Oranges are Not the Only Fruit

1. What does the title suggest to you?

-Oranges play an important part in the whole book
-Could be a metaphor: -Jeanette could be saying that she is not the
only one who is like
her
- (Could represent heterosexuality)
2. Research the significance of biblical allusion in the title of the
chapter.
-Each of the chapters are the first eight chapters of the Old
Testament
-The chapters roughly correspond to the themes of the biblical
books.
-Genesis describes the beginnings of the world and man just like
the chapter in the book tells us of Jeanettes beginnings, describing
her, her family and her placement in it.
3. Consider the portrayal of family life in this chapter.
-Jeanettes family seems very different to an average family.
-Her father is rarely mentioned, and when he is, Jeanette feels sorry
for him beacuase of something he has done.
-Jeanettes mother, on the other hand, is the man of the house. She
is in charge of everything that happens, she always thinks she is
correct and she wants things to be in her way.
4. Why do you think Winterson has chosen a complicated
narrative structure?
5. How do the characters of Jeanette, her mother, father and
Pastor Finch, come across to us?
-Jeanette comes across to us as a very likeable character. Although
we can tell she doesnt like her mother very much, she still wants to
make her proud and become the missionary she was prophesized to
be.
-Her mother comes across as stern, mean and basically the
antagonist in the story.

-We dont know much about her father, other than he never seems
to do things right and so Jeanette feels sorry for him.
-Again, we dont know much about Pastor Finch, but from what
we've read of him, he seems like a nice man.
6. How does Jeanettes mother view the role of motherhood?
-She thinks its like a job: when Jeanette doesnt do what God
wants she seems to love her less and when she does, her mother
loves her more.
-She cares more about the church than she does her daughter, but
she still lacks the compassion characteristic of a truly religious
person.
7. Why does Winterson adopt a different register for Mrs
Arkwright?
8. Identify three short passages that are particularly memorable
or interesting to you and suggest why.
-We stood on... the world.: -Jeanettes mother is basically saying
that she wants her
Daughter to help save the world from sin
and not just be
her daughter.
-We had... had sheep: -Jeanettes mother, although is very
religious, doesnt agree with
everything the bible says.
-As soon as...sick list.: -Everything her mother does is routine and
exact to the point
where Jeanette knows exactly when to put the
kettle on.
9. How does Winterson use irony to convey meaning?
-