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<title> Oranges are not the only fruit </title>
This is the story of Jeanette Winterson in form of a semi-autobiographical novel. It is one of the most beautifully written stories of a middle-class girl struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality. Jeanette was adopted as a baby into an evangelical Christian family in England and raised with unquestioned and unconditional love, "I cannot recall a time when I did not know that I was special.", strict religious teachings, a lot of structure and strong opinions coming from all corners. As a child Jeanette was proud of her eccentric, high-achieving mother and she's her best student, too. As soon as I started reading the book I decided that the character I was going to write about would be the mother, because the beginning of the novel was incredibly strong and impressing. (p.1) The reasons why I found this book very interesting are: 1. Many controversial issues are brought up here such as the Church's mentality and its hypocritical views on love and sexuality, superstition, fanatical beliefs, love, etc. 2. The author's language is extremely effective, unreserved and upfront in its use of metaphors, and explanation of human behavior and philosophy. 3. The injection of little invented fairy tales, related to her own sexual liberation and self-awareness. The tales seem to become more mature and complex as does the narrator. 4. Her naming of each section according to the Bible and her own personal journey as her preferences and relationships are discovered. She takes an unconventional detour from her straight path toward the Promised Land of her mother to the path leading to the Land of the Forbidden Fruit. 
	Although, the mother is hardly resolved as a character, nor is her relationship with her daughter, I found her interesting to write about. The first thing to say about her is that she is a fanatically religious person serving as the Missionary Secretary for the Evangelical Church. She is a very regular person. "My mother got up early on Sundays and allowed no one into the parlour until ten o'clock." and "She always prayed in exactly the same way." She sees the world in black and white. "She had never heard of mixed feelings. There were friends and there were enemies." She controls everyone in her surrounding with her domineering attitudes. "She was wrong, as far as we were concerned, but right as far as she was concerned, and really, that's what mattered." Other descriptions of the mother's character given by Jeanette are clear: "My mother would rather not eat than be seen at Maxi Ball's.", "She liked to speak French and play the piano." or "My mother didn't have many friends either. People didn't understand the way she thought." and "Jane Eyre was her favorite non-Bible book."
Her obsession and formed opinions on oranges may seem quite primitive, but what is really the meaning of the oranges? "Oranges are the only fruit" or "The only fruit worth eating" according to her. Oranges symbolize the insular world of her church people. What they accept and what they reject, how thick their skins are and whether they easily peel away. All in all, oranges are the centerpiece of their lives which in the end come across with the pineapples that represent change. As we progress, we witness the mother's improvement from an overbearing character into a more flexible one, when she admits that "Oranges are not the only fruit." We know very few things about the father and the relationship between him and the mother. She's married him after a failed relation with another man in Paris (Pierre). They have very limited and reserved contacts and feelings towards each other. "The church is my family" and "My mother has gone to bed at four, and my father has got up at five."
	Besides Jeanette's, her mother's sexuality as well has a great significance. Throughout the book there seem to be several clues that would indicate that the mother might actually be a lesbian who is repressing her true sexuality. The first little clue occurs on the first page, where it says "She had a mysterious attitude towards the begetting of children.." Another and perhaps more obvious clue occurs, when the mother shows Jeanette an old photo album (p.36). One of the pages in the album is titled "Old flames". On the page there are pictures of some of the mother's old boyfriends. At the bottom of the page is a picture of a "pretty woman holding a cat". "Oh that's just Eddy's sister. I don't know why I put it there." Then the picture disappears from the album. Either she is really a lesbian who is consciously repressing it or she is unaware of the fact that she is truly homosexual. Perhaps Jeanette is purposely making this up to add to the entertainment of the novel.
	The narrator has a complicated relationship with the character: her mother. She has an unorthodox perspective on her, which makes it all more fascinating. According to the mother's view, she (Jeanette) is a special child brought into a sinning world that she is going to change by becoming a missionary. Their relationship is based on secrets and lies. The mother hides so many details and explanations as she did with Jeanette's adoption papers or with the identity of her real mother. However, Jeanette is able to see what's hidden and she uncovers the truth. Similarly, the truth of Jeanette's sexuality must be hidden in order to maintain her place and standing inside the family and the community. Ironically, the fact that her mother hides the truth from her and teaches her to her own truths as well causes Jeanette to seek out the truth and question notions of the truth. As a matter of tact, it's all about the nature of all the silences that causes Jeanette to speak out.
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