Seedfolks

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Fleischman repurposes many parables in Seedfolks, updating these classic tales for the modern reader. Choose 1 parable as the focus for this essay.

• In what ways does Fleischman change the parable lesson or form? (topic sentence)
• Identify and explain at least 2 differences between the chosen parable and the events and characters in Seedfolks, considering narrative elements such as structure and message.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, discuss why Fleischman might have changed the parable in this way.

2. Fleischman relies on symbols and motifs to connect the characters’ individual challenges and experiences to those of the greater neighborhood. Choose 1 symbol or motif as the focus for this essay.

• How does the transformation of this symbol or motif throughout the novel connect a character or characters to the larger story? (topic sentence)
• Describe the ways in which 1 or more characters interact with this symbol or motif throughout the story, citing at least 2 separate passages.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain the deeper lesson(s) revealed to the character(s) by the symbol or motif.

3. One of Fleischman’s major themes is Growth as a Result of Accepting Diverse Perspectives. Choose a character who is somehow stuck or stunted and explore how the garden provides them with a way to move forward and grow.

• In what ways is this character stuck, and how does the garden allow this character to grow? (topic sentence)
• Describe at least 1 barrier or obstacle the character faces prior to getting involved in the garden. Identify the transformative moment that allows them to shift their perspective or change their actions, and explain what conditions in the garden bring about this moment.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, connect this character’s growth with that of the larger community.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Consider the ideas represented by both the garden and the act of gardening in Seedfolks. How does the garden represent the broader community? What elements do both the garden and the community on Gibb Street share? How do these elements change over time? In what ways is the act of tending a garden like tending the community? What instructive messages or lessons does the novella communicate through the extended comparison?

2. Seedfolks explores the interrelationship of parts and whole. In what ways do the garden, the community, and the structure of the novella rely on relationships between parts to create a whole? Why does creating and maintaining community require both individual and collective effort? What deeper lessons can the reader infer about the relationship between individual and collective action?

3. Fleischman draws heavily from biblical and mythological source material, repurposing parables and other religious stories to create an instructive tale for modern readers. How does Fleischman define and explore faith in Seedfolks? In what ways are both gardening and creating community acts of faith? How do both gardening and community creation challenge the faith of certain characters but also provide a means of repairing characters’ faith in a greater system or cause? How do individual acts of faith impact the whole community? How do characters cultivate faith, and why is that faith necessary and worthwhile? What is the benefit of faith as Fleischman defines it in Seedfolks?