October 31, 2016 - 15:52
1. "She could hear Momoko saying something in Japanese behind her. She talked to herself, always had." (10)
This quote demonstrates how people preserve their cultural identity after being moved to a different environment. Those who immigrate to a new country with their family or at the same time as many other people from their country are able to keep their culture alive by interacting with people from their homeland, with whom they can speak a familiar language, celebrate their own holidays, and perform familiar rituals. Momoko, on the other hand, is isolated when she moves from Japan to a predominently white town in Idaho. The only person she can share her culture with is herself, which may be the reason she always talks to herself.
2. "I flipped through them quickly, barely seeing, overwhelmed by the orderly force of my father's opinons. Suddenly the room was full of him, and I remembered the way he would come in from the fields, and Momoko and I would be waiting, and the house would shrink and confrom around his approbation." (68)
I chose this quote as it made me consider the "environment" part of the relationship between identity and environment in a new light. Most of "All Over Creation" has focused on environment in more of a natural world sense, talking about farming and certain cities and countries. This quote, however, looks at environment on a smaller scale, as a single room. The space seems to react to certain ideas that are tied to gender identities, about how women are generally taught to be small, quiet, and not take up too much space, while men are encouraged to command attention and claim space as their own. I think it would be interesting to further explore the way physical spaces can seem to change in relation to people's identities in this novel.
3. "At first, afraid of seeming invasive, he kept to the outer edges while she moved up and down her rows."
I selected this quote primarily because I think it would deepen the discussion that my second quote started. Specifically, how once a space is considered owned or given an identity, this makes people alter their behavior, sometimes uncharcteristically. Because gardens are traditionally feminine spaces, and this garden in particular belonged to Momoko, Lloyd cannot claim this space the way he would at home or in his own fields.