This little novel is packed with themes! It would be a mighty tool in the classroom for exemplifying themes in literature. One of the themes may be: Gardens yield not only fruit to feed souls, but gardens also yield generosity and compassion in encouraging weary souls to hope. If only that little Vietnamese girl knew the impact her little garden had on so many lives. She truly did honor her father in starting a garden. Her garden inspired Wendell to avoid complaining and to get busy with better things. The reader wonders what she would say to the people gathered on that once-empty lot at the end of the book. Fleischman crafted a unique plot bringing 13 diversified people together to develop a powerful place of beauty and life amid the muck and downtrodden slums of the city. Gonzalo made a very perceptive statement when he said that older people get younger when they come to the United States. But his statement yields a negative connotation connecting youth with vulnerability. The garden became a healing solution for his father who was out of his element when he first came to the United States. Assertive Leona tried to appeal to the authorities about cleaning up the lot that had been discovered by the neighbors for gardening. Smiling Sam added cheer and optimism to the garden community. As others discovered the potential power of growing things in a garden the reader's heart melts with compassion as Nora brought hope and vitality back to Mr. Myles in his wheelchair as she accommodated a garden place for him to tend. No longer was he a salmon traveling upstream. The garden renewed hope in an unwed mother and
to all the rest of the community of gardeners over time. At the end of the novel the reader is assured that another season of community building and healing is about to begin as the little girl again digs a spot to plant her beans.
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2 comments:
I really loved your response to the book! The theme you came up with was great. Reading your post, I had forgotten about the young mother's story, but I thought hers was one of my favorites as well. It seemed that she was really affected by the garden. I would also love to know what the characters would say to each other if they talked. I bet it would be interesting!
You & I had the same thought about the Vietnamese girl. The book never did say whether she recognized that the garden brought so many people together!
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