Bob answers “What was Oliver's purpose in eating the...”

A Goodreads user asked this question about Call Me by Your Name:

What was Oliver's purpose in eating the peach? What point was he making? Or was he doing it to get a rise? Just curious of other opinions. I have mine.

Bob Just as with the title, "Call Me by Your Name," which symbolically shows how both men become the same man, Oliver's wish to swallow the peach containi…moreJust as with the title, "Call Me by Your Name," which symbolically shows how both men become the same man, Oliver's wish to swallow the peach containing Elio's cum demonstrates a concrete fulfillment of that desire. Also, Elio is innocent and initially shocked by Oliver's action. He soon absorbs what Oliver has done. (Gay men have tasted one another's cum forever, but Elio is only a novice. He must learn quickly. He only has a few days to last him a lifetime.)

Though this isn't spelled out in the book, both men are Jewish and there's a famous quotation from "The Song of Solomon": "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine." The words in Hebrew are frequently engraved on wedding rings. (less)

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Call Me by Your Name

by André Aciman (Goodreads Author)

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