Throughout Tommy Orange’s There There, the theme of storytelling is a huge part of the foundation of portraying the Native American lifestyle in Oakland along with many of the characters’ narratives. These characters face incredible challenges such as the loss of their culture and the loss of loved ones, however what keeps them going is the power of the storytelling that they have from generations ago.
For many of the Native Americans in Oakland, a sentiment they share is the lack of connection that they have between themselves and their community. Though many of the characters experience the disconnect from their native background, Orange uses Dene’s character to portray the internal struggles to a greater extent. Although Dene’s love for storytelling derives from his Uncle Lucas, he grows to be passionate about native history as well. Dene notices the little amount that he knows about his own identity, and tries to understand if other natives feel the same way as him. His agency to understand other characters and their viewpoints on their native culture is shown through his interviews. For example, when Dene interviews Calvin Johnson, Johnson touches on the idea that he has no clarity about what parts of native history can be talked about and what part is just unsaid that no one will ever know. Johnson talks with a sense of confusion and bitterness towards the native culture, and has no interest in an interview with Dene because he feels as though he has nothing to say about his native identity. As shown through, “Dene starts to say something about storytelling, some real heady shit, so Calvin tunes out. He doesn’t know what he’s gonna say when it comes around to him.” (Orange 146). However, it is not that Johnson doesn’t want to know about his identity, it is that he, along with Dene, and other characters don’t know how to fill in the void they have.
Due to the lack of knowledge and connection the characters have from their Native history, they heavily rely on storytelling to learn about their culture. In the very beginning of the novel, Orange sets the tone by writing, “We are the memories we don’t remember, which live in us, which we feel” (Orange 10). This foreshadows for the reader the importance that storytelling has on natives around the world, and the significance is depicted through the characters in the book. For instance, Opal learns about her heritage through her mother and she remarks, “And so what we could do had everything to do with being able to understand where we came from, what happened to our people, and how to honor them by living right, by telling our stories” (Orange 58). The desire to have parts of native culture in the characters’ urban lifestyle is also shown through Orvil. Specifically, Orvil wants to learn more about the cultural practices of the natives as shown through him wanting to attend the powwow. However, Orvil feels as though he needs to hide from Opal as to where he is going because native culture hasn’t been normalized, a theme that Orange is trying to portray throughout the novel.
While reading through the novel, I had a hard time placing Dene's place in the connecting stories, but I really like this idea that he is able to bring native feelings (or lack there of) out of the people he interviews. It's as if he's acting as a window into the subject's connection to their heritage, showing us as readers different ways Native Americans interpret their legacy. In the Calvin example, we're seeing someone who is detached from their native roots, but not necessarily out of apathy, but rather a lack of information. We see several characters that follow with this trait, like Orvil, who don't know much about native culture. This is where your point about storytelling becomes so important.
ReplyDeleteThese characters who have no connection to their native heritage are generally the ones that have lacked storytelling. Stories are incredibly important to a lesser documented history like that of Native Americans, where relatives with spoken word and the accompanying traditions are what keep it alive. This is why events like the powwow are so valuable for native culture, and more specifically why the powwow is the gathering point for the characters at the end of the novel. Other characters, like Opal, are more attached to their heritage because they had more experiences with the culture and its stories. However, Opal doesn't tell those stories to Orvil, breaking the connection between him and the stories keeping his ancestry alive. Orvil, and others with native blood, need the stories of their people to know who they are.
It is obvious from the beginning of the novel when Dene’s plan to give light to different Native voices that storytelling is important. But it is difficult to at first how these stories connect and what they have in common. A central theme that Orange focuses on throughout There There is that no matter what the story is, it is important nonetheless. The point about Dene using storytelling as a way to fill in his own lack of knowledge about his culture was particularly interesting.
ReplyDeleteAnother point I found interesting within Dene’s story is when he is interviewing Calvin and says, “Dene learned early on to record everything before and after, as those moments can sometimes be even better than when the interviewee knows they’re being recorded” (Orange 117). Dene knows that sometimes people aren’t quite sure what they want to say, but the real truth comes out in unexpected moments. This also expands upon other places in the book where characters are confronted with questions of the Native identities in moments they might not be prepared for. For example, Opal finding spider legs, Jacquie running into Harvey, Edwin getting a job he didn’t ask for, etc. Orange emphasizes the importance of including all aspects of a story because every part is crucial to the larger picture of Native identity.