PROSE Oranges are not the only fruit Janette Winterson (1960s)

Oranges aren't the only fruit by Jeanette Winterson
Prose

Jeanette has an inevitable struggle for identity as she is raised by her mother, a Christian fundamentalist who adopted Jeanette, she forces an identity on her with her God driven beliefs. Jeanette feels isolated at school as she is misunderstood due to the beliefs forced on her by the church. This prose looks at the struggle for identity in religion and sexuality as the novel follows Jeanette from the age of 7 to adolescence and looks at her struggles and battles with the church.

Jeanette has affairs with two girls in the congregation, possibly due to her bad experiences with males in the church. When the first is found out she repents it, the second she rebels and the church abandons her to face the world alone, her mother refuses to communicate with her as she believes her sins are of the devil. 

Context

There is no set date where this is set however there are hints of the 60s era with the book published and written in the 1980s. This prose looks at contemporary themes of sexuality and acceptance which are still relevant today. Jeanette is also homosexual so some of the themes will be relevant to the writer as she is writing from personal experience. 

Dates

• Civil partnership act wasn't around until 2004, although it is still against the law to have a homosexual marriage in the UK we now have the civil partner ship act. This wasn't around when the book was set or written, being another reason for sexual struggle.
• The discrimination against same sex activity was in 1967, the book was set in the 60s so there is a possibility this law may not have been enforced yet.
• The buggery act was enforced in 1533, where if you were gay you were sentenced to death, this didn't end until 1861

Quotes

"to change something that you do not understand is the true nature of evil"

"I love you almost as much as I love The Lord"

“I miss God. I miss the company of someone utterly loyal. I still don't think of God as my betrayer. The servants of God, yes, but servants by their very nature betray. I miss God who was my friend. I don't even know if God exists, but I do know that if God is your emotional role model, very few human relationships will match up to it.”