Rhetorical Analysis: A Summer Life

People may have different opinions about guilt and remorse, depending on their past experiences, how they learned, or what religion they believe. Gary Soto reveals the effects of guilt in A Summer Life by using religious allusions and contrasts. He also uses a powerful vocabulary. In addition to using various rhetorical tools, he also writes like a six year old.

Soto makes use of religious references to show that his actions were wrong and that God was important to him. Gary Soto states that, “A squirrel had nailed its self high up on the trunk of the tree, where two large limbs with bark-scabbed forked off” (Soto, 22-24). This confirms his full awareness of everything around him. As a sign, the squirrel symbolizes Jesus on the cross. This allusion is a way to express the guilt that he has. Young Soto is very religious. In fact, he seems to believe that the apple caused Eve’s troubles with snakes. Sister Marie has shown us the film about Adam & Eve being cast in the Desert. The only thing scarier than falling out of grace for me was being thirsty all my life (Soto 33 – 37). The guilt that he feels towards the story of Adam and Eve is evident in his feelings. Soto continually explains the guilt he feels by constantly expressing his extrinsic conscience.

This narrative uses contrast as a powerful rhetorical tool. This rhetorical device is effective in bringing attention to the difference between right and wrong. Soto emphasizes this theme through comparisons of Eve and him, and also by comparing religion and light. Gary Soto claims that “the best of life was stolen” (Soto 45), but he then contradicts himself when he attempts to explain why stolen goods are so desirable. Soto claims to have “knew just enough about hell” to keep him from stealing.

Soto explains how guilt can be justified to an innocent child in their mind. This leads the child eventually to think that theft is okay. Soto tells a story in which Eve steals the apple from a sacred garden. The story is ironically similar with his own story of stealing’sweet and gold colored’ (Soto, 40) apple pie. It is clear that his story is meant to illustrate that he’s worried by this parallel, but also let the readers know how much guilt he feels. Soto is careful to keep the imagery of “light” in mind (Soto 8, 3, 84,85) and uses it repeatedly. Soto is shown a “bald grocery store owner whose forehead was dazzling with light” (Soto 17, 18), which he also saw after he began eating apple pie. He is forced to look at the “light” by his guilt until he “crawled” back to it (Soto, 83-84). He is trying to alleviate his guilt through religion or God. Soto then “squinted at the harsh light”(Soto 85), an action that can show that he doesn’t want to go back to religion or that light that has caused him so much guilt.

Soto claims that he felt so guilty after eating the forbidden food that it made his “face sticky” (Soto, 65-66). As the reader continues to read, he discovers that Soto was a young boy who never wiped his own face. Soto’s attempt to connect guilt with stickiness is clear. As if to explain that the guilt would never leave him, he will be haunted by it forever. Soto, a mature author, successfully conveyed the feeling of guilt that a young boy would feel. He was aware that the surroundings were suspicious and that the sin he had done.