In “Oranges” a 1960 love poem by Gary Soto, a theme of sacrifice is present throughout the story by using the symbolism of oranges, the fruit, to portray warmth, love and passion. The twelve year old boy, sacrificed one of the two oranges which he had saved for later, so that he could pay for “what she wanted (Soto, 27)”. The young boy understood that to be in love requires sacrifice. His willingness to surrender everything in his possession to make her have “a smile starting at the corners of her mouth,” fulfilled his heart's desire (Soto, 28-29). The orange was a token of his love and helped illustrate the theme of sacrifice. The symbolism of an orange in this story shows how love involves sacrificing one's own self purely out of love for
