Oranges by Gary Soto

The poem “Oranges” by Gary Soto was very cute. I read it in the literal sense as a story of a young boy that enjoyed his company with a girl that he liked by taking her to the corner store to buy a candy bar. The poem is written in very short lines that make it easy to read for the reader. There is not really any rhyme pattern and the poem is written in only two stanzas. The young boy is trying to impress this girl by bringing her an orange but she would rather have a chocolate bar that costs more than he can afford. Luckily, the saleswoman understood what the boy was doing and accepted his payment of a nickel and an orange. The boy then felt very accomplished by this and felt confident enough to take his “girl’s hand” the rest of the walk with her until they both enjoyed their snacks (47).