Themes And Symbolism In Oranges, By Gary Soto

Gary Soto, an inspiration writer, grew up in a small working class family that experienced various hardships thought their life. Soto learned from many experiences and later in life used these experiences for inspiration in his poetry. Soto, a prestigious writer with many awards, has written numerous books of poetry and fiction novels. “Oranges,” is a light, humorous poem about Soto growing up as a boy and walking with a young beautiful girl on a date to a local candy shop. Soto was born to a working class Mexican- American family with two other siblings in 1952. His father tragically passed away in an incident while working for sunmaid raisins leaving Soto’s life while he was only five years old. He attended a local high school where he

Although the conditions of the city he is walking in are bleak and grey there are numerous symbols of bright new experiences that are about to open up to him with this girl. One of the first symbols, Soto writes, “Her house, the one whose / Porch light burned yellow / Night and day, in any weather” to symbolism the girls house as the bright warm spot that is welcoming o the boy when he meets the young girl no matter whether it is grey and snowy outside (9-11). Next, the girl chooses a chocolate that is ten cents and they boy remains calm even though he only has a nickel and two oranges with him. He plans to barter an orange with the clerk as compensation for the five cents that he does not have. Soto writes, “The lady's eyes met mine, / And held them, knowing / Very well what it was all / About,” to show that the clerk understood the boy was on date with this girl and didn’t want to ruin his hopes and happily completed the transaction (39-41). Showing of a new beginning with the girl is symbolized when he says, “I peeled my orange / That was so bright against / The grey of December / That, from some distance, / Someone might have that / I was making a fire in my hands” (50-55) The fire can also symbolize the burning passion of and intense connection that the boy and girl have just

It tells a pleasant story of the boy and girl going on a simple date who encounter a kind, understanding clerk that realizes what the boy was attempting to pay for the chocolate. I like Soto as a writer because of his imagist style and the influences he skillfully uses that have been adopted from writers like Frost and Steinbeck. I enjoy reading his poetry because a lot of it includes Spanish elements, which I find particularly interesting. Also, I enjoy many of his vivid inspirations in his writings because he has had so many real life situations with working all throughout his life and his parents struggling to afford to put him and his siblings through