Seedfolks

Seedfolks shows how one person can change the community through small and simple things. This apartment complex is filled with strangers. No one knows who their next-door neighbor is, and frankly they don’t really care. All of the families living in the apartments are only concerned about themselves and about why their lives are bad. When Kim plants that first seed, things slowly start to change as people learn more about themselves, and also about their neighbors.

The garden symbolizes the growth and understanding of the people who plant it. All of the characters are shy and unsure of themselves at the beginning, but as they grow and start making friends they gain more confidence in themselves. As they watch their own plants grow, they become happy and proud of their work and want others to feel the same way. They start helping each other with their gardens, and all of the plants grow into big fruits and vegetables. By spending time helping each other, they learn to act in a selfless way by taking time to talk to others about their lives.

“Those conversations tied us together.” P. 59

Seeds are only the start of what grows in this garden. Friendships grow. People grow. Knowledge grows. Understanding grows. Care grows. The characters not only grow, but their relationships do as well. They learn how to respect each other, and how people should be treated. You can see the change that takes place in these characters, and it’s only for the better.

The theme that this book conveys is that no matter where you come from, and what your background is, you can still come together as one in a community. Today I feel like we often divide ourselves into groups, or just bluntly don’t make the effort to reach out to other people. This book showed very clearly how we never know what someone has, or is going through. There are a lot of people who are lonely, or need someone to talk to. The garden becomes a place where people feel safe sharing stories about their life, their background, and culture. I wish that our world today was a “garden” where we could share our lives with others, but sadly, this isn’t the case. This is one of the reasons why I enjoyed this book so much. It showed us that anything is possible. Even the smallest lima bean could spark the start of a community coming together. The smallest lima bean could change the world once and for all.