14 Varieties of Gazelle : "My Father and the Figtree"

One of the major topics in “14 Varieties of Gazelle” is family. The author Naomi Shihab Nye valued family quite highly, and it’s evident throughout her text. For example in the poem “My father and the fig tree” the reader is allowed an insight into the father as an individual and their family background and culture. Nye tells a story in this poem, painting a picture of not only her father’s personality and character, but his longing for going back to what once was, his ‘home’. Nye showed this by using the fig tree as a symbol; the tree was something significant to her father’s childhood and was an example of what he knew to be home. Since they lived in America, it was difficult for her father to label the foreign land as home. However, he was hopeful and confident in knowing that one day he’ll find a fig tree and finally feel at home, thus connecting two cultures.