"The Plum Plum Pickers" Essay

Kevin Joyce
Ryan Gallagher
Senior CP
19 Oct. 2010

                                                    "The Plum Plum Pickers"

In the story "The Plum Plum Pickers" the author Raymond Barrio suggests that even though you are surrounded by people, you can still feel alone on the inside. An example of this would be when Manuel is feeling alone and trapped in the beginning of the story, when he describes the trees as jail bars, or the gates of Hell. He also keeps referring to himself as brute or an animal.

Barrio uses repetition to describe Manuel through the beginning of the story. One way that he uses it, is when he uses one word sentences like “Animal”, “Brute”, “Beast”, and “Predator”, the main reason why Barrio chose these words is because Manuel works and is treated like an animal. Since there are trees surrounding him, Manuel can compare himself as a caged animal. Also  Barrio uses repetition again, because he uses the word “brute” a least five times through out the story.

Barrio also uses comparison when describing Manuel, and his surroundings. He describes the apricot trees as “the blackest bars on the jails of Hell”. Barrio is comparing Manuel as an animal, and being trapped and alone, but yet he was surrounded by other pickers. He then describes Manuel at the end of the first paragraph using a one word sentence, as “Predator”.

The main idea of the story is that even though you are surrounded by people, you can still feel alone on the inside. This goes with the story because Manuel feels alone because, he feels like he is in Hell. He feels this way because his surroundings resemble Hell and it is really hot, and there are bad working conditions, so in general it is a bad working environment.