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Chapter 3: Wendell
Themes
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.
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.
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.
Tío Juan is at even more of a disadvantage than Gonzalo’s father, given that he speaks an Indigenous language rather than Spanish, which some others in the community speak. This makes Tío Juan’s situation even more bleak—he may be the only person in Cleveland who speaks this language, so he may be entirely isolated from the world around him.
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.
Insisting that he’s “getting smart on” The Brady Bunch shows that Gonzalo thinks of TV as informative, and it points back to how he learned English by watching cartoons when he first arrived in the U.S. as a younger boy. Although he’s implied to be a teenager at this point, it’s possible that Gonzalo still looks to TV as a way to continue to absorb himself in the English language and American culture—especially since The Brady Bunch is such a quintessentially American show. There is also a contrast in this passage between Gonzalo, who’s indoors and glued in front of the TV alone, and Tío Juan, who is outdoors trying to connect with other people. This moment begins to hint that the lot—which seems to be slowly tuning into a garden—will be instrumental in bringing people together and connecting them with nature.
Themes
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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.
Recognizing the man as a school janitor makes it clear that this man is Wendell from the previous chapter. Despite Tío Juan’s best attempts at communicating, Wendell brushes him off because of the steep language barrier between them. This drives home how profoundly alienating it is to not speak the dominant language in a country. Given that Tío Juan used to be a farmer and Wendell grew up on a farm, readers can intuit that the men would have lots to talk about and teach one another. However, Tío Juan’s language barrier prevents the men from connecting, which continues to deprive him of dignity and purpose and keeps both men isolated.
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.
The mention that Gonzalo’s mother speaks the same Indigenous language as her uncle indicates that Tío Juan isn’t entirely isolated, but his opportunities to communicate and connect with others are nevertheless extremely limited. Gonzalo’s mother seems to recognize that in order to help Tío Juan feel at home in Cleveland, it’s important to encourage him in the garden, because it will help him connect to his past as a farmer, show his expertise, and find a sense of purpose.
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.
In this moment, when Gonzalo recognizes that his great-uncle has a wealth of experience about planting crops, Tío Juan suddenly starts to look like a real person and not just a baby to look after. This moment emphasizes that gardening can be a way for people and families to connect across language barriers and generational divides. And for people like Tío Juan, who love gardening and are knowledgeable about it, gardening can also be empowering.
Themes
