Gardenland free essay sample

Gardenland In his essay entitled â€Å"Gardenland, Sacramento, California,† Michael Nava recounts his experience of growing up in a remote, mid-twentieth century neighborhood of Sacramento. Nava gradually shifts his focus toward more uniquely personal themes and demonstrates how the place where he grew up influenced the person he has become. In this way, the form of the essay outlines its focus as Nava follows an obvious and steady progression toward the presentation of his microcosmic experience of Gardenland. While he begins with a rather dull and impersonal description of the physical surroundings, Nava presents imagery that later serves to deepen the reader’s emotional involvement in the story. There are many instances throughout the essay where Nava uses the place as a metaphorical representation of his own personality. His presentation of Gardenland demonstrates the effect that his social and physical environment had on his growth as an individual. In spite of its brevity, this essay follows a clear form as the focus progresses from more impersonal, physical description to introspective confession. Nava begins with a depiction of Sacramento before it had become one of California’s major urban cities. In this largely objective introduction, he interjects some emotion: he mentions the â€Å"shadowy small-town melancholy† of the â€Å"run-down Victorian mansions† (647). His discussion then moves toward his own neighborhood within the city called Gardenland, and the rhetoric becomes more detailed as he lists individual streets and specific buildings (e. g. his cousin Josephine’s house which doubled as a beauty shop). This specificity grows as he discusses his street, his family situation, individual houses, and finally his own conflicted relationship with the place where he grew up. One might compare this progressive focus to satellite imaging that needs to zoom in on its intended target in stages. In this case, the intended target or final image is Nava himself and how the macrocosmic descriptions of the beginning affected him. By dealing with complex emotions, this final image transcends the physical and becomes more meaningful to Nava’s individual experience. The title itself points to this narrowing focus in the reverse order as it moves from state to city to neighborhood. This also supports a parallel between Gardenland and Nava himself that I will explore later. Because the essay focuses so heavily on the environment, Nava includes copious imagery to establish a framework for development. The nature of the imagery changes with the focus of the story; the more general focus in the beginning includes descriptions of objects that one might encounter on a walk through the neighborhood while the more personal focus of the latter portion deals with individual people and rooms. Accounts of the city’s skyline and the borders of the Gardenland neighborhood give way to more specific images of his block and his grandparents’ living room. Because the length of the essay does not allow for much storytelling, Nava often uses imagery not just to describe objects but also to convey situations of his memory. For instance, the image of Nava and his grandparents silently passing time in the living room, each with his or her preferred method of escape, serves as a snapshot in a photo album of childhood memories. The images not only allow the reader to more fully experience the environment, but they also suggest emotional states. For example, the tiny bedrooms convey a cold and uncomfortable utilitarianism indicate of his family’s financial and emotional poverty. Nava makes a direct comparison between his physical description and himself saying, â€Å"†¦the stillness of the grass and the slap of the slough’s brown water against the shore. There I discovered my own capacity for stillness† (652). This focuses the image of the still shoreline toward a comparison with Nava’s personality. Nava’s physical descriptions express more than objective information, as the reader gains a more detailed perception of his environment. Nava not only demonstrates how the environment of Gardenland affected him, but he also draws parallels between himself and his hometown using metaphors. He emphasizes the borders and isolation of Gardenland that mirror the emotional isolation he experienced living with his family. By clearly defining the borders of Gardenland, Nava establishes a sense of remoteness that later relates to his own loneliness. He becomes more explicit about this separation by saying â€Å"Although not literally cut off from the outside world, Gardenland was little touched by it† (651). Isolation from and ignorance of other people, cultures, and ideas typically leads to a monotonous lifestyle that inhibits personal growth. Nava emphasizes his similar isolation: â€Å"My habits of secrecy and loneliness were too deeply ingrained. I had become like my grandfather†¦the most unsociable of an unsociable tribe† (652). He felt like an outcast in a community of outcasts, so he escaped into literature and fantasy. His fascination with books probably stemmed from a natural curiosity and a desire to experience the perspectives of different people. Because his literary awareness conflicted with the priorities of the community, this interest also served to magnify this social seclusion. He parallels his devotion to books with his homosexuality, as both were alien and unappreciated in his community. This moment of sexual identity is where his isolation exceeds comparison with Gardenland and become a more extraordinary example of alienation; however, Nava chooses to conclude the essay by offering one last similarity between Gardenland and himself that arose out of his extreme isolation: â€Å"Paradoxically, by doing this, I learned the peasant virtues of my hometown, endurance and survival. As a member of yet another embattled community, those virtues I absorbed as a child continue to serve me† (653). Herein lies the deep-seated conflict in his relationship with Gardenland; his damaging memories of isolation, emotional unavailability, and domestic abuse exist along with a sense of appreciation for freedom and the instillation of the aforementioned virtues. By portraying the physical and emotional circumstances of his childhood, Nava creates a comparison between himself and his hometown. His shifting focus and imagery both lead to a more complete view of the environment and, therefore, a more effective basis for this comparison. He illustrates how his environment and his own personality affected, both positively and negatively, his personal development.