We talked about the different meanings of fruit in stories in class today, and it made me think of one meaning we didn’t have a chance to talk about. This is a line of references, so bear with me.
In the Star Trek reboot movie from 2009, Captain Kirk beats the “Kobayashi Maru” test while smugly taking a bite out of an apple. It’s a character defining moment for him: he’s slouching in the captain’s chair, in complete control, while taking a test that nobody is supposed to beat. He cheated the test, changing the conditions so he could win. Nobody knew what was happening, so while everyone else around him is baffled, he’s smirking. This is a great moment, and the eating of the apple is something of a double reference. Because…
In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, made in 1982, a much older Captain Kirk is telling the other characters in the movie how he beat the “Kobayashi Maru” test. While confidently smirking, he explains how he changed the conditions of the test so he could beat the “no-win scenario”. He says, “I don’t like to lose.” All of this, of course, while eating an apple.
Though the reboot is obviously hearkening back to the 1982 film, both films seem to be making a Biblical reference with these moments– back to the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil”. For Captain Kirk, the apple he eats is a metaphor for the agency that he takes– he won’t let himself be a victim of his circumstance.
In Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, we can also look at this as a story of a girl asserting her own identity. If you look at the apple as an alternative to the orange, you can see the protagonist making choices, moving beyond the circumstances she was brought up in, and taking a kind of power. If Oranges are The Only Fruit Available, Jeanette is a victim of circumstance. If she reaches out and takes power, takes Agency, then oranges are NOT the only fruit, and the alternative is: knowledge and power, agency and identity.
Meaning and Pleasure2014 