“He did what? I’m sure that’s not true, he is not that type of person. I’ll talk to him and see what really happened.” The majority of sexual violence cases often go unreported in the United States. This may be due to society doubting the victim when they come forward as they continue to relieve their past trauma by sharing their story. Victims often say silent, whether it is about cultural norms or an ineffective reporting system. Inevitably, acknowledging one’s helplessness to withstand violence results in the heritage of generational trauma, which causes severe mental health complications that people try to handle through substance abuse, criminal behavior, and self-harm. Tommy Orange’s novel There There explores the intricate problems within modern-day Indigenous societies. From racism to alcoholism or abuse, he delves into serious matters that often go undiscussed. Orange illustrates how violence against women is prevalent throughout society, specifically within the Native American community, and is perpetuated by toxic masculinity.
From its very beginning, There There provides a comprehensive commentary on the historical heritage of colonialism and the specific symbols associated with it, such as the Indian Head. It is known as a symbol of strength and bravery that the Indigenous population of North America has exhibited throughout its history. This context provides an expectation that the story will revolve around the people with a strong history, giving the opportunity for the diverse Native voices to speak. The first narrator of the story is Tony Loneman, a young man of Indigenous heritage living in Oakland. Having suffered from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Tony is not particularly a bright individual, which leads to him getting involved in drug dealing. Through these operations, he encounters Octavio and becomes a part of the latter’s plan to rob the Big Oakland Powwow. Through the lens of Tony’s character, readers discover how a person’s changing personality, ranging from invisibility to hypervisibility, can leave them extremely lonely. When the young man dies at the end of the novel from a gunshot during the robbery, he feels that he was freed from the mask of his identity, which has limited him throughout his life.
Tommy Orange details the impact of abuse on a family and how it drove the children towards violence. This theme is particularly relevant to the character of Octavio. Octavio Gomez went to live with his aunt and uncle shortly after his father died. His new home environment was far from perfect; his uncle turned to alcohol after losing his job and began beating his wife to relieve the anger. The children were privy to this abuse. Then one day, his cousin decided to do something about it: “Manny and his dad had gone through the glass table in the living room…Manny was cut a little on his arms, but his dad was all sliced up.” (176). Manny could no longer stand idle by and see his mother suffer any longer. He was forced to grow up and felt he had to be the “man” and stop it. He had no other thoughts than to become physically violent.
Although he put an end to this abuse, Manny gave in to a darkness that would continue to consume him. Octavio helped his cousin drive him to the hospital as his shaken-up wife watched from afar. Orange later reveals, “We didn’t even know if we killed him or not until a week later. The doorbell rang and it was like Manny knew like we felt it…Manny closed the door, and that was that” (176). The uncle, covered in bandages, later returned from the hospital to ask for his family’s forgiveness. By denying him into their home, Manny put a stop to a toxic and seemingly endless cycle of abuse. This incident, however, had lasting impacts on Octavio. He resorted to a life of crime by helping to make guns for planned robberies. Perhaps living in a broken household drove him to become a lawbreaker, because he wanted control of his adult life to make up for a lack thereof in his childhood. Both Manny and Octavio’s wrongdoings directly stemmed from the abuse they witnessed in their formative years.
Orange portrays a story of domestic violence and indicates how trauma can catalyze such abuse. Blue grew up in an affluent, white suburb, but on her eighteenth birthday, she was informed of her adoptive status; she was born in an Oklahoman tribe to an Indian mother. Amidst her quarter-life crisis, she decided to relocate to her tribe’s reservation and got a job as an event coordinator, where she started dating her boss, Paul. He started displaying abusive signs after the loss of his father. Orange states, “But after Paul’s dad died, everything I’d been praying about all that time got turned upside down and emptied on top of me in the form of Paul’s fists” (197). Society does not teach young boys how to process emotions such as grief. They are told men do not cry. Paul did not know how to express his feelings in a healthy way, so, unfortunately, he took his frustration out on his wife. One day, when a coworker gives Blue a ride back home, a drunk passenger tries to get control of the steering wheel, and they end up crashing into a parking structure. Just as she gets out of the car, Blue receives a text from her husband: “C’mon baby. Come out. Where are you going? The text says. My legs are tired. My knees throb from the crash…[I] try to think of a text that might lead him away from here” (205). Blue fears for her life; she constantly worries when Paul will hit her again. She does not know what will set him off and turns her life upside down to appease him. In a way, she stays with him because of the good memories. She expects him to change and the abuse to end, but he is too far gone. The pain of loss can sustain a pattern of battery within a relationship.
The path of Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield is detrimental to discussing the issue of domestic abuse and the trauma associated with it. The character’s story begins when she is a twelve-year-old girl who has been taken to the Native occupation of Alcatraz Island by her ‘free-spirited’ mother. Together with her half-sister, Opal has some adventures on the island, and, for some time, they enjoy themselves. However, when their mother’s drinking gets worse and Opal’s sister Jacquie gets involved with a boisterous group of teenagers, the young girl begins to feel isolated. Within several months of them leaving the island, the mother dies, leaving the two girls in the care of Ronald, a suspicious “uncle,” whose lust after them gets more apparent. In the conversation between the two sisters, it becomes clear that they feel lost in their lives and are confused about what the future holds for them. “Life doesn’t work out the way stories do. Mom’s dead, she’s not coming back, and we’re alone, living with a guy we don’t even know who we’re supposed to call uncle. What kind of a fucked-up story is that?” (Orange 81). This is a quote by Jacquie, who has become disillusioned with their situation and feels that their childhood is over.
Before the family left Alcatraz, Jacquie was raped by a teen named Harvey, so she had to adjust to life with an abusive uncle while waiting to give birth to put her child up for adoption. For example, one night, when the sisters were asleep, Ronald approached their bed trying to abuse them. Afraid that they would be subjected to sexual abuse, Opal takes responsibility to free herself and Jacquie from the strenuous situation, striking Ronald with a bat before fleeing his house. The two girls choose to stay in a group home instead of having to deal with the constant predation of the uncle. Therefore, in situations where vulnerable individuals are at risk of being victimized, sometimes the only option is violence and physical force. In her circumstances, Opal had no other choice; she had to protect her dignity and make sure that her pregnant sister was safe.
Throughout the exploration of characters’ stories and life paths, one cannot help but trace the unifying theme of generational trauma resulting from abuse, violence, cruelty, and genocide that has negatively affected Indigenous peoples. To deal with the trauma, the characters turn to criminal behaviors, substance abuse, and self-harm, which makes a broader statement about the pain that the Native communities have been forced to withstand over the years. Ultimately, Orange suggests that until the generations of Indigenous people are subjected to colonization, extermination, and assimilation, they will inevitably get involved in the ongoing cycle of pain and suffering.
Therefore, abuse, violence, and isolation have become the hallmarks of the whole community. Through exploring the lives of fictional characters in There There, Orange shows that many Indigenous people have reached the breaking points of their lives through sadness and suffering that they have witnessed and endured themselves. Moreover, the ways in which generational trauma manifests in people differ. While some characters, such as Opal, choose to turn away from their heritage, others, such as Edwin or Blue, are keen to find a connection to their heritage and traditions so that they can escape the negative feelings. In addition, some characters, such as Dene or Opal’s mother, encourage bringing the stories of trauma to light with the belief that only visibility can address the problem.
Tommy Orange depicts the untold truth of abuse in Indigenous homes and exhibits how it is kept alive by machismo culture. Although these stories may be fictional, they are heavily based on the unfortunate realities of intimate partner violence. In the end, the victim is never responsible for the abuse. The blame falls entirely on the abuser; however, if more people come forward with their stories, they can affect real change with how the legal system handles abuse. Ultimately, society needs to enact real change in order to prevent this violence from happening in the first place. The importance of Orange’s story lies in the fact that he shows how each person finds their own way to understand and escape the painful legacy of generational trauma that they have inherited.
Work Cited
Orange, Tommy. There There: A Novel. Penguin Random House, 2018.