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Apples are Xiomara’s favorite fruit, and they symbolize her complicated relationship with the Catholic Church and its teachings. In Genesis, Eve picking the apple off of the Tree of Knowledge is what brings original sin, knowledge of good and evil, and shame to humanity. Given Xiomara’s thirst for knowledge—both sexual and otherwise—that doesn’t adhere strictly to church teachings, apples represent Xiomara’s curiosity and the way that it often conflicts with her religion and culture. This symbol also suggests that Xiomara’s curiosity isn’t at all abnormal, given how common and unremarkable apples are as fruit in non-biblical contexts.
Apples Quotes in The Poet X
The The Poet X quotes below all refer to the symbol of Apples. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part II
Quotes
“And about this apple,
how come God didn’t explain
why they couldn’t eat it?
He gave Eve curiosity
but didn’t expect her to use it?
Unless the apple is a metaphor?
Is the whole Bible a poem?
What’s not a metaphor?
Did any of it actually happen?
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Poet X LitChart as a printable PDF.
Apples Symbol Timeline in The Poet X
The timeline below shows where the symbol Apples appears in The Poet X. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part I: In the Beginning Was the World
...She’s the girl of the house, so she has to help out. Xiomara eats an apple, washes dishes, and dusts. Xiomara and Twin argue about how Twin doesn’t have to clean...
(full context)
Part II: And the Word Was Made Flesh
...inside her. She crumples it up and throws it away. Poetry club is like Eve’s apple in that it’s something she can want, but she knows she can’t have it.
(full context)
...better choices. Her story teaches people how to deal with temptation and resist the proverbial apple. Xiomara doesn’t know if it’s because of what she’s learning in school and in life...
(full context)
...metaphor too. She asks why God didn’t explain why Adam and Eve couldn’t eat the apple, and why he gave Eve curiosity but didn’t want her to exercise it. She asks...
(full context)
Over Breakfast. Twin sings under his breath as he cuts an apple and gives half to Xiomara. Xiomara asks who Twin is smiling about, which makes Twin...
(full context)
Part III: The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness
Wednesday, November 21. Favors. Twin pulls out Xiomara’s headphones and offers her a cut apple. Xiomara is surprised, but eats the entire thing to ease Twin’s fears. Twin asks Xiomara...
(full context)
...headphones and asks Xiomara for her opinion. As she recites her poem, Xiomara puts her apple down to focus. When Isabelle finishes, she doesn’t look at Xiomara. Xiomara thinks the poem...
(full context)
...locker, she finds an envelope in her biology textbook holding two tickets to visit an apple farm. They’re clearly from Aman, and Xiomara laughs. At poetry club, Chris sings “Happy Birthday”...
(full context)
