Response To Gary Soto

’s “Oranges” Essay, Research Paper

Response to Gary Soto?s ?Oranges?

Children are naturally innocent, and as they get older and experience life, they learn that everything is not always good and sometimes bad things happen to good people. In Gary Soto?s poem, ?Oranges?, this idea is shown through the eyes of a young boy. I had the greatest response to this paper, because I thought the way this young boy did until I got to college. When I started school at the University of Arkansas, I was exposed to a completely different environment and I had to think for myself. Along with this new-found freedom came responsibility, and this responsibility made me see how the world really is.

In the poem, ?Oranges?, a young boy walks to a drugstore with his girlfriend. While there, she wants chocolate that is too expensive for him, but instead of telling her that she could not have the chocolate, he used oranges that he had been carrying in his pocket to pay for it. This shows that the boy had faith that the drugstore clerk would accept the oranges a payment for the candy. Children tend to trust everyone until they become a certain age, when their feelings change. I believe that trust is very important. Even though the world can be a rough place and some people are bad, there are still good people out there and everyone needs a person that they can trust.

Like the young boy, I was very na?ve and trusted everyone to do what was right. In high school, I never did anything to disobey my parents, and never really had the urge to. I think this kept me sheltered from many things that I , as an adult, need to know to better relate to the people around me. Once I got to college, I made friends that opened my eyes to many new things. This allowed me to experience different aspects of college life and helped me to better understand the differences in people.

The innocence of the relationship between the boy and the girl is also illustrated in this poem. The author mentions that the boy took the girls hand and held it for two blocks. This shows that this action was a big deal to this boy. In the world today, love is not the main goal of people. Many people are driven by their own greed, and never stop to think of who they hurt. This poem illustrates that the young boy cares for this girl enough for him to make sacrifices for her to have what she wanted. He could have used the money and oranges to buy something that he wanted, but instead he bought he something.

The author uses good imagery to show exactly what is happening in this story. This allowed me to better understand what was going on in this story and what the boy was actually feeling, which made it easier for me to compare it to my own life.

Gary Soto?s poem, ?Oranges?, tells the story of a young boy and his girlfriend. It shows that there are still people out there who care about others and sacrifice their wants to satisfy someone else?s. This poem gives me hope that there are still good people in the world.