A Summer Life Response

446 Words2 Pages
The pie A critical life is to not steal from others because it is an unethical action. Usually the aftermath of stealing results in feelings of guiltiness, regret, and abashment. The autobiography A Summer Life by Gary Soto is about Soto’s childhood experiences in the 1960’s. In the particular vignette, “The Pie”, Soto’s childhood self steals a pie from the market and is instantly hit with sensation of shamefulness. In “The Pie”, Soto uses religious allusions and tone to revive the theme of guilt, regret, and nervousness that he felt as a six-year-old boy stealing a pie. The author used tone to convey his feelings of guilt and remorse towards stealing the pie. “But boredom made me sin…I stood before a rack of pies, my sweet tooth gleaming and the juice of guilt wetting my underarms…I nearly wept trying to decide which to steal” (Soto 55). Soto’s exaggerated tone towards choosing which pie to steal and “the juice of guilt” wetting his underarms reveals his apprehensiveness. Since he was apprehensive, he knew exactly what he was doing, but he was using poor judgment. After stealing the pie, Cross-Eyed Johnny, the neighbor’s kid asks for a piece, but Gary denies him one. Shortly after, Soto states “I felt bad not sharing with Cross-Eyed Johnny” (Soto 56). Soto expresses his behavior with remorse, not only did he steal the pie, but he did not want to split the flavorful pie with anyone else. In summary, Soto’s tone emphasizes the feelings of guiltiness and regret for stealing the pie. As well as using tone to express the theme the author uses numerous religious allusions. Gary exclaims that he “knew enough about hell” to stop him from stealing and that he was “holy in almost every bone” (Soto 55). This is quite ironic because he goes against his religious beliefs by committing the sin of stealing. He relates stealing the pie with a biblical reference of “an

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