Stereotypes In Seedfolks, By Paul Fleischman

The novel Seedfolks takes place in Cleveland, Ohio, mainly in an alleyway on Gibb street. The town is very divided in terms of race; each race keeps to their own people. However, when a nine year old Vietnamese girl plants some lima beans to honor her father, it creates a ripple effect that eventually brings the community together. Eventually, all the people in the town join this now community garden and start to get to know each other, learning that they all actually have many similarities. When people are different from each other, they automatically think they can’t be friends or work together. Stereotypes affect how people see each other, communicate with each other, and feel about each other. Seedfolks, by Paul Fleischman, teaches that

For example, Ana was one of the characters that was guilty of stereotyping others, but there are also characters like Amir, who were the victims of stereotyping. All of the characters had very similar problems though. None of them had a clear understanding of each other, because they had just been going off of stereotypes. Amir, who is from India, explains on pages 63 and 64, “Many people spoke to me that day. Several asked me where I was from. I wondered if they knew as little about Indians as I had known about Poles.” Amir realizes that he is guilty of assuming he knows things about others just based on their race. Fleischman includes this to show that this is the problem with stereotyping. If people who make assumptions based on looks or race actually take time to get to know others, they could find out that they’re different than all of the stereotypes say they

For instance, in Sam’s chapter, a young boy named Royce is introduced. He is an African American teenager that Sam hires to help him plant something in the garden. People automatically assumed he was a trouble maker or someone who couldn’t be trusted. Later in Amir’s chapter, it is revealed that Royce was one of three men who stopped a robber trying to steal a woman’s purse. This is when everyone forgets about the previous stereotypes and realizes that Royce is actually a very generous, trustworthy teen. So in addition to helping people overcome their prejudice, the garden also helped the people who were victims of stereotyping. It made them feel like a real citizen in the community. On page 50, Nora explains, “Many people grew plants from their native lands- huge Chinese melons, ginger, cilantro, a green the Jamaicans call Callaloo, and many more.” Later on the page she continues, “We, like out seeds were now planted in the garden” Nora’s first quote explains that people that may have been judged for bringing their culture to Cleveland, now felt proud to show off all of the unique parts of it. Her second quote explains that the garden was making people finally feel welcome because all of the stereotypes were melting away. This shows that when people from different communities come together, it can make them stronger and more