Unit Connections Essay Lilly Epley
2/7/21
How exactly do your surroundings influence what you are, or are not, willing to risk? The two stories, The Pie by Gary Soto and Oranges also by Gary Soto, respond to this prompt that asks, what in your environment could change the decisions you make? Many circumstances can influence you to take the risk that one is willing to take.
First, in the short story, Oranges, the boy takes his “girlfriend’ to a local drugstore. He wants to buy her a chocolate bar but he doesn’t have enough money to buy it. The boy took a risk to get in trouble for not being able to afford the chocolate bar. “The lady’s eyes met mine, And held them, knowing very well what it was all about.” The lady at the desk was hesitant about trading off the orange for a chocolate bar but she did it anyway. Next, the boy risked embarrassment from his girlfriend for not being able to afford the chocolate. “Light in her eyes, a smile starting at the corners of her mouth. I fingered a nickel out of my pocket, and when she lifted a bar of chocolate that cost a dime, I didn’t say anything.” The boy didn’t want her to know that he couldn’t afford the chocolate.
Along with not being able to afford the chocolate, the boy in The Pie also couldn’t afford the pie that he desired. The boy also risked getting in trouble with stealing the pie but his “sweet tooth gleaming and the juice of guilt wetting my underarms” was just too overwhelming. Next, he felt like he made sin that God would not be able to forgive. “What scared me more than falling from grace was being thirsty for the rest of my life.” He believed that he would never forgive himself for this sin he has committed.
