There There Character Analysis

ENGL 102 Midterm

Who is Tony Loneman?

• He is a 21 year old man from the tribe of Cheyene

• In There there he tells his story in 1st person during the opening and then 3rd person during the closing

Tony Loneman’s Family

• Lives with his grandma(Maxine)

• His mother is in prison

• Father is in New Mexico — does NOT know that Tony exists.

Tony Loneman’s Background

• Born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome ( He calls it “the Drome”)

• Street-smart — selling drugs at the age of 13

• Goes to the Indigenous Centre for therapy.

Tony Lonemas’s Motivation and Powwow Role

• Plans to Join Octavio’s robbery crew, but dresses in full regalia as a powwow dancer.

• Seeks belonging and dignity — the powwow is his chance to feel “Indian enough”

Tony Loneman’s Theme & Analysis

• Wounding story: FAS (“the Drome”) — symbolizes inherited trauma

• visibility vs. Invisibility: People see his physical face but not his personhood (as in him as a person)

• Freedom: his bike = His independence and his brief escape

• Story as Medicine: His life shows how stereotypes create wounds; the powwow is his attempts to rewrite his own

• Ends the Novel: He closes the circle — the braided narrative begins and ends with him..

Tony Loneman’s Quotes

“I was born witht he Drome”

“people look at me and know me right away”

“I’m gonna dance at the powwow”

Tony Loneman’s Connections

• Works for Octavio Gomez — his role as a street-level runner ties the opening perspective to the robbery plot that closes the novel

• his connection to Octavio shows hoe systematic poverty pulls the individuals into cycles of violence

Who is Dene Oxendene?

• A person from the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribe

• They’re a Story-collector and filmmaker

• Tells their story in 3rd person

Dene Oxendene’s Family & Background

• Continues his uncle Lucas’ storytelling project after his death.

• Receives a grant to record stories of urban Native people in Oakland.

Dene Oxendene’s Themes & Analysis

• Good Medicine: His stories heal by giving people a voice.

• Community Building: His lens connects scattered individuals.

• Loneliness;Connection: Filming helps him feel less isolated.

• Title Link: discusses Gertrude Stein and Radiohead'; explores meaning of “there”

• Storytelling Figure: Embodies Tommy Orange’s own role — collecting many urban Native voices.

Dene Oxendene’s Quotes

• “He’d finish what his uncle started”

• “He wanted to make people seen.”

Dene Oxendene’s Connections

• Interviews Calvin Johnson for his documentary project, showing Dene’s les literally connects community member’s stories.

• His late uncle Lucas once knew Opal Bear Shield, tying Dene’s family to the older generation of activism.

Who is Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield

• Tells her story in 1st person

• She is a mail-carrier

Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield’s Family, Background, & Powwow Role

• Half-sister to Jacquie Red Feather

• Guardian to Jacquie’s grandsons — Orvil, Lony, Loother

• At the age of 11, she lived through the occupation of  Alcatraz(1969) with her mother and Jacquie.

• Represents continuity between Native activism of the 60s and the present Oakland.

• Attends powwow with her grandsons

• Confident in her Native identity, but does not teach it.

• Personality is shown when taking care of her grandsons — regalia

Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield’s Themes & Analysis

• Memory and History: personal political intertwine — she carries the legacy of activism.

• Caretaker and Teacher by Example: Lives her story quietly (“story lived, not told”)

• Healing Medicine: Offers stability to the next generation.

• Urban Native Survival: Shows how heritage persists in everyday life.

Who is Edwin Black

• Tells his story from 1st person to 3rd person

• He is half white — Mother(Karen),  half native — Father(Harvey)

• He was/is intern — powwow committee worker

• Large and awkward

Edwin Black’s Background

• Raised by his mother

• No connection to his father at first, but finds his father, Harvey, on Facebook

• Overweight, isolated, addicted to internet; Has MA in Comparative Lit.

• Blue is is co-worker, he later finds out that they are stepsiblings

• He eventually gets shot.

Edwin Black’s Powwow Role

• Helps blue with logistics; hopes to meet his father at he powwow

Edwin Black’s Themes & Analysis

• Disconnection/In-betweenness: Feels “not Native enough”

• Body as a metaphor: HIs constipation = emotional and cultural blockage

• Digital identity: tries to recover roots through technology\

• Healing Medicine: Friendship with Blue ignites his reconnection

Who is Bill Davis

• His story is told in 3rd person

• Works at Oakland Coliseum — Maintenance

• Avid reader — Opinionated

• Stereotypical “Man’s man — Macho man"

Bill Davis’ Background

• Vietnam Veteran - had a dishonourable discharge

• Older side

• Dating Karen — Edwin’s mom

Bill Davis’ Powwow Role

• Was present during the robbery, was killed in the violence — gets obliterated

Bill Davis’ Themes & Analysis

• Generational Trauma: Parallels war trauma with indigenous histories of loss.

• Hyper-masculinity and Vulnerability:  “Hard-ass” exterior hides guilt and care

• Symbol of older Urban Native Life: Rooted yet isolated

• Wounding Story: His death ties to lager cycles of pain

Who is Calvin Johnson

• His story is told is 1st person

• Lacks knowledge of his culture — struggles with identity

• Works as a member of the powwow committee

Calvin Johnson’s Family, Background, & Powwow Role

• Twin Brother: Charles — owes drug money to Octavio

• Coercive relationship with Charles — Dependent, rooted in desperation

• Coerced by Charles and Octavio into helping with powwow robbery

• Torn between duty to family and community

• Deep sense of apathy towards his heritage

Calvin Johnson’s Themes & Analysis

• Identity Apathy: Feels detached from culture

• Moral Conflict: On committee (celebration) but plotting crime (destruction)

• Colonial Pressure: Poverty an debt reproduce cycles of violence

• Wounding medicine: His story reveals how internalized despair harms community

Who is Blue

• Her story is told in 3rd person

• used to go by “Crystal”

• Worked as powwow coordinator, Indigenous Centre Leader

Blue’s Family, Background, & Powwow Role

• Parents: Jacquie Red Feather and Harvey

• was adopted by white family and gave her the name “Crystal”

• Full Native

• Returns to Oakland to rebuild her identity 

• Organizes powwow ( the novel’s convergence point)

• Reconnects with her half-brother, Edwin

• Feels disconnected — to fill that void , she takes leadership roles in the Indigenous Centre to rebuild her identity

• Moves to Oklahoma — finds Paul

• Blue is the name that Paul’s father used to call her. and it just stuck

Blue’s Themes and Analysis

• Adoption Trauma & Identity Reclamation: Changes name from Crystal (her “white name”) to Blue (her self-chosen name)

• Healing Story: Leads community through cultural events

• Leadership/Connection: Embodies strength, not victimhood

• Story as Medicine: Uses action, not words, to restore community bonds

Who is Thomas Frank

• His story is told in 2nd person

• addicted to alcohol

• Was a janitor at Indian Centre

Thomas Frank’s Background, Family, & Powwow Role

• White mom, native dad(medicine man)

• Strict evangelical background through his mom — much like Tommy’s mom

• He does not believe in Jesus, but is scared of hell

• he gets fired from his work for drinking and killing a bat

• A powwow drummer — channels his emotions through it

• Always looking for the “right state” (the State)

• is killed at the Powwow

Thomas Frank’s Themes & Analysis

• Addiction and Guilt: 2nd person voice, externalizes self-hatred

• Religion and Fear: Caught between Christianity and Native spirituality

• Redemption: Drumming = Attempt at reconnection and rhythm of life

• Wounding then healing: Music becomes temporary god medicine before tragedy

who is Octavio Gomez

• his story is told in 3rd person

• an Oakland drug-dealer

• is tough, but loyal and becomes soft for his family

• gets really into his emotions when under the influence

• not very connected to his routes

Octavio Gomez’s Family, Background, & Powwow Role

• His family was killed in a car crash

• cousins with Daniel Gonzales

• Mastermind behind the robbery; dies in shootout

Octavio Gomez’s Themes & Analysis

• Desperation & Loss: Crime rooted in grief and poverty 

• Family Loyalty: Commits crimes to support relatives

• Cultural Disconnection: Native identity buried under urban violence

• Wounding Story: Represents community’s self-harm born from systematic trauma

Who is Daniel Gonzales

• His story is told in 3rd person

• Tech-savvy, prints 3D gun and flies drone

• Disconnected from his native identity

• Is responsible for hos mom

Daniel Gonzales’ Family, Background, & Powwow Role

• Octavio’s cousin

• Caretaker for his mother

• emails his brother

• Not physically present in the powwow, but he controls the drone that films the robbery 

• Survivor of the shootout — although he wasn’t there, he was flying his drone

Daniel Gonzales’ Themes & Analysis

• Technology and Modern Violence: 3D- printed weapons show modern colonial tools.

• Distance/Detachment: Observes destruction from afar - disconnected from emotion and culture

• Survivor/Witness: Lives after tragedy, carrying potential to tell the story

Who is Jacquie Red Feather

• Her story is told in 3rd person

• Substance-abuse counsellor in Albuquerque — Indian Health Clinic

• Recovering alcoholic

• Goes to a sobriety conference as a part of her job requirement — seems to be about self-harm

Jacquie Red Feather’s Family, Background, & Powwow Role

• Opal’s half-sister 

• Has a kid with Harvey, but gives her up for adoption (Blue)

• Has 3 grandkids that Opal watches

• Almost relapses

• Runs into Harvey during AA meeting

• Tries to fix her relationship with Opal — Goes from emailing to texting

• Had another daughter (the boy’s mom) who committed suicide

Jacquie Red Feather’s Themes & Analysis

 • Healing arc: From addiction to counsellor = wounded → healer.
 • Family reconciliation: Attempts to rebuild bonds with Opal and Blue.
 • Intergenerational trauma: Daughter’s suicide, grandchildren’s disconnection.
 • Good medicine: Uses her pain to help others.

Who is Orvil Red Feather

• a 14 y/o boy

• His story is told in 3rd person

• Family oriented — Brother’s caretaker, Joins Dene’s documentary for money for his family

Orvil Red Feather’s Family, Background, & Powwow Role

• Biologically, Jacquie’s grandson, raised by Opal

• Brothers with Lony and Loother

• Secretly teaches himself powwow dancing from Youtube Videos

• Enters powwow competition to win money and to feel closer to his heritage

• Shot during robbery (ambiguous ending)

• Scratches his leg, spiders come out

• Doesn’t feel Native enough

• Was brought to the hospital for gunshot wound, but no clear ending.

3rd Person 

• Tony Loneman - Chapter 2

• Dene Oxendene

• Edwin Black ( 1st to 3rd)

• Bill Davis

• Blue

• Jacquie Red Feather

• Octavio Gomez

• Daniel Gonzales

2nd Person

• Thomas Frank

1st Person

• Tony Loneman

• Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield

• Calvin Johnson