What are the important motifs in Gary Soto's novel Buried Onions?

In a piece of literature, a motif is closely related to the theme of the work. A motif is an image, event or action which helps to support the theme. In Gary Soto's novel Buried Onions, the most powerful recurring motif is the onion. The onion is a symbol for the tears which are shed by those who are part of the poverty ridden Mexican-American neighborhood in Fresno where Eddie grows up. In the first chapter, Eddie recounts the sorrows of those from this barrio, including his best friend Juan, who died in a work accident, his sister Belinda, whose husband Junior is in prison, and his cousin Jesús, who is stabbed to death in the bathroom of a nightclub. Eddie suggests that in the heat of summer there are "vapors" which emanate from the ground and are caused by a giant buried onion (if you've ever peeled or chopped an onion you know that they can cause involuntary tears), which is responsible for all of the problems he and those trapped in his neighborhood have to endure. He even notes that Belinda has a permanent tattoo of a tear on her cheek.

While metaphorically prevalent throughout Eddie's narration, real onions also surface during the story. In Chapter Four, Eddie's friend from high school, José, comes home from the Marines. José has seemingly escaped the poverty and violence of the barrio and is about to be shipped out. To celebrate, he takes Eddie out to breakfast, but afterward they are accosted by a man selling onions. José, simply attempting to demonstrate his generosity, agrees to buy some onions from the man. On the way back from buying the onions, Eddie sees Mr. Stiles's truck, which had recently been stolen from him. When José attempts to help him, he is badly stabbed. The incident seems to reinforce the inability of anyone to escape the despair of the barrio. The fact that onions are involved tends to strengthen Soto's recurring motif.

In Chapter Six, when Eddie believes he has received a reprieve from Mr. Stiles, he returns to the man's house to help plant trees. While digging, he discovers an onion-like bulb. Immediately after this discovery, he is arrested for the theft of Mr. Stiles's truck. Again, the onion shows up in times of trouble. Finally, in the last chapter, Eddie finds himself in a field of onions. He falls to the ground in tears over his childhood scars and the death which has pervaded it. Symbolically, a fieldworker hands two onions to Eddie seemingly as a way to absolve him of all that he has experienced. He comments that his eyes "filled and closed on the last of childhood tears."

Death and the prevalence of the cholos and gangbangers which infest the barrio also find their equivalents in literary motifs in Soto's work. The strongest motif of death is Eddie's obsession with the mortuary students at the city college. He imagines that their hands are cold and that the dead bodies steal heat from them so that when they return outside they need to stand in the sun to replenish their warmth. Another motif for death occurs in Chapter Five, when Eddie takes his nina's (godmother) dog to the humane society to be euthanized. Poverty is also symbolized when Eddie pockets the money that was meant as a donation to the SPCA. A motif which suggests the prevalence of the gangsters which plague Eddie is symbolized by the cockroaches that live in his apartment. No matter what lengths he takes to exterminate them, they always seem to come back, similar to the recurrence of cholos like Samuel and Angel throughout the novel.   

What was Gary Soto's motivation for writing Buried Onions?

The main character in Gary Soto's Buried Onions, must work very hard to overcome his poverty and racial discrimination in an environment very different from where he came from. He has a past filled with sorrow from the loss of family, gang violence, and very limited opportunities.  The story is set in the fields of Fresno, where many Mexican-Americans can find employment as migrant farm workers.

Eddie, the main character, takes many menial jobs in order to get by. He ends up taking the job of caring for a white man's lawn.  This only brings him pain, as he is wrongly accused of stealing from the man.  Plus, Eddie is constantly being hounded by gang members trying to initiate Eddie into a life he definitely does not want.  So many sad things happen to Eddie, such as the death of his father, his cousin's murder, his failure at community college, and the incessant demands of gang members for Eddie to avenge the death of his cousin, that it appears that nothing goes right for Eddie. 

The title, Buried Onions, is significant because Eddie must overcome much adversity in order to make sense of his life in the barrio.  The image of buried onions represents the Fresno farming fields, his dying dreams, and his need to bury the past in order to have a successful future.  Onions represent tears shed and the layers of Eddie's life as they peel away, leaving more scars on an already embattled life.  Furthermore, the onions are buried to symbolize that Eddie is trying so hard to bury the past, and put his troubles behind him.  The fact that the produce is an onion represents the ever present nature of temptation for Eddie to return to his past.  If you bury an onion, then it cannot be seen, make you cry, or remind you of a distasteful experience, all of which Eddie seeks to void.  It is better for Eddie to bury the past, as he unwaveringly strives for a better quality of life.