Scattered All Over the Earth

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2018

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-5

Chapters 6-7

Chapters 8-10

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Panska

Panska, Hiruko’s homemade language, is a motif that explores the themes of The Stress of Diaspora by mirroring Hiruko’s experiences as a refugee in her language. Hiruko intends for the language to be accessible not only to her, combining the different Scandinavian languages she interacts with, but also to the fully fluent speakers around her. The language grows out of necessity, as she moves from country to country, never staying long enough to assimilate. She depends greatly on Panska, but she finds it helpful only in certain situations: “When I’m talking to government officials, my Panska sounds very fragile. I made this language by gathering threads just strong enough to get my meaning across, but now I was afraid its beauty would be trampled by the sheer force of authority” (114). Her perception of Panska when interacting with authorities who, having power over her, can deny her access to a country and possibly move her, again draws a similarity to her refugee experience. The language is a collection, woven together in fragments, meaning it is passable in conversation. However, with no set rules, it is also at risk of coming undone, just as her time in Scandinavia could end. She worries throughout the novel about being sent to America because of her English skills, and she holds onto Panska and its possibilities in the same way she holds onto Scandinavia in hopes of establishing a life there.

Sushi

Sushi plays an important part in Scattered All Over the Earth as it, and other cuisines from Hiruko’s country, is the common thread that she follows to find another native speaker. The actual sushi in the novel, though, is a motif that represents the theme of Cultural Hybridity and Cultural Erasure. The characters who make sushi are, for the most part, not from the “land of sushi” and many of the sushi restaurants visited or referenced are fusion restaurants, offering other dishes as well. When Nanook first learns about sushi and asks other chefs about it, he is introduced to the dilemma of sushi in the speculative future of the novel: “‘When the original no longer exists,’ he said, ‘there’s nothing you can do except look for the best copy,’ which sounded to me like some sort of riddle—such a scary one that I couldn’t bring myself to ask him what it meant” (101). While much of the idea that this sushi is an imitation comes from the disappearance of Hiruko’s country, there is also the threat of globalization filling in the gaps. Like the pizzas at the Indian restaurant, the sushi Hiruko finds is very different from the traditional product she remembers. Like her, it has traveled across border after border, never staying in one place and taking on new forms and meanings in the process of ceaseless migration.

Roman Ruins

The characters travel to two seemingly obscure European cities—Trier, Germany, and Arles, France. What these cities have in common—though this is not the reason for the travel—is that they contain ruins left behind by the Roman Empire. The ruins evoke the imaginations of the characters and bring them back to a time when an empire spanned the continent, encompassing many different people and diverse cultures. Rome represents a time of cultural sharing, the fostering of new ideas, and technological innovation. As the characters interact with these ruins, they transcend themselves and find that they are lost in their imaginations, as Nora explains: “Among the many baths, only the Kaiserthermen—grand enough for an emperor—had the power to expand my shrunken imagination, small enough to fit into a coffee cup, and pull my miserable everyday life back up into the great, blue sky” (62). Nora goes to the baths to get herself out of a rut, and the spark it brings to her imagination shows how the ruins and the history they represent can combat the limitations of the modern world. Nora feels trapped in her life, but when she goes to the baths, she finds others and joins them—their journey spanning the continent, just as the Roman Empire once did. Later in the novel, Susanoo visits Roman ruins in Arles and is stunned by their grandeur: “My favorite place in Arles was the ancient Roman outdoor theater. Its official name was ‘amphitheater,’ but my name for it was ‘the whirlpool of silence.’ Stone seats surrounded the round stage in waves that grew higher as you moved toward the back” (183). Like Nora, Susanoo’s imagination runs wild when he is at the ruins, and he imagines the amphitheater as a set of waves surrounding the main stage. The amphitheater itself reflects the goals of the group that comes to find Susanoo. They are a diverse group, all with different lives, who come together for one purpose, and that purpose manifests in finding Susanoo. When they find him, it is as though Susanoo is on the stage and the others are around the amphitheater, all their attention on him.