Sami Elmaani

Period: 2
Gary Soto Pie
The urge to steal is inside everyone, some are better at concealing it while
some make a living out of it, however it affects all of us. In the excerpt of Gary Sotos
autobiographical narrative he skillfully uses powerful gustatory and visual imagery,
personification, and biblical allusion to recreate the contrasting emotions he was
feeling on the day of his theft. Soto begins the passage by immediately doubting his
impulse and wondering about what God would think of his actions, then he moves
into a trance, a complete and utter state of joy and content with the stolen pie,
followed by deep regret and guilt found through personification of objects that are
disappointed in him.
Soto is extremely nervous since he sees himself as a good person and isnt
accustomed to the urge to steal, and therefore uses biblical allusion to express to the
reader the anxiety he was feeling. Soto begins the excerpt by saying he, knew
enough about hell to keep him from stealing (1). This immediate allusion to hell
and evidence of his religious belief alert the reader that this boy is very nervous and
is contemplating the decision ahead of him. Hell is seen as a place for sinners and
this young boy is afraid to sin. Soto continues his anxiety by noticing a squirrel on a
tree and how it, nailed itself high on the trunk just like the crusification of Jesus
Christ (22). It is commonly known that Jesus died for our sins and watches over
us and the author is now seeing Jesus in all kinds of things and is scared that he is
watching him sin. These are the actions of a severely anxious, and nervous young
boy who has never stolen anything before. Now as an adult, Soto recreates his
feeling of extreme anxiety through biblical allusion.

Sami Elmaani
Period: 2
After committing the sin, Soto uses an array of powerful gustatory and visual
imagery to highlight the elation he is feeling while eating the pie. Soto describes the,
wet finger-dripping pieces that he was consuming and how they were, about the
best thing he had every tasted (41,43). By using descriptive words such as fingerdripping the author reinforces the fact that the pressure that previously consumed
him has disappeared just like the pie that he is devouring. Soto continues this attack
on our senses in lines 48-50 by saying, I wiped my sticky fingers on the grass and
rolled my tongue over the corners of my mouth. A burp perfumed the air. Vivid
images of jam on the corner of Sotos mouth, and the distinct smell of pie in the air
are created through this powerful visual and olfactory imagery. The purpose of
these vivid images is to allow the reader to understand why Soto committed the
crime. The pie tastes, smells, and is delicious and Soto lets the reader know it was all
worth it through his use of several different types of imagery.
Sotos joyous state is quickly interrupted through personification and biblical
allusion as he enters a giant, deep hole of regret and guilt. Soto begins believing
objects are judging him as he sees the, pie tin glare at me and roll away as the wind
picked up (63). Through this personification of the pie tin, Soto creates yet another
source for his young self to feel guilt. A normal person would be looking out for
people or cars, yet this young boy who has just sinned is convinced a pie tin is
condemning him for his actions. This unrealistic situation sheds light on the guilt the
author is feeling. Then, Soto combines the judgment of objects with biblical allusion.
He says that his Frisbee looked, like the shadow of an angel fleeing bad deeds (70).
Soto continues his personification by describing the Frisbee, fleeing yet he also

Sami Elmaani
Period: 2
mentions angels. By doing this Soto combines the guilt of an object staring him
down, and the guilt of what God would think to create an inconceivable ball of guilt
that is growing inside his stomach. As this ball grows bigger and bigger, his delicious
stolen meal and the joy that came with it begin to shrink and shrivel away.
Soto describes a situation with which most of us can relate. The thirst to
steal, no matter how small, has at one point burdened us all. And we have yet to
understand why. Soto recreates his personal experience through strong biblical
allusion, personification of objects like pie tins and Frisbees, and a multitude of
gustatory, olfactory, and visual imagery. Daniel Nayeri appropriately said, If you
don't get caught, you deserve everything you steal. While people struggle to admit
it, theft runs through our blood and Gary Soto shared his own first hand experience
with the reader through his autobiographical narrative.