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#14

Class:

Peaches we

By Adrienne Su

2015

910m

COMMONLIT

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Smeod

Adrienne Su is a Chinese American author who grew up in Georgia. In this poem, a

speaker describes their experiences as the child of immigrant

parents. As you read,

take notes on the significance of food to

the speaker.

rbs

[1] A crate of peaches straight from the

farm yer bns sain

out m'l jud

has

to be

maintained,1

Obvious, but in my family, they went so

fast,

or eaten in days.

I never saw the mess that punishes

delay.

[5] I thought everyone bought fruit by the

crate,

stored it in the coolest part of the

house,

then devoured² it before any could rot.

I'm from

the Peach State,³ and to those

"Peach" by Jackson's Orchard is licensed

under CC BY 2.0.

who ask But where are you from originally,

[10] I'd like to reply The homeland of the peach,

but I'm too nice, and they might not look it up.

In truth, the reason we bought so much

did have to do with being Chinese - at least

Chinese in that part of America, both strangers

[15] and natives on a lonely, beautiful street

1. to be kept in good condition

2. Devour (verb) to eat food hungrily or quickly

3. Georgia

4. Native (noun) a person born in a specific place

TUMOмMOO

where food came in stackable containers

and fussy bags, unless you bothered to drive

to the source, where the same money landed

a bushels of frult, a

twenty-pound sack of rice.

[20]

You had to drive anyway

, each house surrounded

by land enough to grow your own, if lawns

hadn't been required. At home I loved to stare

Into the extra freezer, reviewing mountains

of foil-wrapped meats, cakes, juice concentrate,

[25] mysterious packets brought by house guests

from New York Chinatown, to be transformed

by heat, force, and my mother's patient effort,

enough to keep us fed through flood or storm,

provided the power stayed on, or fire and ice

[30] could be procured, which would be labor-intensive,³

but so was everything else my parents did.

Their lives were labor, they kept this from the kids,

who grew up to confuse work with pleasure,

to become typical immigrants' children,

[35] taller than their parents and unaware of hunger

except when asked the odd, perplexing question.

COMMONLIT

Copyright © 2015 by Adrienne Su. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on October 23,

2015, by the Academy of American Poets.

Unless otherwise noted, this content is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license

5. a measuring unit for dry foods equal to 8 gallons

6. a neighborhood in New York City that has a large population of Chinese people

7. Procure (verb) to get something

8. requiring a lot of work

In Adrienne Su's poem "Peaches," the significance of food, particularly peaches, highlights the cultural and familial experiences of the speaker, who is the child of immigrant parents. This poem reflects on the role of food in the speaker's life and identity as a child of Chinese immigrants living in Georgia, also known as the Peach State.

Cultural Identity and Belonging: The poem starts by describing the abundance of peaches, which are bought by the crate. This practice is tied to the speaker’s Chinese heritage and their family's adaptation to life in Georgia, a place known for its peaches. The peaches symbolize the intersection of the speaker's cultural identity and their American experience.
Family Togetherness: The peaches, along with other foods stored in the extra freezer, represent the efforts of the speaker’s family to maintain a sense of security and comfort. The storing and preparation of food by the mother signify the family's dedication to providing and caring for one another.
Generational Differences and Immigrant Experience: The speaker reflects on the hardworking nature of their immigrant parents, who ensured their children never experienced hunger. This description highlights the typical immigrant narrative of striving for better opportunities and the expectation that children grow up to achieve more.
Societal Perceptions and Questions: There is a sense of being caught between two worlds when the speaker mentions the perplexing questions about their origins. The desire to answer "The homeland of the peach" is a clever response that links their literal birthplace with their metaphorical home.

Overall, food in the poem "Peaches" serves as a powerful symbol of cultural heritage, family unity, and the complexities of living between two cultures. It emphasizes the speaker's internal and external experiences of identity and belonging in America.

SophiaElizab SophiaElizab · Answer 2 · 2026-06-27T18:21:02-04:00

Final answer:

This section reveals that the speaker feels like an outsider because others do not accept their answer that they are from Georgia. Instead, people see them as different due to their family's immigrant background, making the speaker feel misunderstood and not fully accepted as a local.

Explanation:

Analysis of the Speaker's Perspective

The section, 'But where are you from originally, / I'd like to reply The homeland of the peach, / but I'm too nice, and they might not look it up,' reveals several important things about the speaker and how others see them:

Feeling of Not Belonging: The speaker is often asked about their origins, suggesting that others do not see them as truly belonging to Georgia, even though it is their home.
Desire for Acceptance: The speaker wants to answer with pride about being from Georgia, the 'homeland of the peach,' but feels that this answer would not be accepted or understood by others.
Politeness and Restraint: The speaker says they are 'too nice' to give a clever or possibly sarcastic answer, showing they are considerate of others' feelings, even when the question is uncomfortable.
Perception by Others: The repeated questioning about their origins shows that others see the speaker as different or foreign, despite their local roots.

Overall, this section highlights the challenges of identity and belonging faced by children of immigrants, and how they are often viewed as outsiders by those around them.