October 31, 2014 - 16:34
At its root, the word identity correlates to being who you are as a person is. On that account, it defines an individual as one from the rest of the population. Although identity is a characteristic that changes frequently, it consists of a principles, morals and values that help to create the basic foundations of life. The individual’s principles, morals and values are developed by the environment, which nurtures them. Identity is shaped into an individual through contextual influences (e.g., family, background and experiences) that are influenced by the environment.
For Yumi, her father impacted her life to an extent where she felt an displacement since she was young. She channels her feelings of displacement through metaphors about the Idaho potato fields. She says, “But still, imagine you are a seed— of an apple, or a melon, or even the pit of a peach— spit from the lips of one of Lloyd’s crossbred grandchildren, arcing through the air and calling to earth, where you are grounded in the soil, under a heel, to rest and overwinter. Months pass, and it is cold and dark. Then slowly, slowly, spring creeps in, the sun tickles the earth awake again, its warmth thaws the soil, and your coat, which has protected you from the winter frosts, now begins to crack. Oh, so tentatively you send a threadlike root to plumb the ground below, while overhead you pale shoot pushes up through the sedentary mineral elements (the silt, the sand, the clay), through the teeming community of microfauna (bacteria and fungi, the algae and the nematodes), past curious macofauna (blind moles, furry voles, and soft, squirming earthworms). (Ozeki, 3) She then goes on to say, “… these three thousand acres were given over primarily to the planting of potatoes, which means that you, being a random seedling, a volunteer, an accidental fruit, will most likely be uprooted. Just as you turn your face into the rays and start to respire, maybe even spread out a leaf or two and get down to the business of photosynthesizing— grrrrrip, weeded right out of there. Sayonara, baby.” (Ozeki, 4). Within the metaphor, you’re placed within the life cycle of a potato. A brown starchy plant tuber that is weeded right out before you’re able to continue the process of growing. In many aspects, Yumi describes her childhood, which was uprooted right beneath her feet due to her absentee father.
Although her father was very much present, meaning alive. However, Yumi thought of him as absent because of his strong devotion to his potato field. The impact of her father’s actions caused Yumi’s life to replicate a life of a child who only had one parent, divorced or separated parents, no parents, abusive parents, or even negligent parents. Therefore, she grew to become more independent at an early stage, which may defend her reasoning for running away from home at the age of 14. Although Yumi constantly creates metaphors between her life and potatoes, she never realized how essential potato were to the environment as a community nor the importance they meant to her father. In a sense, she never recognized the love Lloyd always had for her. What is love? Yumi became intertwined with lust, which clouded her ability to acknowledge her father’s love for her. Instead, she became more of a poison to herself by trying to find what love was outside of the home.
In Critical Theory Today, it says, “Until we find a way to now and acknowledge to ourselves the true cause(s) of our repressed wounds, fears, guilty desires, and unresolved conflicts, we hand onto them in disguised, distorted, and self-defeating ways.” (Tyson, 13). The idea explains the concept of unconsciousness. The theory that humans aspire to fulfill their desires, fears and needs, which they aren’t aware of— unconsciously (Tyson, 12). Therefore, if someone longs for the love of their alcoholic father, he/she will most likely mate with someone who can fit the role. They look for a mate to help reenact the relationship in hope for a concert relationship this time around. The blameless victim, will focus on the differences between their lover and missing father instead of focusing on the similarities. This is because it is indeed difficult for someone to acknowledge the psychological issue themselves. It is difficult to recognize the difference between love and lust. They are tricky words to associate yourself with initially. It is difficult to recognize when a person is also practicing lust as love in action. However, the person will never receive anything upfront, instead they just receive the similarities between treatments.
When someone compares Elliot to Lloyd, there aren’t any palpable similarities that pertain to their individual personalities. However, the general similarities are what connects them such as, their age. Yumi searched for an older man like her father instead of another young male. Elliot isn’t even associated within the same generation as Yumi. They stand in a different stand point from every angle. Yumi, at the age of 14, is still adjusting to receiving her monthly menstrual cycle. She doesn’t even know what love actually is if she’s searching for someone of that sort at such a undeveloped stage of her life. During adolescent years, the mind can be compared to clay. It’s forming by the environment itself. Elliot, being the adult, should’ve respected her enough to acknowledge her disadvantages. She isn’t ready. She doesn’t know what she’s doing. She’s a child. However, Elliot’s ignorance is one a key similarity that associates him to Lloyd through Yumi’s eyes.
At the age of eight years old, Lloyd taught Yumi about the importance of monoculture. Yum recalls him saying, “You see, spumone don’t propagate potatoes by planting true seeds. They do it by cloning. It’s quick, simple, and reliable, and you can understand as appeal to farmers like my father, who are into total control.” Lloyd knew, that comparing human genetics to something as simple as the genetics of a potato wasn’t logical. Lloyd was aware that believing the theory of trying to propagate a domesticated “potato” using seed, sexually, chances are it will not grow true to type. (Ozeki, 57) Lloyd should’ve took his hat off as a farmer and placed his slightly used hat of being a father on instead. He loves Yumi. Just like every moral parent would have love for their own child. However, he gave too much value into something that couldn’t benefit him with anything except profit. He deprived Yumi of a father’s love at such a vital stage due to his ignorance to look at Yumi as only a child. Not as someone who is already an adult. Not as someone who is a clone. Not as an emotionless robot. But, simply as a child. Due to her environment which was controlled by Lloyd himself, she was traumatized about her settings and decided to run away from her problems instead of standing up to her father by declaring her voice.
Works Cited
Ozeki, Ruth. All Over Creation. New York: Penguin, 2003. Print.
Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today—2nd Ed. Print.