Hexagonal Chart: There There

Connection 1 (Dene + History): In the novel There There, Dene is a character who is trying to
collect videos and content for a documentary he’s making in honor of his uncle. For this
documentary, Dene seeks to collect stories told by Native Americans. These stories explore the
pasts of these Native Americans– past experiences, stories they were told as children and so on.
Dene also connects with history by helping these Native Americans to reclaim their narratives
through this documentary, allowing for these overlooked or misinterpreted stories to have their
voice. In doing this, he challenges the narratives that have dominated the Native American
narratives throughout history.

Connection 2 (Opal + Spiders): Throughout the novel, Opal is closely associated with the
image and symbolism of spider legs. Opal had once found spider legs in her leg after leaving the
home that felt like a trap for her and her sister. The removal of the spider legs was her
introduction into adulthood, and removing herself from a dangerous situation. The spider legs
also are used with Orvil, who is also Opal's nephew, when he woke up and found spider legs in
his skin too. He then, following his mother, pulls out the spider legs. The spider legs in his case
are similar to his aunt and could symbolize him growing to love his culture and embracing his
Native heritage.

Connection 3 (Tony + Dancing): Tony is one of the main characters in the novel There There,
and he has a difficult relationship with his Native American heritage due to cultural and
generational trauma. Something that is very prominent in Native American culture is the
tradition of dancing. Tony states that he used to dance, and that he owns a regalia which is Native
American clothing that is usually worn, especially in dance. In the novel, Tony is told to wear the
regalia while planning to shoot the upcoming pow wow in order for him to blend in. When he
gets home, he wears the regalia and looks at himself on the tv screen, creating a beautiful
moment where he states that he didn’t see what he called ugly– The Drome and instead saw a
dancer.

Connection 4 (History + Culture): In the novel There There, the novel heavily focuses around
the topics of history and culture, and how these two things heavily impact a person’s identity.
The ideas of history and culture connect and shape the character’s view of themselves as a
person and where they belong in the world. Throughout the novel, the characters use their own
history and their culture to explore and push past struggles to find where they fit in society. Their
journeys allow them to utilize their pasts and their culture in order to understand the complexity
of their identities and go through the process of self discovery in order to find inner peace with
themselves.

Connection 5 (Addiction + Violence): In the novel There There, the topics of addiction and
violence are often applied to characters because of their experiences with their generational
trauma. These specific characters who are heavily connected to addiction and violence are those
characters who struggled the most with their trauma. Especially because the characters who
struggled with their trauma carried a lot of pain with them, they used addiction to drugs, alcohol
and more in order to escape their pain. For the characters who this escapism wasn’t enough for
them turned to violence in order to feel joy from others feeling the same pain they had to go
through.