Chiang, Mason

Dr. Malashewski

IB English (SL)

12/5/2023

There There - Perspective

George R. R. Martin was quoted as saying “a reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, the man

who never reads lives only one.” In Tommy Orange’s “There There,” you live through twelve. Packed

into 304 pages are raw and profound perspectives whose impact endures beyond the confines of the

text from which you find it. Reading the text provides insight into what it means to be a contemporary

Native American, and having multiple perspectives allows the reader to observe the full scope of Native

tribulations. This is important to consider because, although Native Americans are a smaller

community, they are far from monolithic; there is so much diversity in their struggles, stories, and

successes. By that notion, without multiple perspectives, the author could not effectively convey the

essence of modern Native living; thus, the narrative would be incomplete.

This is evident when comparing Edwin Black and Daniel Gonzales with regard to their attitudes

toward their culture. Edwin Black is especially active in his pursuit of self-discovery, searching for his

heritage through graduate school just to find it in a chat box on Facebook. Edwin’s character represents

a part of the Native community that is unsure and insecure about their identity but wants to learn.

Daniel Gonzales, on the other hand, is an exemplar of those who have distanced themselves from their

culture so far that they are seemingly apathetic towards it, brushing it off and even exploiting their

people for their personal gain. This is shown when Daniel says “Whatever. Dad never taught us
anything about being Indian. What’s that got to do with us” (Orange 194). By narrating from multiple

perspectives - each differing in essence, yet still distinctly Native - Tommy Orange shows the reader the

diversity in thought and ideology in contemporary Natives and encourages the reader to consider all of

them in their evaluation of Native Americans.

Another comparison that can be drawn is between Octavio Gomez and Dene Oxedene. Both are

impacted by alcohol abuse that runs rampant in the Native American community, but it manifests

itself in different ways. For example, Octavio Gomez actively seeks shelter in his alcoholism to escape

his trauma and problems, representing those directly affected by alcohol and substance abuse and

showing us the perspective of an addict. Dene Oxedene, on the other hand, shows us what it’s like to

have a loved one lose their life to substance abuse. An example of this is in his conversation with his

hospitalized uncle, Lucas, where we see Dene’s reaction to the situation: “Dene felt a sick sad feeling in

his stomach when he saw that where his uncle’s eyes should have been white they were yellow. Then he

felt another pang when he saw his uncle get his flask out and take a pull from it” (Orange 36).

Furthermore, through Dene’s perspective, we see his mother’s reaction as well: “He [Dene] thought

about how wrong it’d been that he’d left, like it was his loss alone. Norma crouched down and put her

face in her hands” (Orange 44). Through these quotes, we can see the perspectives of other parties

affected by substance abuse, and thus we can form a more complete understanding of the topic.