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Chapter 7: Virgil
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
There were always lots of people in Sae Young’s house when she was young. She had five sisters and lots of friends—and she likes being with people. She left Korea with her husband to work in the United States. They bought a dry cleaning shop and lived the next block over. Dry cleaning shops are better than restaurants, since you don’t have to speak much English and only work six days per week. Sae Young and her husband worked together every day, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. In the evenings, she sewed alterations. They saved for their children to go to college and tried for years to conceive, but they never had children.
Through her story, Sae Young articulates her version of the American Dream. For her, this meant moving to the U.S., starting a successful business, growing a family, and eventually being able to send their children to college. Even if the day-to-day experience of living in the U.S. is difficult for immigrants, as the book’s other narrators have shown, Sae Young seems to realize that having a sense of purpose and point of pride (e.g., a thriving business, a family, a good education for her children) will make the immigrant experience easier.
Themes
Sae Young’s husband died of a heart attack when he was only 37. Though she still had her friends, Sae Young nevertheless felt totally alone. Some time after her husband’s death, Sae Young was alone in their dry cleaning shop when a man came in with a coat—and under the coat was a gun. He stole all of the shop’s money, pushed Sae Young down, and screamed profanities at her. He then kicked her so hard that she went unconscious.
Despite her big dreams about what she wants to achieve in the U.S., Sae Young experiences one tragedy after another: failing to conceive, losing her husband suddenly to a heart attack, and being the victim of a brutally violent robbery. Her assault underscores that the U.S. can be dangerous and unwelcoming for immigrants. Although readers don’t get insight into what exactly the robber says to Sae Young in this passage, the fact that he yells horrible things at her and is physically violent even after he's stolen the money suggests that he is hateful towards Sae Young as an immigrant, and possibly targeted the shop for this reason.
Themes
After this incident, Sae Young didn’t like to be with people anymore and even became afraid of them. She spent the next two months in her apartment. She didn’t even leave to go to the store—her neighbor bought groceries for her. She hired a Korean man to run the dry cleaning shop, and she wouldn’t even open her apartment door for friends. This was all two years ago, and Sae Young has been getting better recently. She can now buy her own food at the store. Though she’s lonely, she’s still terrified.
The assault didn’t just harm Sae Young physically—it also destroyed her connections with other people, her outlook on life, and her view of humankind overall. Once again, the novel shows that being an immigrant can be profoundly lonely and alienating.
Themes
One day, Sae Young passes by the garden and notices a Vietnamese girl picking beautiful lima beans. On the other side of the lot are a man and a woman, talking about the hoe the man got for his birthday. Sae Young wants to be with people again. The next day, she goes back to the lot and digs a small garden. Nobody talks to her, but it feels good to be near nice people. July is hot and humid. People tend to come early in the evening when they get off work to water and pull weeds. Sae Young doesn’t talk to anyone, but she listens to everyone else talking and working. She feels safe.
The girl picking lima beans is presumably Kim. This reference to Kim and her lima beans reminds readers of how, in the first chapter, the lima beans symbolized hope. They seem to hold similar symbolic significance for Sae Young, as they make her more willing to quietly participate in society for the first time in two years. It’s also telling that she feels safe in the garden, even if the city feels severely unsafe. Being in the natural world, surrounded by people who also want to grow vegetables and be around others, is fundamentally comforting.
Themes
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One day, a man walks over and asks about Sae Young’s peppers. She grows hot peppers like the ones grown in Korea. She’s so glad that someone is talking to her that she can barely speak. The man’s name is Sam. He’s American, smart, and talks to everyone. He’s so smart that when people complain about carrying water, he starts a contest. Sam insists that adults can’t solve the problem, so they should let the children try. He offers $20 to the child who comes up with the best idea for how to get water to the lot.
Growing hot peppers from Korea allows Sae Young a way to connect to her Korean roots and nurture this part of her identity even while living in the U.S. With this, the novel suggests that it’s important to connect with one’s past, but Sam’s watering contest also shows that it’s necessary to invest in the future—that is, future generations (the children he creates the contest for) and the future of the garden. From the garden, kids can learn about their family members’ history, but they can also practice their problem-solving skills and share their own unique gifts.
Themes
Sam nails a flyer announcing the contest to a post. For a week, kids prepare. Then, on Saturday, everyone comes with plans. Sam gives each child a chance to share their idea. A girl who lives in a building on one side of the garden offers to fill people’s containers from her tap, but the girl’s mother objects. Several boys suggest running hoses from Lake Erie or the fire hydrant. For each suggestion, Sam explains how much the idea will cost to implement. Then, a little Black girl suggests capturing the rain from downspouts in garbage cans. Sam gives the girl $20, and others pitch in to buy the cans.
That Sam’s contest generates so much interest in the community implies that the garden has now become a beloved fixture in the community. Even the children recognize that the garden is worth fighting for and trying to solve its problems. The novel shows this again when everyone seems willing to pitch to purchase the garbage cans. The garden is a worthwhile investment—and even more importantly, it’s worth it for people to invest in something that helps everyone, not just themselves. In a similar vein, that Sam crowdsources both the idea for how to solve the water problem and the money to implement said solution again points to the community spirit of the garden.
Themes
There’s a thunderstorm the next day, and the rain almost completely fills the cans. The girl who came up with the idea to collect rainwater is very proud. Sae Young watches people struggle to scoop water out of the garbage bins and into their watering cans, so she goes to the store and buys three funnels. With the funnels, it’ll be easier to fill the watering cans. Later that day, she watches lots of people use her funnels. It makes her glad, and it makes her feel like she’s part of the garden. It’s almost like a family.
Through her contribution to the garden, Sae Young is able to feel like a part of a community and feel like she provides value. The garden is, in many ways, breathing life back into her, and she pays this forward by investing her resources into the garden, too.
Themes
