Previous
Chapter 3: Wendell
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Seedfolks, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Gardening and Community
Nature, Mental Health, and the City
The Immigrant Experience
Family, Memory, and the Future
Summary
Analysis
Gonzalo thinks that the older a person is, the younger they get when they move to the U.S. When Gonzalo and his father moved here from Guatemala, it only took Gonzalo two years to learn English. He learned on the playground and from cartoons. But Gonzalo’s father worked in a kitchen with Mexican and Salvadoran men and only shopped at the bodega down the way. He made Gonzalo talk to the landlady and do the shopping at big stores, as he didn’t want people to hear his mistakes. In other words, Gonzalo’s father got younger, while Gonzalo got older.
Gonzalo proposes that the most difficult thing about being an immigrant, especially as an adult, is not knowing the dominant language in one’s new country. Though Gonzalo seems to think less of his father for not learning English, it’s worth considering that it’s much easier for kids to pick up new languages than it is for adults, because children have more neuroplasticity than adults do. And since Gonzalo attends school that’s likely taught in English, he had no choice but to learn. Adults, Gonzalo shows, can sometimes avoid situations where they have to speak a new language. And while it may make immigrants feel more at home to speak their native language in a new country, sometimes clinging solely to one’s native language, as Gonzalo’s father does here, prevents adults from functioning totally independently in their new countries.
Active
Themes
Then, Gonzalo’s little brothers, his mother, and his mother’s uncle, Tío Juan, joined them. Tío Juan was the oldest man in his pueblo—but in the United States, he became a baby. He used to be a farmer, but there’s no farm work in Cleveland. He can’t even sit in the plaza and talk , since there are no plazas in Cleveland, and sitting outside puts someone at risk of getting shot by gangsters. So now Tío Juan spends his days wandering around the apartment talking to himself.
Some of Tío Juan’s difficulties in Cleveland may come from being disconnected from nature, in addition to not speaking English. This deprives Tío Juan of his dignity; he’s stripped of his accolades as a farmer and old wise man and effectively becomes an infant in the United States.
Active
Themes
One morning, Tío Juan wanders outside. Gonzalo’s mother panics, since Tío Juan only speaks “an Indian language” and doesn’t even speak Spanish. Gonzalo finds him in front of the beauty parlor, staring inside. Since this incident, Gonzalo has been tasked with babysitting his great-uncle after school.
Active
Themes
One afternoon, as Gonzalo is “getting smart on” The Brady Bunch, he looks up. Tío Juan is gone. Gonzalo can’t find him anywhere in the apartment building, and he’s not at the bodega or the pawnshop. Finally, Gonzalo spots his great-uncle’s white straw hat in front of a vacant lot. Tío Juan is gesturing to a man with a shovel.
Active
Themes
Get the entire Seedfolks LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Gonzalo tries to lead Tío Juan home, but Tío Juan pulls Gonzalo into the lot. Gonzalo recognizes the other man as the janitor at his old school. The janitor has a small garden and Tío Juan is trying to tell him something. But the janitor can’t understand, so he goes back to digging. Gonzalo leads his great-uncle back home.
Active
Themes
At dinner that night, Tío Juan tells Gonzalo’s mother about his afternoon (she’s the only one who speaks his language). The next afternoon, she asks Gonzalo to take Tío Juan back to the vacant lot. The old man studies the sun and then studies the soil—he even tastes it. Then, he chooses a spot near the sidewalk to plant the seeds his daughter bought for him. Gonzalo clears the trash away while Tío Juan digs. Gonzalo privately wishes they were further from the street, as he doesn’t want anyone to see him.
Active
Themes
Tío Juan shows Gonzalo how to space the rows and plant the seeds at the right depth. Tío Juan can’t read the text on the seed packs, but he knows how to plant the seeds regardless. When Tío Juan pours seeds into his hand, he smiles at the seeds like he would at an old friend. As Gonzalo watches his great-uncle plant the seeds, he realizes he doesn’t know anything about growing food, while Tío Juan knows everything. He also notices that Tío Juan’s eyes are focused, not confused—suddenly, he’s changed back into a man.
