Study Questions and Suggested Essay Topics
Study Questions
When the novel begins Jeanette is seven and when it ends she is past her teens. In what way does she change throughout it?
Many unrelated narratives appear in the novel. What purpose do they serve?
Jeanette has a relationship with both Melanie and Katy. In what way do these two relationships differ and why?
Suggested Essay Topics
In what sense is Oranges an autobiographical novel?
Explain the meaning of the book's title.
Jeanette's mother announces at the end of the book that oranges are not the only fruit, contradicting her earlier position. In what way has she changed by the novel's end and why.
What effect does the exorcism performed on Jeanette have?
Jeanette appears to be an outcast in school. How does this foreshadow her future life?
Discuss the narrator's opinions on history as described in Chapter 5.
