In "Oranges," the speaker wants to show his girl that he's the man. He might not actually be a man yet, but he still wants to be a gentleman and impress his girl. We see the speaker testing his shaky stallion-legs, making traditional gender-role moves at every turn. In the end, he walks the walk, talks the talk, and ends up with the girl. Smooth.
Questions About Men and Masculinity
- Imagine "Oranges" written from the girl's perspective. What would be the biggest difference? Would anything stay the same? Why?
- Where in the poem does the speaker conform to traditional ideas of masculinity? Is there anyplace where he deviates from societal expectations regarding masculinity?
- How does the girl react when the speaker acts manly? Why does she react that way?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Tween-y see, tween-y do. In addition to being an exploration of young love, "Oranges" depicts the way kids mimic traditional gender roles well before adulthood.
Actually, in "Oranges," the young sweat hearts act like kids on an outing, not like a man and a woman on a date.