The setting of the vast, dusty farmland pervades and affects
every part of the narrative in C.E. Morgan’s “All the Living.” However, more
specifically, the setting they reside in characterizes both Orren and Bell, and
foreshadows what roles they eventually play in Aloma’s life.
The farmland Orren has lived on for his entire life is
portrayed as hostile to Aloma. When she first arrives, the tobacco, the crop
that is supposed to be their livelihood, “faltered on the drybeat earth” (3). The
portraits of his dead family have a “curious power” to make her feel unwanted
(26). She is repeatedly attacked by a rooster, but even after it is killed, Orren
brings her its spurs to give her one last fright. To make matters worse, the
mountains that Aloma associates with her early life still loom large over the
landscape.
The hostility of the setting connects to Aloma’s relationship
with Orren. When he first arrives at the farm, he is clearly a different man
from the one she fell in love with. She notices that “it was as though someone
had come along with a plane and sheered off all the extra that once cushioned
him” (8). Like the sudden drought causing the farm to become a place devoid of
life and prosperity, the recent death of Orren’s family leaves him a changed
man, not nearly as loving and ideal as Aloma remembers him. The setting
represents his inner conflict, and its hostility mirrors his sudden hostility
toward Aloma.
On the other hand, Bell appears to be a far better alternative
to Orren. He is strongly associated with the church where Aloma can go to play
piano and get away from the oppressive hostility of the farm. Just as the
church represents escape for Aloma, Bell too seems to be the opposite of Orren,
at one point moved to tears by her piano-playing, showing the “tenderheartedness
of mountain boys” (103). Just as the church opposes the farm, Bell’s emotional
vulnerability opposes Orren’s closed-off hostility toward Aloma.
However, in the end, neither Orren nor Bell prove to be a
perfect companion to Aloma. This is represented through the pianos they both
show her. Bell’s piano is a beautifully-carved, but when Aloma attempts to play
it, “the sound bloated out, the pitches sagging and unclean” (135). Orren’s
piano is similarly broken, some of the keys making “no sound, just a sponging
broken depression” (28). However, a key difference is in the outward appearance
of these pianos. Though both do not work for Aloma, Bell’s piano masquerades as
a beautifully well-kept piano. Orren’s piano, on the other hand, is broken both
in appearance and sound, and does not mislead Aloma.
This can easily connect to how the men come to play a role
in Aloma’s life. While he starts out a positive figure in her life, Bell
eventually casts her out as “deceitful” (171). Like his piano and his church,
his outward appearance gives way to hostility toward Aloma. However, Orren is
honest entirely in his treatment of Aloma, and does seem to love her despite
the pain he has been through in the loss of his parents. Thus, Orren, like his
piano and his farmland home, is hostile to Aloma only due to hardship.
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