Oranges by Gary Soto The Poet Gary Soto

“Oranges, ” by Gary Soto

The Poet ▪ Gary Soto, born April 12, 1952, was raised in Fresno, California. He is the author of eleven poetry collections for adults, most notably New and Selected Poems, a 1995 finalist for both the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the National Book Award. His poems have appeared in many literary magazines, including Ploughshares, Michigan Quarterly, Poetry International, and Poetry, which has honored him with the Bess Hokin Prize and the Levinson Award and by featuring him in the interview series Poets in Person. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. ▪ For ITVS, he produced the film “The Pool Party, ” which received the 1993 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Film Excellence. In 1997, because of his advocacy for reading, he was featured as NBC’s Person-of-the-Week. In 1999, he received the Literature Award from the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, the Author-Illustrator Civil Rights Award from the National Education Association, and the PEN Center West Book Award for Petty Crimes. ▪ Per his website: garysoto. com

How we analyze the poem: ▪ We will analyze the poem using TP-CASTT ▪ T: Title: Before reading, analyze the title and predict what its significance to the poem may be. ▪ P: Paraphrase: line-by-line, translate the poem into your words on a literal level. ▪ C: Connotation: Analyze the poem beyond the literal level. This is where you will look at and identify figurative language, imagery, sound, etc. ▪ A: Attitude: Analyze the attitude or tone of the poem. ▪ S: Shifts: Note any shifts or changes in speaker or attitude. Look for key words, time change, punctuation. ▪ T: Title: Reexamine the title on an interpretive level. ▪ T: Theme: What is theme of the poem? What is the author trying to convey?

Title ▪ Before reading, you should explore what you believe the title “Oranges” will have to do with the poem. Write this on your TPCASTT form now. ▪ Let’s share our answers: “Oranges” gives me the impression that the poem will be centered around oranges. It could possibly be set in Florida as Florida is the Orange State.

Three readings: ▪ First, read the poem silently and independently. ▪ Second, we will read the poem aloud as a class. ▪ Third, we will watch a video of someone reading the video to us.

Paraphrase ▪ The first time I walked With a girl, I was twelve, Cold, and weighted down With two oranges in my jacket. December. Frost cracking Beneath my steps, my breath Before me, then gone. ▪ The first time the narrator walked he was 12. ▪ He was cold, wearing a jacket with two oranges in them. ▪ It was a cold, icy December. ▪ It was cold and the narrator could see his breathe before him. ▪ Now lets try this together…

Connotations ▪ The first time I walked With a girl, I was twelve, Cold, and weighted down With two oranges in my jacket. December. Frost cracking Beneath my steps, my breath Before me, then gone, ▪ Look at the enjambment here: The first two lines say “The first time I walked/ with a girl, I was twelve. ” Here Soto uses enjambment, which is when an idea extends beyond one line, but provides a “trick” to the reader. When Soto ends the first line it gives the reader the idea that the story would be about someone walking for the first time.

Attitude ▪ Now that you have finished reading , what do you think the reader’s attitude or tone is? If you’re having trouble, think about what the author’s purpose for writing this poem is. ▪ Write this on your sheet, now. ▪ Let’s share our answers:

Shifts ▪ Are there any shifts in the story? These could be shift in narration, setting, time, or point-of-view. ▪ Lets look: ▪ Narration: Do we have a change of narrator? ▪ Setting: Does the location change during the poem? ▪ Time: Is there a change of time in the poem? ▪ POV: Does the POV change at any point during the story?