Literary Analysis Essay on "Farm City" by Novella Carpenter

Introduction

The book "Farm City" by Novella Carpenter recounts her compassion and experience in urban farming. Carpenter started her urban farming in Oakland, California when she saw an abandoned lot behind her apartment and visualized turning it into better use. She grew up on her parent's farm in Midwest, a countryside setting. With the support of her husband, Carpenter was able to establish an urban farm in the backyard lot experimenting with rabbits, poultry and pigs as well as different categories of vegetables. The book "Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer" portrays Carpenter's compassion and humor on her journey in establishing the urban farm amidst numerous obstacles. The book is divided into three parts namely Turkey, Rabbit, and Pig to make a symbolic representation of the phases taken to grow the city farm. This paper will establish a literary analysis review on the different emerging issues that are symbolic to Carpenter's success and downfalls in her bid to fulfill her love in farming within her passion to live in the urban setting. The work will portray her efforts to feed not only her immediate family but also the people surrounding her and eventually succeed in agri-business.

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Carpenter's venture in urban farming has had its share of challenges. In demonstrating the obstacles that emanated from the establishment to the operation of the Farm City, she introduced her writing in a sarcastic and rather unusual way when she says: "I have a farm on a dead-end street in the ghetto" labeling the farm as a "Ghetto Farm". This humorous and sarcastic startup is a symbolic representation of the unique challenges Carpenter encounters in her venture in urban farming attributed to the neighborhood. Initially, she faced negative criticism from her vegetarian neighbor Lana whom she jokingly spells out as "anal" when reading backward, and monks living across the street. Accessing the right weeds to feed to her poultry and pigs is hustle enough in the urban setting because they are only found in hostile corners of her neighborhood among teenage gangs, restaurant dumpsters, meandering corners of the homeless.

The challenges associated with caring for livestock especially in an urban setting is no stress-free feat. Other than getting the right alternative feeding for them the mythical perception associated with animal butchering and honey stealing from bees, Carpenter draws a more appealing perspective on the care and hard work she instills to earn her meal from the animal products. The size of the land for her farm is a challenge to her organization of animal rearing at the heart of Oakland, suffering instances when pigs and turkeys escape headed for the highway and endangering her poultry from packs of stray dogs that find their way into the farm compound. At the start of her venture, Carpenter received constant threats of being kicked out and the farm replaced with urban housing. The increase of rural-urban migration increases the demand for affordable housing instead of establishing urban farming on the property. The farm city received its share of critics on the perception that any urban green environment is a bleeding zone for growing marijuana. Although its legally appropriate to own and maintain urban farms in large cities like Washington, negative publicities haunts the development, establishments, and maintenance of urban farms. Carpenter, cites her luck in getting farming land in the city because it's the primary challenge encountered in the venture to establish city farms and the threat to be replaced by the city council to build condos.

Growing food in the city is a challenge of its own as Carpenter laments of the obstacles she encounters in her daily routine. The topology challenges which include soil contamination, inadequate farming space, lack of sufficient water supplies throughout, uncooperative neighbors, and peculiar change of land ownership. When Carpenter established her city farm people did not want to buy her produce because the land was public land. They failed to acknowledge the efforts she invested in the back-breaking labor she invested on the land to yield commendable results. Government negligence of small-scale farmers more so urban farmers also contributed to the multiple challenges encountered by Carpenter in her venture. Again dealing with pests, bugs and diseases listed the hustles the urban farmer needed to face to see her through to achieve her objectives. On this note, Carpenter emphasizes on the challenges she encountered with the city of Oakland during her food production activities. Politicizing her efforts to justify malicious efforts to displace her from the land, Carpenter has beaten all odds in the provision of a conducive environment for rearing animals in the city without keeping them in a zoo-like setup as well as avoiding disastrous scenario of animal environment conflict.

Carpenter, has gone a mile in dealing with the multiple challenges she encounters in establishing her urban farming in Oakland. In dealing with the animal feeding challenges, she has made discoveries that are inseparable from the environment of her project. She outsources resources, support, and mentorship from every willing donator and other well-wishers to expand her grip on animal feeds provision. The biography of her experience in urban farming portrays her efforts in ensuring that the obstacles she was facing earlier in the establishment of her venture. The gradual growth and expansion of her animal husbandry ensured that she was able to counter the purported animal conflict. Carpenter started off her farming with a few chicken and bees and later introduced other animals like goats and pigs as she established the adaption of her farm's success. To counter the challenges of insecurity and eviction Carpenter secured the ownership of the land with the continued support of her husband and was able to counter the trespass challenges that she faced initially. The land was neglected and before securing ownership she was friendly to her neighbors and offered her foods at no cost to ensure that they had a taste of the produces to the urban folks and change their perception of organic food production in the city. Furthermore, her determination and hard work saw her overcome the majority of obstacles that emanated from the routines of maintaining urban farming in large cities like California. The council issues were solved on the ground that it was not illegal to keep animals and also produce food in an urban setting in her locality. Carpenter was able to overcome the challenges that life threw her way in establishing her urban venture especially the negative perception of her neighbors and other people in urban settings by offering them educative ventures to interact with her city farm.

Carpenter demonstrates tremendous qualities in the process of establishing her farm. Establishing a successful urban farm portrays her determination, persistence and hard work. The educative nature of her venture provides enlightening information. Learning from Carpenters experiences her audience and the people near her environs are exposed to useful information on the importance of growing our food production and actually undertaking the task to labor our backyards for positive gains. In her courageous ways of dealing with the multiple challenges destined to pull her efforts down, Carpenter demonstrates to her audience of the strong will to encounter the challenges one at a time and eventually secure an urban setting at any point provided there is the availability of useable land. Her demonstration of integration of agriculture and landscaping gives her city farm a beautiful touch to ensure that she does not only grow food and keep animals at a lot dumpsite but, shows the beauty of taking care of the environment and reducing the pollution in urban places.

Carpenters motivation in offering her food to her neighbors and allowing them to pick the foods for themselves shows her human nature that establishes her positive existence with other people. She says: "These kids would have few chances to experience the rural places describe din Wendell Berry's books. Because of Willow, they could harvest a tomato or see a chicken lay an egg, and on a summer day, they could watch the mulberry tree ripening. To be a farmer, Willow pointed out, was to share. Unlike a rural farm, a secret place where only a few lucky people may visit, an urban farm makes what seems impossible possible...." (62). Some people in urban settings may lack the privilege of interacting with food crops and domestic animals in their natural habitat, but Carpenter offers her neighbors the country experience from her love of the city life and farming. The incorporative experience offers great lessons to change the mindset of urbanites on making positive and productive use of ideal lands in their backyards and other neglected areas. She narrates: "No one seemed to mind that a Dumpster-diving urban pig farmer was in their midst. In fact, I came to learn that the restaurant industry was filled with other obsessive freaks like Samin, who would never buy a factory-made pickle. I was just another one of the freaks....." (229). In her persistence and enduring nature, she is able to demonstrate the strong will to change the perception of the people and the environment from dumpsters to useable land. Her zeal in utilizing what she had and struggle for survival for her animals to venture into the market was tactful. She introduced her produce to the people by offering them from free and when she eventually secures ownership of the land she established a better way to sell her produce so as to maintain her farm and also pay land rate taxes. The personality portrayed by carpenter throughout the text demonstrates her wit, strong will, hardworking and courageous traits. She was able to engineer in her own way of venturing into her passion within her setting. Although the "Farm City" was not the first of its kind in her neighborhood, Carpenter was unique in the way she established and has maintained her farm incorporating animal rearing and crop growing in limited space without or with limited environmental conflict.

Throughout the text, carpenter portrays the humorous character as demonstrated in her opening statement and her sarcastic explanation of stressing issues that she faces especially during her establishment phase. For instance, she says: "...I knew Melvin was right, but now that I was surviving on lettuce and pumpkins for several days, I do believe I would have killed someone for a bag of red-hot Cheetos....." (150). The way she describes how she thinks of her hostile neighbors demonstrates positive and strong personality in using the negative vices life offers to make the best production of it and change the way people think of us. She was able to attract her neighbors into her venture by making the farm open to them and allowing them to experience her passion. In their special qualities, she demonstrates trust and kindness that helps her survive against all odds that hinder her from achieving her objectives. For instance, when she says she has never been worried about vandalism because her farm is composed of just plants. Her compassion to nature is shown when she conceptualizes that human being is drawn to nature as an explanation to unauthorized intrusion in her farm.

Carpenter's educative nature enlightens her fellows on the passion of integrating city life with nature, culture, energy, and animals. Using her city farm she is able to educate people about the different ways and ideas in fulfilling one's dreams without compromising your desires. Although she was brought up by her hippie's parents in rural settings, she has a passion for farming but likes the city life. Establishing her urban farm educate...