Oranges by Gary Soto is pretty awesome. There are many things I would like to talk about as far as this poem goes, so I am just going to talk about them in no specific order.
First are the very interesting uses of rhyme. One of my favorite lines in this poem is a line which just sounds awesome because of this rhyme usage, and it starts on the fifth line. It reads...
"December. Frost cracking
Beneath my steps, my breath
Before me, then done,
As I walked toward
Her house"
I'm not completely sure what is so captivating about that one simple line, but just the way it sounds and is presented is very moving for some reason.
The use of images in this poem (well it is in the packet about imagery after all!) is also pretty amazing. The last six lines about him peeling his orange and how bright it is compared to the gray atmosphere around him, and how someone might have thought he was making fire in his hands is very interesting. It captures exactly how my memories of my childhood are recalled to me. Some details are so extremely vivid that they seem unrealistic, and yet others are just gray and barely retained.
I could go on and on about little things such as this, but I think that anyone who reads this poem will have to make their own discoveries about what it holds, because there are tons of cool things happening here.
`Brian Michael Dunar
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I love "Oranges" by Gary Soto. At the beginning of the semester, I told someone their poem reminded me of this one. I love the way that the saleslady at the counter let him exchange an orange and a nickel for a candy that cost a dime. Even before the economy plummeted, that notion of exchanging things, or of simply letting something slide in order to help someone out, is just not something you encounter very often any more.
ReplyDeleteI like the way Soto refers to very small gestures that have a big impact on the situation. For instance, when the boy greets the girl at her door, it says “I smiled/Touched her shoulder…” The gesture of touching her shoulder is such a simple gesture, but it has so much to it—it’s physical contact with the girl he likes, but it’s not sexual or even very romantic. I love the subtlety of that gesture.
I also love the way Soto describes her reaction to being asked what she wanted: “Light in her eyes, a smile/Starting at the corners/Of her mouth.” I love the way it captures her delight.
Another part of the poem I enjoy is where he says “I took my girl’s hand/In mine for two blocks.” There are so many reasons this is a cool part of the poem. First of all, it explains gently and subtly that the girl is his. Going out with a girl you like might make you nervous, and you’d be afraid of messing it up. Saying “my girl” at this point in the poem tells us that the boy has reached a point where he can call her his, and he doesn’t have to worry about “messing it up” anymore. I like that he specifies “for two blocks” because even that short period of time is enough to make it feel like something special and amazing. The third thing I like about this part of the poem is how Soto refers to “hand holding” without specifically saying “holding hands.” It keeps from using a phrase we encounter often, but we still know exactly what he’s talking about.
My favorite part of the poem is the very end where he’s talking about the orange in his hands. “That, from some distance,/Someone might have thought/I was making a fire in my hands.” It is such a beautiful way to end this poem, and I won’t ruin it by analyzing it too much.
--Sarah Corra