to generate forgetfulness. The tree's fruit and its flowers are the key component of a drug referred to as burundanga, an intoxicant that Chula describes in narration as causing a loss of inhibitions, and a forgetfulness of what happened during the period of intoxication. Over the course of the narrative, the tree becomes a symbol of a broader sort of forgetfulness, a desire to live behind trauma and suffering.