November 6, 2015 - 17:00
Elena Luedy
Professor Cohen
E-Sem
11/6/15
Potatoes are People Too
In All Over Creation, Ruth Ozeki continually uses the environment as a backdrop for her story. By interweaving the environment into characters, Ozeki is able to convey lessons on conservation and having a positive relationship with the environment. The characters are not only a reflection of the environment they live in, they are the personification of the environment.
Yumi is a Japanese-American living in Idaho. Living in an area that is predominantly white with the exception of a few Native Americans, Yumi felt that she stood out amongst the crowd. Instead of feeling the need to fit in however, she began to wear things that made her stick out. “Sometimes she wore a gold dot, the kind you stick on filing folders, in the middle of her forehead. “It’s my third eye,” she told Cass. “It’s called a bindi. Indians wear them.”” (Ozeki 8). The residents of Liberty Falls see Yumi as a bad seed, bringing trouble with her and leaving disaster behind her, almost as a weed that needs to be pulled from the rest of the monoculture crops. Yumi’s feeling of separation is most likely exacerbated by leaving at such a young age. She feels that running away at 14 she never grew up, almost as if she was ripped from her mother earth before she was fully ready to emerge. The use of harmful pesticides is also used as a metaphor for how Yumi interacts with Elliot. His presence in her younger self was poisonous and tainted her, as well as killed off all the beneficial insects that could have led to Yumi’s blooming into a healthy young woman. Elliot also helped Yumi have an abortion much like the genetically engineered seeds that kill off their own offspring.
Yumi’s children, who grew up in Hawaii, were more accustomed to people who live an alternate lifestyle. “...The children were restless after the somber car ride home and however now around the newcomers’ aura, drawn to them. They were strange and exotic in Idaho, but reminded the kids of Pahoa” (Ozeki 138). Hawaii’s impact on Phoenix and Ocean is clearly evident as they speak Hawaiian even in Liberty Falls. “Tutu Lloyd, you’re awesome!” (Ozeki 306). Living in Idaho becomes increasingly difficult for Phoenix as he is bullied for not resembling the others. When asked why he is a target and his sister is not, Phoenix simply gives the answer “she’s blonde”. (Ozeki 238). This shows that the students at Liberty Falls have a low tolerance for those that easily stick out. Although Momoko and Lloyd are skeptical of the children, they quickly warm up to them despite their eccentricities. Momoko, although she is not always lucid, is the first to warm up to her child’s life choices. When in the greenhouse, she is pollinating the female flowers for harvesting the seeds. ““It is better to use two boy flowers for one girl,” she said. Sometimes three” (Ozeki 116). This is most likely a metaphor for Yumi’s children, as they all have different fathers but are all ‘good seeds’.
We even see environment playing a role in Elliot’s life. When Elliot is a teacher in Liberty Falls, he has just come from college, which was very open minded and optimistic. Coming from that environment, Elliot is full of optimism and zeal. 20 years later, he has been living in DC, with a cutthroat job. All of the optimism he had in his younger days has dried up. No longer is he talking about the injustices of the world and how he can change the world, instead he is just interested in furthering his own career. Ozeki uses Elliot as a human embodiment of major pesticide corporations. As stated previously, his relationship with Yumi is toxic from the beginning, Yumi thinking that he is good for her, helping her to grow into someone more adult like; much like the pesticide corporations lead farmers to believe the chemicals they are using are good for their crops. Ozeki paints Elliot as a charismatic man who is used to charming his way to the top. His job as a PR person literally pays him to spin the truth. Readers quickly figure out that Elliot is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a disgusting man who lives off the manipulation of others. Ozeki most likely portrays Elliot in this way so that readers look at these corporations with the same disgust that we look at Elliot.
Cass’s environment has left multiple scars upon her, both emotional and physical. Cass’s father is only ever mentioned in regards to abusing her physically, likely resulting in some emotional trauma. We also find out that Cass has previously been diagnosed with cancer, resulting in a double mastectomy and a large scar running along her torso. Although not explicitly said, it is likely that the amount of chemicals in the pesticides she has been exposed to in her life is to blame for her cancer as well as her many miscarriages. In a way, Cass can be seen as a metaphor for mother earth. Cass is portrayed as always nurturing and her desire to be a mother shows how enamored she is with the idea of being a mother. Just as Cass has been scarred, so has the earth. The increase of manufactured chemicals being used and the general practice of land manipulation (such as farming) that humans have engaged in has visually changed the landscape of the earth, leaving scars on its crust.
All Over Creation is not a book strictly on the environment. It is instead a novel concerned with the relationships between ourselves as humans and the environment. Ruth Ozeki does a brilliant job of infusing the environment into the characters as well as showcasing how different environments can shape the characters that live in them.
Works Cited
Ozeki, Ruth L. All over Creation. New York: Viking, 2003. Print.