Mangoes and HOPE

When I read "Fruit and Words" I had to read it out loud. I tried reading the story to myself at first but I didn't really get the full impact then the second time I read it. The second time, when I read it out loud, I realized all the hidden symbolism behind her words. The first symbol is the mango. The narrator is at a point in her life where she is "stuck" in a relationship because of fear and loyalty. The fact that after her boyfriend walks away from getting married and she suddenly has a strong craving for a fruit she never had interested me. A lot of people, if they are in a relationship at a younger age sometimes feel they haven't experienced everything they could of. This in turn usually ends up ending their relationship later on or even marriage. I think that you should never stay in a relationship if you don't feel the true feelings that should be felt. This story kind of brings that thought back to me because she has lost hope for her relationship which in turn made her fruit rot. This symbolism is so strong but you really have to read into the story to really feel the fear that she felt of being alone.

I don't think you can read this story with a realistic viewpoint. Her story kind of took me away from reality for awhile and you really get to understand the character. I put myself in the narrator's shoes and realized how her life was. I realized how much she had lost hope and that Aimee Bender really wants you to see that hope was broken not only by the narrator but also by the boyfriend. The narrator's hopes of getting married were strong even though she knew how she really felt. Hope is something that can be rebuilt and its important that we believe that her hope will be rebuilt.

(Kelcey Summers, 11)