Oranges Are Not The Only Fruits Essay

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.

As Jeanette learns later on in the novel, ultimately in life all of the struggles and difficulties wont matter because life finds a way to work itself out. Throughout the novel the readers become aware of different messages being displayed. One of the messages relates to the fact that people need to trust in themselves and understand that they shape their own destiny. Just because Jeanette’s parents were not the ideal role models does not mean that Jeanette automatically prepares her life for

The last half of the book shows the most change in Jeanette’s relationship with her mother. Since the start, Jeanette’s mother has been more concerned with the church and religion than spending time with her daughter. And in this half of the book, it is apparent that she loves the church more than her daughter. When Jeanette finally comes out, and no longer hides the fact that she is a lesbian. Her mother kicks her out, and basically disowns her. That shows the reader that her mother does not love her daughter no matter what. She only loved her when she was doing what she wanted. She wanted Jeanette to be a miniature her, and when she disappointed her, she no longer seemed to love her. However, at the very end of the novel, Jeanette goes back home to see her mother. She is welcomed into her home even though she is still very religious, but they do

Her Mother seemed to be more put together than her father at times, even getting a job at one point helping the family out. Though her mother was a hedonist and did not contain the motherly love and sacrifice for her kids, this job helped Jeanette’s future. She helped grade papers which increased her knowledge of the outside world and “...the world was making a little more sense” as she read the papers and projects of her mother’s students (Walls 205). Her parents had such an opposition to the outside world that she hadn’t gotten every aspect of

Strawberries are treasured by numerous throughout the world, but feelings may transformation after the unveiling of some dark secrets of strawberry farms. “In the Strawberry Fields” by Eric Schlosser brings up many concerning realities about what life is truly like for strawberry pickers. Many of these farm workers are illegal migrants from Mexico. Because of their illegal status, they are far less probable to go to the authorities with complaints of unfair treatment. Many strawberry field owners are more than willing to take advantage of this. Strawberry pickers are often overworked, poorly paid, and not treated fairly. Most are Mexicans searching for work so

However, with her alcoholic dad who rarely kept a job and her mother who suffered mood swings, they had to find food from her school garbage or eat expired food they had previously when they had the slightest bit of money. In addition, when bills and mortgage piled up, they would pack their bags and look for a new home to live in, if they could even call it a stable home, since they would be on the move so often. Jeanette needed a dad who wouldn’t disappear for days at a time, and a mom that was emotionally stable, but because she didn’t have that, she grew up in an environment where she would get teased or harassed for it. Jeanette suffered so much, that even at one point, she tried convincing her mother to leave her father because of the trouble he had caused the family already. A child should be able to depend on their parents for food and to be there for them when they need it, and when that part of a child’s security is taken away, it leaves them lost and on their own, free and confused about what to do next.

America, United Stated of America (USA), is a land of immigrants. The country was built by immigrants but gradually immigration to this country became harder. Several contagious nations of American continents have lot of population living in poverty and were strongly convinced to immigrate to USA illegally, by travelling on foot for several days, crossing deserts, mountains and the southern border of USA, to get a decent and secured better life for them and for their kids. Eric Schlosser in his article " In the Strawberry Fields" honestly assessed the conditions of the migratory work force in California straw berry fields while providing facts and evidences to support

Throughout her childhood, Jeannette is faced with instability. Her parents had a very unique style that could be classified as “hands off” parenting. For example, Rose tells Jeanette that “If you don’t want to sink you better learn to swim… That’s one lesson that every parent needs to teach their child” (Walls 137). Instead of growing up in a traditional house, Jeannette and her family constantly moved from town to town. When her mother got bored, or her father got in too many bar fights, Jeannette was forced to pick up her life and move to another small desert town. Due to her nomadic lifestyle, Jeannette refrained from establishing deep friendships amongst her school and

Her parents- the artistic but selfish Rose Mary and the intelligent but alcoholic Rex- neglect their kids and fail to provide for them. Jeanette and her siblings had to learn to provide for themselves, and are forced to mature at an early age to survive. One of the themes

Jeanette's parents also had different views on society which the reader sees throughout the book, give the children a hard time.

In Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” (1959), she reveals the life of the Youngers family. In doing so, there surfaces a detrimental ideology that destroys the family financially and in their overall happiness. In Act II Scene I, Walter, the father figure of the family, says, “Why? You want to know why? 'Cause we all tied up in a race of people that don 't know how to do nothing but moan, pray and have babies!” (Hansberry 532). By way of explanation, the family and much of the African-American community for the 1960’s, is built upon a loose ideology that is a brutal cycle that infects the lives of those who inhabit the area; tired of all the commotion from the Caucasians who, to them, miraculously achieve a life of ruling and

Throughout many works of literature, characters are described to go through a rite of passage, developing the plot and solving conflicts. A rite of passage is when a character goes through life changes, realizing his/her flaws and maturing as a person. Walter Lee Younger is a man that goes through many different character changes, which cause conflict amongst the other characters. Once he goes through his rite of passage, he is able to fix his flaws and mature. In Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun, characterization is used to portray that one must experience a rite of passage in order to mature.

Plato, a well-known Greek philosopher, once said, “Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history”. The “vital truth” is exactly what poets Muriel Rukeyser and Luisa Igloria both intend to show through their poetries, “Ballad of Orange and Grape” and “Dis-Orient”. However, though the two fulfill their intentions with poetries, they employ separate techniques. Rukeyser, (1913-1980), was an American poet and political activist. Her poetry was most often regarding topics such as social justice, feminism, and equality. Rukeyser’s poem, “Ballad of Orange and Grape” was published in her 1973 collection, Breaking Open. This poem depicts the ill effects of illiteracy she witnesses in East Harlem. Through this depiction, Rukeyser indirectly pleads to her literate readers to somehow change the harsh conditions that she mentions. Igloria, on the

It goes without saying that since Jeanette Winterson’s novel Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985) many things have changed in the acceptance and tolerance of LGBTQ people. With this, contemporary literature seems to slowly catch up and represent these fictional couples in a more modern way. An author that has taken this growing tolerance towards queer people in account, is Irish-Canadian novelist Emma Donoghue. Donoghue, born in 1969 in Dublin, Ireland, knew she wanted to be a writer when she was 14 years old, which was also when she discovered her preference for women (Donoghue, 1). She first started writing poetry, as she says that in poetry she did not have to be specific about gender, this however changed once she started writing fiction

Both Walker (‘The Colour Purple’) and Winterson (‘Oranges are Not the Only Fruit’) present strong female protagonists who face various gender restrictions throughout the novels. For example both characters have their choice of partner controlled. In ‘The Colour Purple’ Walker constrains her protagonist (Celie) by entering her into an arranged marriage, in which she has little say as “I can’t let you have Nettie... But I can let you have Celie”. Similarly, in ‘Oranges are Not the Only Fruit’ Winterson limits her protagonists (Jeanette) freedom by dictating that “romantic love for another women is a sin”. While it could be argued that the two protagonists are presented as defying these traditional gender roles through their sexuality and newfound independence, it could also be argued that they simply behave in ways that maybe be considered unsterotypical of their gender.