Illicit Sexuality and Acceptable Romance Theme Analysis

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 the watermelon illicitly, hiding in the woods behind Mr. Wills’s house. The watermelon and Willadean are parallel objects of sexual and romantic interest throughout the story: they both attract male attention, and Mr. Wills feels the need to protect both of them from that attention. Furthermore, the descriptions of the narrator’s desire for the watermelon are highly sexual: the narrator imagines “the sweet red juices oozing over his tongue,” and once he has stolen the watermelon, his pocketknife “penetrate[s] the thick green rind,” splitting the watermelon so that it “l[ies] open before” the three boys. However, this implied illicit sexuality results in moral catastrophe, as the narrator and his friends feel disgusted by their actions and realize the harm they have brought to the Wills family. By contrast, when the narrator apologizes to Mr. Wills for his crime, he and Willadean commence a much more acceptable romantic relationship within the community’s moral code, with the tacit approval of the adults present. The narrator offers to “set on the porch with Willadean anytime,” making Willadean blush and the two teenagers’ fathers laugh. By comparing these two opposing sexual and romantic experiences, the story suggests that teenage romance is acceptable, but only within the context of honesty (and with permission from adults).