Titillation of Meaning in Terminology: The Exotic and The Erotic

 An immense blurriness pulsates at the source of confusion of a crowd. This haze swirls in a continuum that flows within and without our minds, with words riding at the forefront of human obtuseness. How is it that words become so severely entangled with one another—ensnared into sameness? Two specific terms that often fall prey to unification within confusion are the exotic and the erotic.

From where does the depth of this mass misleading arise? The morphing of terminology will never cease, though I intend to investigate where, when, and how the mutation of meaning occurs.

All Over Creation, by Ruth Ozeki, is not an environmental treatise or manifesto. It is a novel, a work of fiction, and it is about people and the complex relationships between them. In the midst of daddy issues, child molestation, pornography, cancer, baby-stealing, miscarriages, abortion, cultural appropriation, Alzheimer’s, and bombs, the environmental side of the book can seem secondary. And yet, as the protagonist, Yumi, tells us at the beginning of the story, “It starts with the earth. How can it not?” (Ozeki 3).  The very point that the novel is making is that we cannot separate ourselves from the environment. We shape it and it shapes us in ways of which we are unaware. Ozeki demonstrates these connections through the motif of seeds.

            The definition of the word environment is both “the surroundings in which an organism lives” and “the natural world, as a whole or in a particular geographical area” (Merriam-Webster). Through these definitions, it could be assumed that environment is a physical entity, the literal physical world that surrounds us. However, as seen in the novel All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki, this may not necessarily be the case. Environment is merely an umbrella term for all the outside influences that can shape identity. While the usual perception of the environment is that it is there to serve us, the reality is that the environment is much larger than we can conceive.

In “All Over Creation”, the literal seeds and potatoes that drive the plot’s tension are simultaneously used as multifaceted metaphors for the characters’ sense of self, their emotions, and their story.

Elena Luedy

Professor Cohen

E-Sem

10/30/15

Potatoes are People Too

            In All Over Creation, Ruth Ozeki continually uses the environment as a backdrop for her story. The characters are a reflection of the environment they live in. Many of the main characters in the story are a representation of where they came from, as their environment as shaped them into who they are. Not only is the environment used as the setting for the story, but you can see the characters being the physical embodiment of the environment.

One’s identity can be molded by the environment without doubt. In Ruth Ozeki’s book “All Over Creation”, it is clear to see the identity and environment related to each other. The environment is divided into social environment and physical environment, which both help shaping people’s identity. What I found interested in this book is that under the writing of the author, the characters and the environment are interacted. The identity of people in the book are affected by the social environment while the “environment” receive people’s care or influenced by them at the same time.

pg. 410

"Intimately connected, we're liable for it all. "

"I realized I was powerless to forecast or control any of our outcomes. But maybe that was the trick- to accept the responsibility and forgo the control? To love without expectiation?

A paradox for sure, but such a relief"

 This quote is an 

The description and word play of Ruth Ozeki made the book even livelier. Through his words, I could feel the vibes of not only new life, agriculture, healthy protest, love and care, but also death, betrayal, discrimination. He playfully uses the theme of “seed” using the word metaphorically throughout the novel. So I want to know how “seed” has been presented throughout the book, and what qualities does “seed” have that led me to feel all the different ambiences that it has effused. The image of seed germination gave me an impression of the struggle that Yumi and The Seeds of Resistance were going through against those who hold power. “Only some of the seeds would overwinter, to germinate in the spring.” (372)

(note: this is a very rough draft, and it may be rougher than the other ones out there b/c it's still in analysis/sentence outline format. sorry.)

All Over Creation

Ruth Ozeki’s text is an exploration of environment. The social, the religious, and the natural environments influence and are influenced by the characters in the novel. Throughout All Over Creation, the theme of family and identity – the interactions between community and individuality – are reexamined and investigated.

Identity and belonging

I would like to explore the concept of damage in All Over Creation. The storylines within the book deal with different kinds of damage: environmental, emotional, and physical. As the Seeds of Resistance fight environmental destruction, by organizing protests and performances to promote their agenda, other characters are confronting their own injuries in their lives. Yumi, her family, and her friends must grapple with their old drama, and as this occurs, some characters are hampered by the physical deterioration. To what degree do the characters believe that ruination can be repaired? The characters tend to view destruction as something that disrupts an entire system.