Grgas 1

Daniela Grgas
Yeaton
Pre-AP English, Period 6
29 September 2017
The Plum Plum Pickers OPR Literary Analysis
Written by Raymond Barrio, an excerpt from The Plum Plum Pickers depicts the
workday for a manual laborer, Manuel, under the harsh enforcement of his boss, Roberto
Morales. Through the use of diction, syntax, imagery, and tone, Barrio establishes the feelings of
Manuel and the unhealthy working conditions he faces.
Using rhetorical devices allows Barrio to implicitly give insight on the feelings of
Manuel while coinciding with the excerpt’s sentence structure and word order. To illustrate the
setting during the exposition of the passage, in third person point of view, Barrio depicts that the
“endless maze of apricot trees, as though forever, neat rows of them, neatly planted, row after
row, [were] just like the blackest bars on the jails of hell” (Barrio 1); the use of imagery in the
opening line of the passage shows the treacherous workplace of Manuel. Barrio’s simile relating
the rows of apricot trees to “the blackest bars on the jails of hell” signifies Manuel’s feeling of
being trapped at work with absolutely no exit, similarly to a jail. Moreover, syntax employs
underlying messages throughout The Plum Plum Pickers which display Manuel’s frustrations
without the use of words. As Manuel processes that he is out of crossroads, he argues with
himself speculating if there is a way to get relief from his torturous work, thinking “There had to
be a way out. Locked. There had to be a respite. Animal. The buckets and the crates kept piling
up higher. Brute. He felt alone. Though surrounded by other pickers. Beast” (Barrio 1). Although
Barrio is describing what is around Manuel, the use of telegraphic and short sentences indicates
how Manuel is not able to think straight in the harsh conditions he is put under, and the use of
fragments show that he can’t have a complete thought without his mind racing to another subject.
Furthermore, Barrio’s word choice plays an influential role throughout The Plum Plum Pickers.
As Manuel stumbles to the ground, fainting from fatigue, Morales ridicules Manuel and states,
“Whatsamatter, can’t you see straight, pendejo” (Barrio 1); by using slang diction, Barrio
suggests that Morales is uneducated through the contraction, “whatsamatter”, and that Morales
looks down upon the plum pickers calling them “pendejo” which is vernacular for an imprudent
person. In addition, the use of Spanish phrases throughout the passage allows Barrio to show the
culture and background of the plum pickers as well as Morales. As a product of Barrio’s use of
jargon and insincere diction, a brash tone can be analyzed as Morales chooses not to address
Manuel’s exhaustion and he belittles Manuel by calling him “pendejo”. Barrio’s diction directly
relates to the tone of this passage as words such as “Whatsamatter” displays a brash tone, and a
telegraphic sentence, “Ended!” (Barrio 1) implies the relief of Manuel that his workday is over.
The use of rhetorical devices in The Plum Plum Pickers gives insight to underlying
messages and helps identify Barrio’s purpose. Moreover, the use of imagery delivers information
of the setting and Manuel’s feelings, syntax implies evidence on the pace of Manuel’s thoughts,
and diction and tone work together to show the characters’ attitude to one another.