Literary Analysis: Characters and Themes in 'There There' by Orange

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of Tommy Orange's novel, 'There There,' which delves into the lives of Native Americans living in urban settings. The essay examines various characters, their interconnections, and the challenges they face in a society marked by colonialism and cultural loss. The author explores themes of identity, cultural preservation, and the impact of historical trauma on contemporary Native American communities. Through detailed character analyses and thematic explorations, the essay highlights the struggles of urban Indians, their attempts to reconnect with their heritage, and the complexities of navigating a society that has often marginalized and misunderstood them. The analysis also touches upon the novel's depiction of violence, substance abuse, and the characters' coping mechanisms, providing insights into the resilience and enduring spirit of the Native American community in the face of adversity. The essay references the novel's prologue, interlude, and key scenes to illustrate the author's points, emphasizing the importance of storytelling and cultural memory in preserving Native American identity.

THERE THERE
TOMMY ORANGE
STUDENT DETAILS
1-1-2020

THERE THERE: TOMMY ORANGE 1
‘There There’ by Tommy Orange
The novel by Tommy Orange focuses on the lifestyle of the native Americans or the
American Indians living within the state, and have no representation in the American
literature. The story involves certain characters, most of them are the native American and
lives in the city of Oakland. The author explains that the history of the native Americans and
the white Americans are against each other and is also a reason for internal conflict between
the societies. The novel focuses on the life of the urban Indians, and involves 12 characters,
many of them are related to each other and their story revolves around an event “Big Oakland
Powwow”.
The novel effectively links the details of the story with the history of the native Americans
and how society has treated them in the past. The story involves certain themes and concepts
that concern American Indian identities. Dene a primary character in the story quotes that
America has developed over the buried ancestral land and an unreturnable covered memory,
which explains that the native heritage and culture has been destroyed or affected with the
development of the American colonies and the white people (Orange 38-39). The story
explains about the experience of the Natives living in urban areas, specifically in Oakland,
explains that the life of the American Indian is not reserved in a specific area of interest or the
likes and dislikes. The character, Tony loves to explore his neighbourhood and to ride a
bicycle. The characters within the story are widely different, but still, most of them are
related and interconnected to each other and their native identity.
The developed culture and colonialism within the American Society decimated the society of
the Native Americans. The native societies have been exiled to reservations and have been
driven to adapt change with the colonialism of the American Society. The author represents
how the characters have exercised to distance themselves from their native identity and how

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they try to reconnect with their cultural identity. Edwin was raised by his white mother, and
exercise in his room and adapts the modern and colonial culture, but he searches for his
native identity, and through Facebook, he connects with his native father and came to know
about his native identity, and he joins powwow committee along with his father and with the
series of events he founds his connection to his native community. Through such an example,
the author explains that the cultural, as well as the personal identity of an individual, always
brings a new purpose within their life.
Throughout the novel, the author explains how the native societies and the American Indians
deal with the loss of their culture and neighbourhood. Opal and her sister Jacquie were raised
by her mother Dene in Oakland, and she used to tell them stories about their native culture
and their neighbourhood, the story by Dene is the main basis of the novel, that highlights the
challenges and the issues of the native Americans. Dene tells that when the government and
the society forsake the community, then the stories are the only source to keep the native
culture alive and remembered, and tells various multidimensional stories to depict the
diversity and vibrancy of Native American Community.
The novel portrays that the native community was anticipated by the violence, use of the
drugs and substance abuse. The prologue, as well as the interlude, reflects the use of bullets
and the blood that has followed within the indigenous communities since their arrival, and the
characters of the novel are affected by the addition to the drugs or alcohol. The author uses
such characteristics of the native community to reflect the coping mechanism that they use to
address the difficulties they face in society. In the prologue, the author explains how the
native Americans have been systematically attacked throughout American History.
The author illustrates an irony within the native American community, as the characters who
are linked to the native communities were planning to rob their community at the powwow,
where the native communities gather together has fought for centuries to preserve their

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traditions and culture and stay alive. The novel is not only about the violent ending and an
explanation of the lives of the characters, but it is more about defining the challenges that a
native American faced and explaining what it means to be an American Indian in the
colonised society (Orange 141).
Throughout the novel, the author focuses on identifying the difficulties that the native
Americans or the American Indians are facing to sustain their native culture and traditions,
within the developed American community. The migration of the native people to the urban
colonies in search of livelihood trapped them in a cycle of pain and suffering. The death of
Tony Loneman, a character within the novel affected by the alcohol syndrome, plans to rob
the prize money at powwow event with Octavio, a drug dealer, reflects the pain of the native
Americans that they are facing in their lives. As the author describes that when Tony lies on
the ground after getting shot, he feels that at last he is free from his bodily prison and he
heard birds singing overhead, which makes him feel free from the pressures that he was
dealing with in his life (Orange).
The characters within the novel were involved to showcase the stereotypes of the native
people, as there is a character who is alcoholic but find peace in drumming due to which he
gets chance to play the drums at powwow, a young women who is suffering her failed
marriage, a storyteller, who hopes to keep the native culture alive with the stories, and some
characters involved in the robbery of the prize money at the event. Each character has his/her
backstory which indicates about the challenges and issues that American Indian faces in
societies.

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References
Orange, Tommy. There There. USA: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018.