Jesse

In Jesse, fruits are a symbol of God’s promise of a plentiful life. Jesse and Abel often survive on fruit picked from their neighbors’ trees, so fruit literally helps keep them alive. Fruit being of the Earth and Jesse believing the Earth is God’s creation implies a symbolic connection between Jesse’s faith and God’s protection of Jesse (in the form of food). In the Bible, fruit is important metaphorically as well. At one point, Jesse notes an orange that has bitterly survived in a climate unsuitable for its survival. This is a symbolic parallel to Jesse’s own life, in which he remains resilient in the face of external conflicts and environments. When Abel leaves for training camp as part of his draft, Jesse decides to stay in California and pick melons. Though the work of picking melons is physically difficult and monotonous, Jesse sees his job working with fruit in a different light.

With Abel’s life on the line at the end of the novel, Jesse sees his fruit-picking job as a privilege. Thus, the melons become a metaphor for Jesse’s brighter, more secure future. However, the fruit also symbolizes the level of Jesse and Abel’s poverty. They are so poor that their nutrients come from fruit they must steal from others’ property. Therefore, fruit is both a symbol of the injustice of poverty and God’s protection helping Jesse progress in life. Fruit is an important agricultural staple in California. American labor leader César Chávez’s grape workers strike was a fundamental victory in labor-government relations and emphasized the importance of fruit to the Californian economy—thus emphasizing the importance of grape workers to the economy.