sp09250chrjohnson

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Christa Johnson**
 * "Oranges" by Gary Soto (1985)

The first time I walked With a girl, I was twelve, Cold, and weighted down With two oranges in my jacket. December, Frost crackling Beneath my steps, my breath, Before me, then gone, As I walked toward Her house, the one whosePorch light burned yellowNight and day, in any weather. A dog barked at me, until She came out pulling At her gloves, face bright With rouge. I smiled, Touched her shoulder, and led Her down the street, across A used car lot and a line Of newly planted trees, Until we were breathing Before a drugstore,We Entered a tiny bell Bringing a saleslady Down a narrow aisle of goods. I turned to the candies Tiered like bleachers, And asked what she wanted- Light in her eyes, a smile Starting at the corners Of her mouth. I fingered A nickel in my pocket, And when she lifted a chocolate That cost a dime, I didn't say anything. I took the nickel from My pocket, then an orange, And set them quietly onThe counter. When I looked up, The lady's eyes met mine, And held them, knowing Very well what it was all About.

Outside,

A few cars hissing past, Fog hanging like old Coats between the trees. I took my girl's hand in mine for two blocks, Then released it to let Her unwrap the chocolate. I peeled my orange That was so bright against The gray of December That, from some distance, Someone might have thoughtI was making a fire in my hands.

**Way 1 First Impressions**
After reading the poem I thought it was very unique how the author used oranges to portray many different themes throughout the piece. I intitially thought that the author was portraying a young boy and young girl in love. The speaker was the young boy, who you could tell was nervous by the way that he "stuttered" in a sense. Each line ended abruptly, portraying the nervousness felt by the boy. It seemed like he was on a first date and he was simply trying to make a good impression on the girl, but like a typical boy on a first date, his nervousness was getting the best of him.

I think that the boy in the piece may be from a family of orange farmers that does not have a lot of money. It seemed as if the boy had oranges to give, but that he did not have a lot of money. I felt that the girl that he was taking out on a date was from a middle class family that was a little better off than the boy's family. I sensed this from how the speaker, which was the boy described the home she lived in and how the porch light was always on day and night.

Overall, I got the impression that the town was a middle to lower class town because of the used car lot and the two socioeconomic groups that Soto portrayed in his work. I feel that the speaker of the poem was trying to say that even thought there may be people of different socioeconomic classes, that deep down they all had the same dreams and inspirations as the next person and that no one person was better than the other.

The final line at the end gave me the impression that there are defined lines between the groups even though they are portrayed together. The final line states "I was making a fire in my hands." (55) That line gave me the impression that the speaker thought that getting involved with someone from another class was wrong because it could cause problems. It reminded me a lot of the color segregation problems and made me think that it is possible that these people are of different ethnic groups too and not only different socioeconomic classes.

Way 2: Engaging with the Text
The overall poem portrayed the typical first date love story. The speaker, who was the boy appeared to be nervous on his first date, as evidenced by the abruptness of the ending of the lines. I found that each line ended pretty abrupt and then started in midsentence onto another line. I felt that this portrayed the nervousness of the boy taking the girl out who was not only from a different socioeconomic class, but from a different ethnic group as well.

Throughout the piece I got the impression that the author was portraying two different socioeconomic groupings in this work. The boy seemed to be from the lower class, who farmed for a living and did not have a lot of money. Soto uses imagery in his work to illustrate the lower class that the boy comes from. "I fingered the nickel in my pocket" (30,31) portrays that the boy did not have a lot of money on hand to take the girl out. "I took the nickel from My pocket, then an orange, And set them quietly on The counter"(36-39) portrays the kindness of the boy and how he was willing to give everything that he had for the girl, even though he did not have the correct amount of money to pay for the chocolate. He was able to subsitute the orange for money because that was all he had. The title "Oranges" portrayed the overall message of giving everything you have, even though to some it may not be much. I feel that the boy and girl and their daring relationship showed how they were willing to give everything they had for one another.

I found that the girl was portrayed to come from a middle class socioeconomic status due to the way imagery is used in "Her house, the one whose Porch light burned yellow Night and day" (9,10,11). My first thought was that there must have been some difference between the boy and her because her family could afford to keep the porch light on all day and night. When they both were in the drugstore looking at the candy, the girl "lifted a chocolate That cost a dime," (32,33) portraying not only expensive taste, but the naturalness that came with selecting an expensive item as if she had done it before.

Throughtout the piece I also was left with the impression that not only were the lovers from two different socioeconomic groups, but they were also from two different cultural classes as well. "Someone might have thought I was making a fire in my hands" (54,55) portrayed that the overall population would think that because of their relationship he was asking for trouble. I feel that the phrase portrayed the danger of the relationship between the individuals, such as between the cultural classes. As we have learned through history, cultural classes were to remain separated no matter what and I got a sense of rebellion from the final lines in this poem.



**Way 3: A Point about Form and Its Relationship to Content**
This poem does not follow any specific rules in regards to form. I found it to be a free verse poem with no definate meter or rhyme scheme. Soto is clearly able to express his ideas in a way that makes them interesting to the reader without any specific form to the poetry. I found that when I read the poem I could relate to a feeling of nervousness due to the abruptness of the ends of the lines, that were almost like a stutter, leaving the reader feel as if the speaker was nervous about a first date. Soto uses the free verse effectively to convey the nervousness felt by the speaker. For example " Before a drugstore. We / Entered, the tiny bell" (21-22) shows the abruptness of the line ending, which helps to convince the reader that the speaker is nervous about being out on the first date



Way 4: Unpacking Figurative Language
Move 1: In the work I found that the line "Someone might have thought I was making a fire in my hands" (54, 55), showed an example of a metaphor that some of us may have heard. In this example I found it difficult to pick out one word that might serve as the metaphor, rather I found the whole line serving as the metaphor.

Move 2: When you look at the phrase you can determine both a literal and metaphorical meaning behind it. Literally someone cannot start a fire in your hands without causing severe problems such as burns and injuries. In the metaphorical sense we can use the metaphorical line comparing making a fire in ones hands to causing doing what you want, even though you know that it will cause a problem and not be approved by others. If one is setting a fire in their hands they are in a sense causing.

Move 3: In the metaphorical line we are able to see that something is not going to be approved of that the character is doing. It focuses on the differences portrayed between two things. We may use the phrase when someone is around someone who is not of the same social or racial class. We may use the phrase when someone intentionally does something they know they should not be doing, such as hanging with the wrong crowd, or doing something against the law. Lighting a fire refers directly to making a problem or doing something that may cause a potential problem. The part that "someone might have thought" refers directly to the opinion of others in relationship to the action presented. Someone is judging the action of one in the phrase. The metaphorical phrase can be broken down into the sense that someone is judging the action presented and is foreseen as not approving of the action, further causing a problem.

Move 4: In this piece the metaphorical line helps to place the whole poem into perspective. When you incorporate this line into the poem we learn about a girl and a boy who appear to be going out on a first date. It appears that the boy and girl are from different classes based on numerous descriptors such as "I took the nickel from my pocket, then an orange, And set them quietly on The counter."(36,37,38). The girl appeared to be from an upper class neighborhood as evidenced by lines such as "Her house, the one whose Porch light burned yellow Night and day, in any weather." (9, 10, 11) and "And when she lifted a chocolate, That cost a dime" (32, 33). Lighting a fire in ones hand in relationship to the whole piece symbolizes the thought that having a relationship with the wrong class can unfortunately cause problems. Not everyone approves of the differences in classes and I believe that this piece symbolizes the difference in classes and the difficulty that one faces by having a relationship outside of one's class.

**Way 5: Analyzing the Setting**
The setting of this piece takes place both outside and in a candy store. It is hard to determine the exact location of the place in relationship to the world. I believe that the setting has a lot to do with demonstrating the differences between the two different social classes or races. The setting took place mostly in the candy store where the girl selected the expensive piece of chocolate and the boy paid for it with not only the money he had, but the orange. I think the candy store was the point where the piece actually began to unfold the different groups behind the plain old boy and girl.

Way 6: Identifying and Analyzing Point of View
The point of view was in the first person using the term "I". The boy was the narrator telling the story from his point of view. Making the story come from his point of view was an effective way to show the differences between the two groups. Seeing it from the eyes of the boy allowed me to see his thoughts behind what he was going through and how he was different from the others around him. He was not in the upper class, or the accepted group, but he had the good value to give whatever he had to make others happy. I think that being that it was in his point of view it effectively showed the diference between the two groups and made it evident where each person fell.

Way 7: Analyzing Complexity, Ambiguity, & Difficulty
One of the things for me that made this piece difficult to analyze was the form of the piece itself. Looking at the piece, you will clearly see how the sentences are broken into two different lines. Each line ends abruplty leaving you with a feeling that the piece is choppy. I found that very disruptive and difficult to interpret the piece due to it.

Someone might have thought I was making a fire in my hands.

Those last two lines of the piece were the ones that really lead me into a feeling of an ambiguity issue. Literally one might say it is impossible to light a fire in your hands, but it can still be taken in a literal sense. Another way that the statement might be used is to describe the way that one might be starting a problem by taking on something or doing something they shouldn't do. Starting a fire in ones hands in this sense refers to the fact that one knows what they are doing may cause problems, but they choose to do it anyway.

Light in her eyes

I found this line to also express ambiguity. Having a light in ones eyes can have a literal meaning, meaning that a light is shining in your eyes making it difficult to see. One may put on sunglasses or pull down a visor in their car to help get the light out of the eyes. Another meaning that is not literal is when one says you have a light in your eyes. Nonliterally it can be interpreted as having excitement behind your eyes because you are excited about something. The girl in this piece is obviously excited about what is happening with her and the boy. That is manifested by the line about light in her eyes.

The ladys eyes met mine, and held them

This is another illustration of ambiguity found in this piece. You cannot literally hold ones eyes in your hand, but taken in a literal sense one may think that. What this line is describing is how one continues to look into ones eyes for an extended period of time as if to convey a meaning behind the gaze. One may do this when they are thinking that the other person is thinking the same thing that they are, or when they are trying to send a message to someone through their thoughts. In this sense the lady is holding the boys eyes in the gaze as if to tell him that she understands what he is trying to do and accepts what he has done.

Way 8: Considering Canonicity
This piece by Gary Soto is a piece that definately qualifies to be included in the canon. In order to be in a canon a piece of work must have some historical or cultural significance and must be able to be analyzed and interpreted. Looking at some of my previous ways, you are able to clearly see that the piece has some historical or cultural significance. Looking at the line "Someone might have thought I was making a fire in my hands." (54,55) in context with the rest of the poem illustrate the differences noted between the boy and the girl and how the boy knew that what he was doing was potentially a problem causing idea. Working with the historical aspect behind the line makes one aware of the problems that individuals of different classes had in the past. Classes and races were not allowed to mix, For example many of us remember the story of Rosa Parks and how her actions helped to end the segregation between blacks and whites. By looking at the line previously mentioned, we are able to see that there is some segregation noted in this piece, whether it be cultural or racial we do note the segregation and the effect that it has on the characters.

"Fog hanging like old coats between the trees" is another metaphorical line that can be used to show canonicity in the piece. It goes on to add to the segregation that we see from lines 54 and 55. For many people during the time of the segregation it felt as if the segregation was never going to end. In this piece Soto uses the Fog to illustrate the segregated piece, either being the racial or socioeconomic class. When Soto speaks of the fog "hanging like old coats between the trees." he is using the metaphor to establish the feeling that the segregation has been present for a long time and it does not feel like it is ever going to end.

This poem is not strictly for entertainment as many of our recent non canon works are. Due to the fact that the piece is not strictly for entertainment, gives the piece another qualifying category as to why it is able to be part of the canon that we will study for many years to come in the literature classes we enjoy!

**Way 9 : Biographical Content**
According to Gary Soto's website, Gary Soto is a Mexican American, who was born in California and raised there as well. Being a Mexican American is difficult at times and Mexican Americans get treated as different. Looking at Soto's poem in relationship to his lifestyle, shows many different things. The boy in the poem is a young Soto or a young Mexican American struggling to fit in, in a lifestyle that is different and treats them different. Unfortunately many Mexican American's came to the United States not having a lot of things or the education needed to make a good living. The biography on Soto states that he was born in America, but it does not elaborate on the financial situation of Soto. Many migrants did not have a lot of money, but still longed to be like other Americans and have the same rights. Looking at the next section will be able to more closely relate the cultural context between Soto's life and the poem he has written.

Way 10: Historical and Cultural Contexts
Historically, we all remember learning about immigrants and the troubles they had in America trying to become like other Americans. Historically Mexican Americans, were treated very different in the United States, in comparison to other Americans. Immigrants in general were not at educated as their fellow Americans. They lacked the knowledge and skills to get a higher paying career in America. Immigrants were frequently discriminated against in everything from, ethnic and employment to education. Due to the employment discrimination Mexican Americans were frequently employed as field hands or as low class workers. They were not able to obtain the jobs that many of us take for granted these days. Due to discrimination in education they were not allowed to obtain the education that we take for granted these days. Looking at Soto's poem we are able to see some instances of discrimination at work. Even though they are not clearly stated, we can use some unpacking to see the discrimination at hand. For example, many Mexican Americans were farmers and worked as farm hands. The boy in the poem is carrying oranges in his pockets which can be a typical occurance of a farm hand who has an over abundance of fruit products. Another example illustrating discrimination is when the boy goes to pay for the chocolate with an orange. You can see that he had nothing other than the orange to give, but he gave what he could because it meant everything for him to be with the girl. The final line, which I dwell on a lot about "making a fire in ones hands" shows how the boy and the girl cannot be alike in a racial sense. Due to discrimination, many may think the boy and girl should not be together. Unfortunately the boy wants to be with the girl, even though the girl is not of the same social class or race. This shows some major discrimination against Mexican Americans that was typical in the time Soto was growing up, which ties to the Biographical Content.

Way 11: Theoretical Application
Using the psychoanalytic theory one can compare the broken lines to a historical and cultural perspective. When you look at the lines of the poem you see how they are broken in midsentence. Using the broken English Soto may have been trying to show others how the Mexican Americans may have broken English, but they have the same emotional and psychological needs as another person regardless of age, race or sex. The broken English helped to enhance the poem and show the many cultural differences that occur between Mexican Americans and Americans. I found it interesting to analyze the broken English in a way that is relevant to the work.

Way 12: Another Theoretical Applicaton
Another psychoanalytic theory that I found was the overall theme of the poem so closely reflecting Soto's life and the problems he faced culturally or that he witnessed other people go through. He so clearly illustrates things such as the broken English, discrimination of education, cultural and employment that many Mexican Americans go through. He in a nonjudgemental and nondiscriminating way effectively illustrated the problems that they faced and how they wanted to be like others. In a way, it was like a venting for Soto, allowing him to tell of Mexican Americans problems and releasing long built up tension and stress because they thought that people did not care about a different class such as theirs because of the things that they went through.

Way 13: Unifying Interpretation
Overall, I found the poem to mean a variety of things and display a variety of meanings for the Mexican American culture. Looking at the different ways you can see a more broken down approach to analyzing this piece. This piece illustrates a boy and a girl and the struggles that they go through with being different. The boy is noted to be a Mexican American boy who is going out with a girl who is of a different socioeconomic class than the boy. She is of the upper class and he is of the lower class. Linking it to Soto's biography you learn the boy is Mexican American and is just looking for a place to fit in, in this world where he is discriminated against. Mexican Americans were known to face discrimination in not only in race, but in employment and social standards.

My favorite part of the piece is where the boy is "lighting a fire in his hands". That line really puts the whole work into perspective and I would call it the key line in this poem. It shows how even though Mexican Americans were discriminated against, they never gave up hope of being the same as the majority of Americans. They kept faith throughout the whole battle for equal rights and never gave up. I found the poem to show the strenght of the minorities in recognizing their differences and fighting against them for equal rights in America.

Overall I am glad I got to analyze this poem. At first I thought it would be very difficult and that I would come up with nothing, but I found out that I could analyze a poem and really pull out some interesting facts that help me to understand the Mexican American culture better. I really learned a lot about the culture in general and enjoyed what I learned.

Works Cited:
www.garysoto.com

www.wilkipedia.com