Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit

She was attacked, called names, scolded at, ect. Though all of these things happened she never left her father's side when it came to what she believed. She knew that she was in danger but didn’t care. When Jeanette's mother pushes her to give her money she finally stands up to her and tells her no which none of her siblings would ever be able to do, “Jeanette, I haven’t asked you for a lot of favors, but I’m asking you for one now. I wouldn’t if it wasn’t important...

Angela McEwan-Alvarado was born in Los Angeles and has lived in many locations in the United States, as well as Mexico and Central America. She obtained her master’s degree at UC Irvine and since then has worked as an editor of educative materials and a translator. The story “Oranges” was the result of an exercise for a writer’s workshop in which the author managed to mix images and experiences accumulated throughout her life.

The book centers around an incident involving Allison Huguet and Beau Donaldson. One night, Allison was hanging out with a group of childhood friends when she was invited to a party at Beau Donaldson’s house. When the party was winding down, the friends decided to stay

Throughout the novel, the readers have the ability to follow along Jeanette’s life story. She deals with her distracted yet present parents. They remind her of the important lessons in life. One of the most important lessons that Jeannette learns is that life will eventually work in the end and if it still isn't working that just means it is not the end

While she is in the hospital, her mother does not stay with her. Instead she visits a few times and gives her oranges, seeming to be disappointed in the fact that it is an illness. At this point in the story, the reader can begin to feel sorry for young Jeanette. She is left all alone in the hospital while her mother is busy helping the church. Jeanette wants to be a missionary, just like in the stories her mom has read to her. In the beginning of the book, it appears that Jeanette’s mother does love her. However, it appears that she only loves her based on if she fulfills her expectations or not.

From enthusiastic and on board with the life she lives, to not enjoying it and wanting to stop, Jeanette Walls life changes over the time of the book. Jeanette grew up with siblings, Brian, Lori and Maureen. She had a hard childhood constantly moving and not being able to make friends and did not have a lot of food. Her father was an alcoholic and could not hold a job, and her mother was a teacher who wanted to be an artist. She always dreamt big and had a lot of hope for the future but that changes in the book.

Winterson’s Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit examines Jeanette’s struggle to come to terms with her sexuality and the religious community. Jeanette had developed a close bond with the church early in her life, and struggled to hold onto it amid her persecution and alienation before being essentially excommunicated from the church. Fruits and vegetables show up multiple times during Jeanette’s struggle to balance her religious identity with her secular experiences outside of the church. Towards the beginning of the book Jeanette sacrificed her individuality to fit in with her secular and religious surroundings, but Jeanette soon chooses to embrace her sexuality in the face of adversity. Winterson uses fruits and vegetables in the book to symbolize

The implications of this affected thinking on assisted death and suicide. The biological and integrative definition of death was not able to be applied as consistently as neocortical brain death. Also, the slippery-slope argument against Pojman and Puccetti’s definition framed it as if personhood and body were connected, when they were actually separate. Neocortical brain death also had favourable implications regarding organ transplant because of the number of organs that would become available if this position was readily accepted. By using an argument by analogy, I was also able to demonstrate that this definition was in agreement with utilitarianism, deontology, and the general public against the biological whole brain definition. In doing so, the implications of the Pojman-Puccetti position were favourable regarding the neocortical brain death

The book is organized in a topical manner. Which means that the chapters appear in collections of stories revolving around a specific topic, rather than in a chronological order. Some of these chapters revolve around her education, her siblings, and what happened after her interpreting session in the psychologist’s office. As mentioned before, she stopped interpreting. In fact, she stops doing much of anything as she contemplates her unhappy childhood. But soon after this event, her sister’s wedding is planned, and she is forced to confront her past at the wedding. She enjoys herself, but resents that she still needs to interpret for her parents.

The main story in the novel is of Josephine Alibrandis life when she is 17 years old and at the end of her high

As she grows up she starts to understand more of what is going on around her. towards the beginning of the story whenever her parents got into fights she would know the outcome of the fight and not be worried. after a while though with more and more fights happening she would begin to talk to her sister and her brother about how bad it all was. Jeanette even tried to convince her mother to leave her father “ Mom never told Dad that I'd urged her to leave him”(189 walls) This shows how negative she thought her life has gotten. Just by the way she talks to her family members shows the negative tone towards the end of the book.

At first it was hard for Jeanette to get a job until she got a waitressing job, she decides that it wasn’t for her, so she began to look for a different job. Jeanette later began to intern for The Phoenix which was a newspaper company. As time goes on, she is now working there fulltime, things are starting to look good for her until she learns that her parents are coming to New York. At first the parents were living with Jeanette until they were acting back to their old ways, they got kicked out and forced them to live in their van. But their van ended up getting towed which then caused them to become homeless.

Jeanette’s eventual rebellion from her husband and city life can be traced back to this point. This location is where she first shes her father with a prostitute, she first sees adultery and infidelity as a young child in a hotel room with her brother after their father takes them out to dinner with one of the girls from the local brothel, The Green Lantern. Following this dinner rex leaves them in the shared room of a cheap motel so he and the prostitute can have sex. Jeanette does not know what is happening

Throughout the book, many attempts are made by Jeanette's mother to make Jeanette suppress her feelings and sexual orientation. When Mother finds out that Jeanette is a lesbian, she kicks her out of the house, saying, "You'll have to leave, I'm not havin' demons here."(Page 136). That incident, however, happens only after Mother and the Pastor try many times to make Jeanette repent and renounce her sexual feelings toward women, including trying to make her feel guilty and shameful, sending away her sexual partners, and locking her in a room for thirty-six without food or light.

From reading this book, I have figured out that the theme was coming of age and facing maturity. What you are about to read are examples of this.