Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit Blog #2

 After reading this chapter, it feels like some of my confusion about the book is being explained. In this section of the book, we learn more about the main character, Jeanette, as well as her family background. Even before reading the chapter, I noticed the name was “Exodus” which I tried to keep in mind while reading. I am somewhat familiar with the story of Exodus in the Bible and how slaves in Egypt freed themselves, so I kept that in mind while reading. Overall, Jeanette’s journey of being different than her upbringing are starting to be more obvious, and the imagery and characters are becoming a little more clear. For example, Jeanette’s mother always brought her oranges to eat in the hospital, and Jeanette even says “oranges are the only fruit” at one point. Since this goes against the title of the book, I would think that Jeanette will later realize that oranges are not the only fruit, and that in a way, there are more options in life than the one you were born with. This chapter felt like the beginning of an exodus for Jeanette away from her more religious and strict upbringing to something more freeing and experimental. I have already read from other posts from my classmates that Jeanette eventually comes out as a lesbian, and this fits the overall themes I’ve been seeing so far.  

I was also interested in the character of Elsie and her relationship with Jeanette. Elsie seems to kind of represent the opposite of her mother. When Jeanette is staying with Elsie, Elsie seems to show her all kinds of new things that her religious mother would never do. At one point, Elsie even says “the Lord and I don’t bother with each other just now” (Winterson, 76), proving that she was once religious, but has since left to find other ways of life. When describing Elsie’s home, Jeanette says “She had an old fireplace with pictures of famous men and Florence Nightingale… and Sir Isaac Newton with a singed chin where the fire roared too high. Elsie showed me her holy dice, bought in Mecca forty years ago” (Winterson, 78). Having photos of people like Isaac Newton confirms again that Elsie is not religious like Jeanette’s mother, and can be a source of finding her own true identity. I would think that a religious person would have a photo of Jesus or the Pope, but instead she has a scientist. Even further, she also apparently travelled to Mecca, the pilgrimage site for Islam, so she seems like an open-minded and liberal person who Jeanette can learn more about the world from. I think this scene of Jeanette inside Elsie’s home is a kind of small exodus for Jeanette, at least mentally. She is being exposed to new ideas and people and learning that there is more to the world than her small family and that literally and figuratively, oranges are not the only fruit. I look forward to seeing how this relationship progresses, as well as how Jeanette changes from this exodus in her life.