Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
This fruit symbol is only brought up twice, so we'll make this short and sweet.
When Deborah first starts talking to Dr. Fried, Anterrabae tells her that she has "eaten down hope from the red to the rind" (28.86). Deborah thinks that means that she will have to watch the rind of the fruit that was once her life—as well as the little hope she has—shrivel up and get hard, and then get thrown away.
Anterrabae keeps bringing up this rind to Deborah. He keeps telling her just to spit it out and give up at last. But she admits to Dr. Fried that she can't stop chewing on that rind of hope now—it's all she has in the world, and it has to be enough to move forward.
It turns out that it's Dr. Fried who's right. By instilling Deborah with hope that she can actually get better, she helps Deborah create the necessary conditions for health. Deborah's got this: as long as she holds out hope, she's got a chance.