The Taste of Watermelon Themes

In “The Taste of Watermelon,” the 16-year-old narrator comes of age, particularly by finding a way to belong to the world of men. At the beginning of the story, the narrator and his two friends are still boys. They’re interested in dating their neighbor, Willadean Wills, but they never talk to her because they are afraid of her father. And they are “still young enough” that they seek the security of belonging in a…

Through the hidden kindness of Mr. Wills, “The Taste of Watermelon” suggests that people are not always what they seem. The sixteen-year-old narrator and his family have recently moved next door to Mr. Wills, an intimidating and talented farmer. He is a big man who seems quick to anger, and he never visits with anyone in the community, which others find weird. For this reason, when Mr. Wills obsessively guards an especially large watermelon…

“The taste of Watermelon” examines the morality of a small farming community. At the beginning of the story, the narrator believes that his neighbor, Mr. Wills, is acting immorally, because he won’t allow teenage boys to steal watermelons from his field, a commonly accepted “rite of passage” in the community. The narrator’s parents support this notion, criticizing Mr. Wills for protecting his watermelon patch so obsessively. However, after stealing Mr. Wills’s giant watermelon…

In “The Taste of Watermelon,” the narrator navigates his budding sexuality within the strict moral codes of the farming community where his family has recently relocated. The narrator and his two friends share a common romantic interest in Willadean, a neighbor whose father, Mr. Wills, terrifies them. In part to impress Willadean, the narrator steals Mr. Wills’s “seed watermelon,” the biggest watermelon ever grown in the community, and his two friends eat…