Gary Soto The Pie Analysis

Another use of inner guilt versus confession is used when Dimmesdale is on the scaffold with

Soto’s use of imagery serves as an aid to the reader to better understand the author’s perspective, which is that of a six-year-old boy. Prior to stealing the pie, the author uses imagery to describe his temptation to steal. “My sweet tooth gleaming and the juice of guilt wetting my underarms” (Soto 1). The imagery here illustrates both the irresistibility of the temptation to steal and the immaturity of the young boy as he can’t take his mind off of anything but what is in front of him. After stealing the pie, Soto

He “knew enough about hell to stop [him] from stealing” and was “holy in almost every bone”. Soto’s diction makes it clear that his younger self was well behaved because he was scared of the consequences of sin, but not necessarily because he wanted to be good. It also implies that even fear could not stop the most mischievous parts of him. Regardless of his willingness to behave, the young Soto truly believed in a God, and often saw “shadows of angels” and heard “faraway messages in the plumbing”. These symbols appear throughout the passage in order to show how sin changed Soto’s interpretation of them. The narrative continues, and the young boy stands in a German Market, staring at pies. As he ponders which type to steal, the “juice of guilt” wets his armpits and he “nearly [weeps] trying to decide”. This imagery of wetness is associated with his sin, and strongly contrasts the dryness of “the flowery dust priests give off”. The opposing wet and dry imagery show that the boy is sometimes bored with the dryness of religion, but the possibility of stealing a pie both terrifies and excites him. Once again, he is reminded of “the proximity of God howling in the plumbing”

Throughout the story Soto feels guilty and seeks redemption because Soto steals the apple pie. His guilt is magnified when he thinks everyone knows of his sin, and starts to develop paranoia. The author’s attitude towards guilt affects how he is behaving. By using imagery and allusions Soto recreates the guilt felt by a young boy who has stolen an apple

Guilt can Affect how you think about someone else just to forget about that one thing that is bothering you. The book I am reading about is We Were Here by Matt De La Pena. the main characters in the book are Miguel, Rondell and Mong. One of the secondary sources is “Because guilt is painful people often find ways to soothe their feelings”(Markman). After all this secondary source explains how guilt can be painful for someone, especially if they are trying to hide it from other people. In the book We Were Here the main character Miguel uses guilt to in a way that he doesn’t focus too much on it, but the guilt can’t go away since he keeps on remember what he did . Also, the fact that his mother never wanted to talk to him right after what he

     As mentioned before diction was used along with other elements to help bring out the heart of the matter in Soto’s story. When Soto says he held the pie like a “discus” it makes one think that maybe he was ready to throw it like a Frisbee because at the time he was so nervous. Also, when Soto first steals the pie, he notices that the grocer’s forehead “shone with a window of light.” It seems because Soto is so nervous, he begins to notice every little detail of what is going on in front of him. Another example occurs when Soto is eating the pie and he declares that his teeth were “bathed with the jam-like filling.” This makes him look as if he is relishing every moment of eating the pie.

€œWhile the sun “wavered between the branches of a yellowish sycamore,” he sees a squirrel “nailed itself high on the trunk, where it forked into two large bark scabbed limbs€” just as he prepares to eat the stolen pie. In so doing, Soto not only evokes the image of a hot summer day, but also uses a biblical metaphor of Jesus crucified on the cross. Thus, Soto’s use of imagery effectively depicts the scene as well as include a

It is important for one to be capable of feeling guilt over mistakes that he/she has committed but it is of the upmost important to not let it consume the person whole. In a sense the act of taking on guilt shows that one is human with a living conscience. Larry seems to be crippled with guilt, but he has his work, which is an enormous part of his identity and his life will go on while Jim Hammer even though he is free he has nothing to turn to and that in part is because of his

Soto talks about sacrifice, and we all go through that. What we do to please other people. The boy had to give up his orange because he didn't have enough money. He told his girlfriend that she can chose any kind of candy found in the isle, and she chose a chocolate bar that cost a dime, now the boy only had a nickel and a pair of oranges in his pocket. Instead of feeling embarrassed and cheep in front of his new girl, the boy decided to put up the nickel and an orange on the counter for the saleslady.

One major trademark of Gary Soto’s works is his use of the importance of family in his stories. Readers can feel and understand his passion and appreciation for family. Often, Gary uses family to tell stories about his upbringing and as a sense of pride in his stories. In A Summer Life, he says, “My brother showed me his palm, where a sliver had gone in quick as a stitch on a sewing machine when he climbed the rabbit hutch at the Molinas’ house” (Soto 14). This quote is an example of his close relationship to his family and his adventurous upbringing in Fresno, California. Later in A Summer Life, Soto says, “My face was hot, my hair sweaty, but nothing scary seemed to happen” (Soto 20). This quote once again shows that Soto had a very adventurous upbringing, and he enjoyed being able to go out and explore for himself at a young age. Soto’s family life has always been important to him, but his family life has also suffered heartbreak and adversity. According

Summer Life starts and ends with biblical allusions, giving the reader exposition without literally describing Soto’s upbringing and values. He “knows enough about hell” and is “holy in every bone”, letting us infer that he comes from a very religious family and likely attends Sunday school. This gives us the reason why he is so nervous before stealing it and why he becomes consumed by guilt later. It's not just wrong on an ethical level in society, but it is a sin, something that can grant eternal damnation to hell. So as the “juice of guilt” drips down his body and he becomes increasingly anxious, he thinks about “the flowery dust priests give off” and god watching him. As he steals the pie and runs away, his religious background haunts him. He describes a squirrel nailed to a tree, alluding to Jesus Christ being nailed to the cross. He remembers bible lessons about Adam and Eve saying, “I Knew an apple got eve in trouble with snakes”. As he indulges and finishes his pie, Soto tries to forget his sinful act throwing his frisbee around with a shadow “like the shadow of an angel escaping bad deeds”. He climbs underneath his house listening to the “howling sound of plumbing” comparing it to God or a relative from the other side”. He then concludes that “he knew was what you took and didn’t give back” ending this passage with a last call to sin and the bible.

In the poem “Behind Grandma’s House”, Gary Soto writes about an experience he had as a young boy. He speaks of himself as being a nerdy Spanish boy who wants attention. He screams out for attention by acting out in negative ways. Most know, to bring attention to one’s self, one can acquire it by acting negatively or positively, but negative attention brings punishment. Soto obtains his grandmothers attention at the end of the poem, but he may have regretted it. Gary Soto’s “Behind Grandma’s House” is a 1952 free verse poem that uses imagery to suggest the speaker’s perspective of the story.

Soto “stood before a rack of pies… and the juice of guilt wetting my underarms”, and steals the pie out of boredom, the metaphor indicates he struggles with an internal battle between morality and temptation. He compares his apprehensive spirit to the “juice of guilt wetting my underarms” and although he steals the deliciously desired pie, Soto feels morally unjustified going against his holiness and enters the aftermath of sin.

Although there are a multitude of differences between our worlds, like the way we grew up and the differences in our heritage. There are also many similarities that help me to relate to Soto and his experience. I do wish that I could have seen more of why he felt that the jobs he was doing made him feel like he was doing something that he shouldn’t have to do. As I reflect on the story Soto tells I think about how I could have decided not to do something only to find that I can’t get back what I did. While Soto did eventually return to the grape fields not everyone has the opportunity to go back and make what they think is a bad situation better.

Abstract:     Guilt has physiological and psychological effects. The psychological effects can include something bad, such as feelings of worthlessness or inferiority. Guilt can also serve in a positive way as a motivator. A person may suffer physiological effects such as insomnia and physical pain.