Motifs & Themes
What are the most important motifs of the novel? Where do they occur and recur? Name the motif and then provide a few examples.
A motif is almost always used to convey a major or minor theme. Based on this fact, what theme or idea is conveyed through your motif? What does it say about native identity or native representation? What does it say about America and its history? What is Orange saying to us through his novel and through the motif?
A motif is almost always used to convey a major or minor theme. Based on this fact, what theme or idea is conveyed through your motif? What does it say about native identity or native representation? What does it say about America and its history? What is Orange saying to us through his novel and through the motif?
Comments
Alcohol Abuse - Alcohol has also played a major role in the lives of the characters. Opal and Jacquie lost their mother to alcohol, Jacquie even became an alcoholic because of it and was unable to care for her children and grandchildren. Dene's uncle, Lucus, dies from alcohol abuse. Tony was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Even Thomas Frank lost his job as a janitor because he was an alcoholic. This motif ties in with the motif of loss. Because of the abuse, characters have lost their lives and family. This motif relates to the theme of urbanity. Natives struggle to practice their culture among Americans who mock and ridicule it. Orange is trying to depict the struggles Natives go through every day that are often overlooked by Americans.
Native Names and Last Names - Last names are important to the Native culture because it represents family and heritage. Opal finds doesn't like her last name at first because other kids would make fun of it at school. Blue was given her Indian name by her husband's father. She is also constantly in search of her mother or a family with the last name, Red Feather. Last names were first given to Indians to mark who they were. This relates to the theme of Identity. Most of the characters in the book struggle to figure out who they are. They do not believe they are "Indian enough." The characters assume that just because their last name is Native, doesn't mean they are Native. The characters struggle with the authenticity of their Native identity because they feel they don't know enough about the culture or don't look Native enough. Orange is trying to make a statement that the Native culture is dying as more and more Natives are urbanized. This puts an emphasis on America and its history of putting pressure on Natives, even forcing them to urbanize.
Carlie McIntyre
Violence: Violence is another motif that is seen throughout the novel. Violence first appears in the first chapter when Octavio shows Tony the 3-D printed gun he plans to use to rob the Powwow. Violence then appears when Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield is describing her mother's appearance after she was beaten up. Violence next occurs when talk of the powwow is brought up again to Calvin, Carlos, and Charles. Violence also reoccurs when readers learn about Octavio's brutal past and when Blue describes her abusive marriage. The most prominent example of violence in the novel is when the powwow is being robbed and multiple characters are shot. This motif of violence can connect to the theme of identity. Native American history shows how they were neglected and violence was part of them. For example in the prologue it reads, "Colonists surrounded their village, set it on fire, and shot any Pequot who tried to escape" (Orange 5). Violence followed Native Americans whether it was by their own doings or not and from this, their identity is seen as savage. What this also says about America and its history is that it's violent too. Many examples not even including Native Americans can reveal America's dark past. What Orange is saying to readers is that sometimes people can succumb to their stereotypes. Some of his characters were violent but being Native American didn't make the violent, their up bringing and certain circumstances did. However, not all of his characters were like that. Through the motif of violence, Orange is trying to depict the struggles that urban Native Americans deal with.
Katy Pedersen
As mentioned, last names are a motif within the book. Opal's mom explained, "'We had our own way of naming before white people came over and spread all those dad names around in order to keep the power with the dads'" (Orange 46). This can connect to the theme of identity like Carlie said because Native Americans may feel like they may not live up to their name, but also because it's discussed that their identity is being taken away by changing their names. This shows the control that white people had on Native Americans and how Native Americans aren't treated equally.
Katy Pedersen
Jacquie Red Feather has struggled for all of her life, whether it be from rape, unanswered questions, or alcohol abuse. She grew up in a household where money was tight, she was forced to move to Alcatraz where she was raped, having to bear a child, and lived in harsh conditions every day. Jacquie took to alcohol to suppress the unanswered questions Harvey left her with, especially how he felt after his account with her. Jacquie drank to forget about her daughter she put up for adoption and to forget about the grandchildren she couldn't take care of. Overall, Jacquie's life was defined by struggle, as many of the characters were in There There .
Alcohol - As Carlie mentioned, alcohol abuse is a consistent problem throughout the story and in the characters lives. Jaquie became an alcoholic and her mother died from it. Also, Tony Loneman was born with fetal alcohol syndrome. “When I asked Maxine, she told me my drank when I was in her, she told me real slow that I have fetal alcohol syn-drome” (Orange 15). This connects with the theme of violence and loss. Because of alcohol, there have been acts of violence and most of the characters have lost some of their family members and friends to it.
Connectedness - I felt as though this was a major theme throughout this book. As the story goes on, you come to realize that all the characters and their families are all related and connected in some way. Either by their job or by blood. In the events that lead to the powwow, Orange says that people connected in ways they didn’t think were possible. For example, when Edwin got shot, Blue stayed and cared for him like they were siblings. “She liked Edwin. She liked him. There’s something about him that feels like family. Maybe because they had a similar background...On that other Facebook feed, she’d find true connection” (Orange 237-238). After all of the chaos came to an end, Edwin and Blue realized they were truly connected. All of the characters were associated with each other in some way, which made the book more interesting and more intriguing to read.
Amanda Teodoro
I love the theme that you came up with. It makes so much sense in the context of the story. Most of the characters were unsure of their identity, especially within their Native American culture. As the story continued, the characters like Orvil wanted to learn more about their culture and as he did his identity became stronger and he became more hopeful. At the end of the book, the author shows how your personal identity can change based on your cultural one.
Amanda Teodoro
One motif that is most prevalent throughout the book is addiction. For example, readers become familiar with Jacquie Red Feather’s alcohol addiction when she drinks in the beginning of the novel as an 18-year-old. From her sister Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield’s perspective, she describes how Jacquie’s friends are passing around a bottle of alcohol on the beach. When Jacquie receives the bottle, “she [drinks] long and hard from it” (Orange 52). Jacquie, like many other characters in the book who use substances, uses as a way of dealing with hardships in life. Jacquie’s mom dies when she is young and she finds out she is pregnant from a rape shortly after. At 60 years old, Jacquie is only on an 11-day sobriety streak. Although most people think of addiction in the form of drugs and alcohol, another character, Edwin Black, is addicted to his computer. He has spent the last four years “sitting, staring into [his] computer at the internet” (63). The addiction stems from Edwin’s insecurities, as he continuously makes comments about his weight. Edwin’s lack of confidence has led him to a lonely and depressed mindset, in which he does not want to leave his room.
Race/Culture
Another motif that is repeatedly mentioned in the novel is race/culture. Expressing Native American culture and feeling accepted in the Native community is important to all of the characters. For instance, Dene Oxendene is collecting Native American stories and feels a responsibility for making sure everyone understands Native background. When Dene first meets Rob, he “wants to tell him it’s what happened to the Native people, he wants to explain that they’re not the same” (39). Many people who are non-Native are unaware of the struggles that the Native Americans face in their culture. Another racial issue presented in the book is that some of the characters do not feel like they fit into the Native community. Edwin lives at home with his mother, and has never met his birth father. This makes Edwin only half-Native, because his father is Native and his mother is white. As a result of never having met his father Edwin feels disconnected from his Native side. He has always wondered what tribe he comes from, and finds out he is Cheyenne after connecting with his father through Facebook. This discovery gives Edwin an elevated sense of self-confidence.
Storytelling is important to the Native Community
Although each character lives their own unique life, storytelling is an aspect of Native culture that all Native Americans share. Storytelling connects the Native people and brings them all closer together. Storytelling is especially important in the lives of Jacquie and Opal. Before her passing, Opal’s mother reminds her that telling stories is the only way that people will begin to truly understand what it means to be a Native American. To make the injustices of the government right, “what [they] could do had everything to do with being able to understand where [they] came from, what happened to [their] people, and how to honor them by living right, by telling [their] stories” (58). Native American history is held through their stories and they continue to be shared by tradition. Furthermore, Dene’s role in the book is to collect Native stories, because he wants the community to become more understanding of them. Native American hardships are often overlooked by the community and storytelling provides a means of change and justice for the Native Americans.
Another important motif in the book is interconnectedness. Throughout the novel, all of the character’s lives slowly become interconnected as the powwow approaches. One particular instance of this interconnectedness is the drone. The first time we see the drome, Bill is fighting it off at the Coliseum. It later appears while Opal is delivering mail. We finally learn that Daniel was the one controlling it before Jacquie sees it at the powwow. Through this motif, Orange is portraying the theme that, no matter how alone you feel, you are always connected to others and everything you do impacts others.
Community and family is another motif throughout the book. Community is seen in the powwow and the way the dancers and drummers accept Thomas and Orvil. Family is seen throughout the whole book as the reader realize how many of the characters are related to each other. Even characters who aren’t related have a family-like bond with other characters. Existing family relationships are also shown, such as Octavio and his cousins, Orvil and his brothers, and Opal and Jacquie.This motif shows how Native Americans, as a minority, are really a large family as they are all connected, if not related.
Marisa Helff
Culture: Culture relates to the identity motif. The Native culture was celebrated by some while it was ignored and pushed away by others. Orvil is an example of a character who celebrated his culture by dancing around in his regalia. His grandma Opal is a character that shied away from the culture. She didn't like when Orvil dressed in regalia and only made the traditional tacos for her grand kids on special occasions. Whether celebrated or not, the Native culture is what brought all of the characters together for the powwow at the end of the story.
Everything in life is connected: I love how the author brought everyone together in the end. I felt like everyone's lives were intertwined with each other. Everyone had some kind of different story or different reason for being at the powwow, but in the end everyone ended up at the same place. Not only were they together in the same place, but long-lost family was reunited showing that different paths will cross with meaning and that some things in life are connected and meant to happen.
Ava Galdenzi
I really liked your motif of money. I liked how you stepped outside of the box from the more noticeable motifs to come up with a creative one. Money really was a major motive throughout the novel. It was the whole reason why Octavio and his clan went to rob the powwow. Maybe if money wasn't an issue in the novel then the powwow could have ended peacefully rather than the tragedy that it ended up being.
Stephanie Sudusky
I noticed you mentioned culture in your response. To add on to what you have said, Dene Oxedene celebrates the Native American culture by wanting to record different peoples stories and to shed light on the urban Native American. He says, "The whole picture is not pathetic, and the individual people and stories that you come across are not pathetic or weak" (Orange 40). The energy and light Dene expressed at his meeting showed his passion about Native Americans and their culture of who they are.
Katy Pedersen
Violence/Blood- Violence is another major motif. Not only are many of the characters associated with guns, but there are instances of rape and abuse in this book as well. Blue was beaten by Paul several times, and eventually left to go back to Oakland, away from him. To escape him however, she had to lie about her location several times. Blood is also mentioned a lot in this book, which related to violence. It shows up many times at the powwow, symbolizing that throughout history, Natives have faced hundreds of tragedies, similar to what they went through at the powwow.
I love how you mentioned that money has motivated people in America all throughout the past and continues to motivate them in the present to commit extremely violent, or extremely generous acts. The desire for money drives all people's actions, whether that person is Native American or not. The presence of money in this novel causes most of the violence, especially the gun violence that is committed by Octavio and the other boys who wanted to rob the powwow, ultimately leading to several of the characters' deaths. The selfishness of the characters who planned to rob the powwow could not have been easily prevented, which is why Tony knew he had to sacrifice himself to stop Charles from continuing to kill more innocent people at the powwow.
I really liked how you explained the motif of violence. I think you did a great job of giving evidence to support your answer as well. To add to the motif, I found a quote from when Dene was explaining that "all over the Americas, it's been developed over, buried ancestral land, glass and concrete and white and steel, unreturnable covered memory" (Orange 39). This represents how the American settlers violently ran out the Native Americans and took their life from them. This is likely one of the reasons that some of the characters have violent thoughts and how others are violently hurt. Specifically, I think Orange is showing us how the American settlers stereotype the Native Americans as violent, but they (American settlers) are the ones that started the violence by taking over the land. Like Katy said, it shows America's dark past.
Erika Roof
I 100 percent agree that Orange included personal identity struggles on purpose. Orange used this story as a voice to society, to enunciate the struggles that they have faced due to 'white men' driving them to isolation in low numbers. Orange is trying to tell us readers that Native Americans have lost their lavish cultural identity and place in society, and in the modern world, that it is hard to find it again. Orange makes it evident that Native Americans are curious to explore their culture, but in a world full of racism and and a distinctive pop culture, it's a struggle. This is why, I believe, personal identity struggles are present in There There.
Another motif is that of identity. This comes in many forms. Most of the characters mention what tribe they are. This is so important to Natives the the first question Edwin asks his father is "'What tribe are you/we?'"(Orange 71). Natives take pride in their tribes and often relate their identities to their tribes. This gives them a group to connect with and be alike. Identity also relates to the names of Natives. As Carlie, Katy, and Emily mentioned, Opal struggled with her last name. Opal's mom told her that the white people had given them their names. This represents the force of the newcomers trying to overtake the Natives. The new Americans felt the need to rename all of the Natives to make it easier for the new Americans. This also represents how outsiders try to make the Native culture conform to their standards. In the nineteenth century, the new Americans tried to force Native Americans to assimilate and cut off ties with their heritage. Opal's disdain for her last name is appropriate with the theme of the book that everyone should identify with whatever/however they want. Opal resents her last name, just like the Natives resent Americans for attempting to force them to ditch their entire culture.
I not only loved your comment about the motif of loss which is present in the lives of each character, but I also appreciate how you tied it back to one of the major themes in general. Loss traces back to many struggles that Native Americans have faced throughout history. Regarding the motif of violence, it is sad to think about not only gun violence in the Native community, but also rape and abuse. I think that the motif of violence in the novel is important in teaching people about the hardships that Native people go through.
Izabella Mott
Izabella Mott
I strongly agree that storytelling was prominent throughout the novel. I saw this as a recurring theme that was supported by many of the motifs mentioned above such as self identity, loss, and culture. The aspect of race and culture shown in the story supports the idea that there is a large basis around storytelling. As you mentioned, Dene's character throughout the novel collects important stories for the culture and is introduced for that purpose. Many of the characters identify with their culture or are trying to figure it out as Orvil is. The loss that characters tend to experience can also be associated with the aspect of storytelling.
Jetta Powers
A major motif shown throughout There There is strength, specifically in the females of the novel. All of the characters go through some type of trauma that impacts their lives in different ways. These struggles may connect them in unpredicted ways. To be specific, Jacquie is raped, assaulted, loses her second daughter, and is facing alcoholism (another motif shown in the novel). Through all of these struggles Jacquie is able to remain sober and strong even after the tragedies she has faced. Orange uses strength to characterize and define Jacquie in this novel. Orange also uses Opal to show another example of a woman with strength who has struggles. Growing up, Opal had problems with her mother's drinking and her sister Jacquie getting involved in trouble. She felt alone and did not have strong self-identity. Her mother dies and is stuck with her uncle who is seen as an abusive and unrefined man. Opal struggles to incorporate her native culture because of her past and family. However, she eventually rises above and accepts the influence it has on her life. Orange portrays the women in this novel to have the motif of strength, no matter the struggles they may go through. The motif of strength connects to the theme that struggles are abundant in life. This represents the struggle for some characters to find their native identity because of what they go through in their life.
Jetta Powers
I loved you concept of race/ culture. Because Native Americans were looked down upon and totally mistreated for so long, they became ashamed to show who they truly were. This ties in heavily with alcoholism because when the Native Americans were moved onto reservations, they did not have nearly as many resources that they once had and turned to alcohol and underage drinking as the answer. Because of this. Many Native Americans were unfairly labeled as alcoholics, because of this, being afraid to show one’s true identity did not just stem from shame or embarrassment for who they are- it came from the labels that they were unfairly given in the past.
Calley Marcarelli