The Ginkgo is a story about the conflict between tradition and creativity. Creativity is symbolized by a girl who comes to a major university from an isolated ranch on the high plains; tradition is symbolized by the classmates she left behind. The girl comes of intellectual age through study of a single ginkgo tree, and her detailed letters to her teacher, as she explores a museum, a sculpture garden, and an art gallery. In the end, she writes a visionary cult-piece about America, a thousand years from now when her tree dies. The vision is not comforting, but it leaves us with a startling impression of the power of images that define our culture.