Gary Soto Fair Trade Essay

In both poems “Oranges” and “Fair Trade” by Gary Soto, the author explores the recurring theme of compassion and pride. Both poems have several ways to show the theme.
The poem “Oranges” is about young love and knowing how it once felt. At the beginning of the poem, I get the sense that the boy is a little apprehensive in meeting his girl as he states, “Cold and weighted down / with two oranges in my jacket.” Certainly two oranges aren’t going to weigh anyone down, therefore the image described must be the nervousness along with the anticipation of seeing meeting her. “As I walked toward / her house, the one whose / porch light burned yellow / night and day, in any weather,” tells me about his burning passion for her. “She came out pulling / at her gloves, face bright / with rouge,” tells me that she is also excited to see him and that she is either blushing or has applied some makeup in the manner a young inexperienced woman would. As she comes out of her house, some of that nervousness exits him because he smiles and even has the courage to
The title gave off an aura of sarcasm as he states, “she said, “Dollar thirty,” / I thought, No meat or butter.” It wasn’t really a fair trade, because a dollar thirty for two slices of bread is quite expensive at his time. Neither did the waitress offered meat nor butter. “The man / hesitated, then fumbled for / coins from his pocket,” tells me that the man is poor, because he wouldn’t have been taken aback if he have lots of cash. Only the narrator sympathize the Mexican man as he states, “I stabbed the carrots, / hurting for this man.” I conclude that the bread may not have satisfied the man because he didn’t leave anything on his plate. At the end of the poem, the narrator tells us that the experience had left him a mark, that he wouldn’t forget the memory of that day. The images of the poem reflect the Mexican man’s pride and the narrator’s compassion towards