, Research Paper

Oranges ARE NOT THE ONLY FRUIT

ELSIE VS MOTHER

In a narrative of a immature miss coming of age and happening her gender in a really spiritual community, it is cardinal to hold a female figure that plays a cardinal function for the character. A female parent should play the cardinal function but what happens when this function is confused with a really religious function? Where will a immature miss bend to when her life goes against the regulations society has set for her?

Jeanette has lived a sheltered life with no influence on her except for the church. Her female parent is a rigorous Christian with a deep bitterness for things and people non within her crease. Bing brought up in a society where traveling against the norm is a wickedness. A society that shakes its caput at Acts of the Apostless of individuality and shuns those they can non change over to their manner of thought. In consequence, a cult based on a long -standing text, the bible. In this cult though, Jeanette finds a akin spirit that doesn & # 8217 ; t suit the cast set by this spiritual society.

Elsie is an older adult female who believes in God and all of his admirations. & # 8220 ; & # 8217 ; Listen to what the Lord has done for me this week. & # 8217 ; She needed eggs, the Lord sent them. She had a turn of gripes, the Lord took it away. & # 8221 ; ( Winterson, p. 23 ) . Even for her strong belief in God and all of His glorifications she is considered an flake. She patterns numerology, creates unusual trades and is outspoken. This personality is what attracts Jeanette. Elsie is so unlike her female parent and the other adult females of the fold and this fact pulls Jeanette closer to Elsie. Jeanette looks to Elsie for counsel and an understanding ear that doesn & # 8217 ; t judge her harshly.

On the other manus Jeanette & # 8217 ; s female parent is an utmost personality. This personality is non seen as bizarre, it is seen as a trait that she is a true truster and follower of the Lords word. Religion is her manner of commanding things in an otherwise confusing universe. Within this circle of trusters she can command the people around her with out anyone oppugning her.

Her power is non seen as traveling beyond the bounds. It is seen as a mark that this is her true naming and that she is a courier of God. Besides, Jeanette is non a kid she wanted to love and care for. Jeanette was a kid she adopted so that she could model another solider for God. & # 8220 ; & # 8230 ; She would acquire a kid, train it, construct it, give it to the Lord: a missional kid, a retainer of God, a blessing. & # 8221 ; ( Winterson, p. 10 ) .

Even though Jeanette & # 8217 ; s female parent and Elsie come from the same fold and both believe in God and his fantastic plants, they are really different. These differences between these two adult females are what make Jeanette a rounded individual, if non a baffled 1 at first. Jeanette gained a sense a ego with her female parent. She knew she was to work with the Lord and learn his words to others. Her end in life was to travel and be a missional, to learn others how to believe in God. Combined with this imbedded sense of ego is the assurance Elsie

gave her. Elsie non merely understood

the word of the Lord and came from within the society Jeanette grew up in, she had a sense of the universe around her, that the universe didn & # 8217 ; t get down and halt with the sermon of the Lord. Elsie gave Jeanette a feeling of family, a deep friendly relationship that was based on true feelings, non the Lord.

In one portion of the book Elsie helps Jeanette with the passage of place schooling, which was based on scriptural texts, to public schooling. Elsie gave Jeanette a manner of integrating her scriptural background into a public school scene, even if it did daze and rise superciliums. The older adult female gave Jeanette a much-needed avenue to show herself. At this clip her female parent is non excessively disquieted with the friendly relationship. She likes the reaction Jeanette is acquiring from her spiritual art plants and other scriptural oddnesss that seem out of topographic point in public school. Elsie is still seen as a fellow follower, a follower of Jeanette & # 8217 ; s female parent.

The relationship between Elsie and her female parent gets strained after Jeanette is caught with impure

ideas of loving another adult females. Jeanette & # 8217 ; s female parent sees her relationship with Elsie as one of the nucleus

jobs. Elsie lets Jeanette & # 8217 ; s mind unrecorded and gave her other things to inquire and chew over besides faith. She opens Jeanette to other ways of believing besides the rigorous codification in which her female parent instilled in her since birth. Jeanette knew she was different so others. She grew up within a rigorous society that encompasses faith, she knew and loved her God, she wanted to be a missional, she was funny about the universe outside of her society, she had inquiries about her female parent & # 8217 ; s beliefs, and she was homosexual.

With this cognition, Jeanette begins to understand that the lone manner to be true to God is to be true to yourself. She ne’er gave up on faith, even though her fold gave up on her. Through Elsie she learned that society classifies everyone and to populate outside those categorizations is non a wickedness. That merely because she is seen as different to certain people she is still normal to others. Elsie & # 8217 ; s friendly relationship was the

start of Jeanette & # 8217 ; s anchor. She grew from that friendly relationship and realized strengths within herself other so the spiritual facets.

Jeanette & # 8217 ; s female parent gave her something even more valuable. She gave her the strength to happen her sense of ego. By doing Jeanette face that she wasn & # 8217 ; t a individual who fit into her cast of a spiritual individual, she made Jeanette travel out an seek her existent individuality. Even when she was facing Jeanette and penalizing her, she was doing her stronger, a better individual so herself.

Even though both adult females are strikingly different, they portion cardinal qualities. Both adult females had something in them that brought out the good in Jeanette. All be it, that Jeanette & # 8217 ; s female parent & # 8217 ; s manner was rough and Elsie & # 8217 ; s was gentler, it was the same result. A adult females who is true to herself and cognize how and why she is who she is.