November 11, 2016 - 17:58
In Ruth Ozeki’s novel, “All Over Creation”, there are many times where cultures clash both due to identity and environment. There are clashes between race and values that cause tension and separation between the Fuller family. When Yumi comes back home after 25 years, she forms her new identity that is very different to that of most people in the community, both racially and culturally. Ozeki shows how much community and environment are intertwined. The community very much defines the environment because the interactions between people within a community can project a certain feeling that impacts the overall environment.
There are many intersections of different cultures, throughout the novel, that often cause tension between the characters and the community. When Yumi came back home after she ran away from home 25 years ago, she brings her three biracial children. Yumi has been removed from Idaho for so long and has adopted Hawaiian culture, and in general has been removed from what she once knew and how she was raised. Already, her tan skin and dark hair makes her stand out from the crowd. As a child, she always felt misplaced and was looked at as a commodity; like “a random fruit in a field of genetically identical potatoes” (4). She drew the interest of Elliot, her ninth grade teacher, because he “had a thing for [ the slant of her eyes]” as he traced them with his thumb (21). She became even more different from the people in her community, and in her family, when she ran away.
Yumi and her children receive a lot of judgment, when she comes to visit her father, because each child has a different father and are of mixed race. Also, her children act out in ways that care unusual for children in Idaho and Yumi parents them in ways that her parents didn’t. Yumi’s parents were a lot stricter with her which may have led to her rebelling and losing connection with her family. She in return raises her children more loosely. Phoenix is very rebellious and has gotten in trouble with the law; however, Yumi seems to understand his behavior and encourages him to rebel within reason. Her children also question authority and talk back to adults. They even call Yumi by her first name showing how informal their family values are. It is hard to say if the way her family acts is a result of her bad parenting or a result of the different culture in Hawaii in comparison to Idaho. Yumi receives a hateful letter that she thought was intended for her and her family. Phoenix ended up reading it and shows his defiance toward Yumi and lack of respect as he yells swears at her and brings up her recent relations with Elliot. The way Phoenix speaks to his mother is not the way many other teens speak to adults and family. The way Yumi allows this shows she understands why he’s rebelling and forgives him for that. She has put him in a tough situation where he knows of her relationship with Elliot and also doesn’t have a good relationship with his own father. His outbursts are the ones she wishes she had so that she wouldn’t be in the position she is in today after dealing with strict parenting.
Although there are many instances where clashes of cultures result in tension. There are also instances where thy work together harmoniously. Lloyd and Momoko were able to keep up a pretty successful farm up until Lloyd’s first heart attack where they couldn’t keep up with it any longer. However, their seed company began to grow and they got support and recognition for it from the Seeds. Yumi, although her adequacy as a mother is in question, was able to raise three children and be on tract of a PhD on her own as a single mother. She recognizes the importance of getting higher education and works while she does this to support tuition costs and her family. In many ways, her experiences such as being taken advantage of by a fetishizing man and living with strict parenting, led her to be self-sufficient and recognize the importance of taking responsibility for her actions. She no longer has the community and environment of Idaho holding her down, rather she has used her experiences and knowledge to better her situation.