Harvey Character Analysis in There There

When readers first meet Harvey, he is a rambunctious and heavy-drinking teen whose family is participating in the occupation of Alcatraz at the same time as Jacquie, Opal, and their mother, Vicky. Harvey and Jacquie flirt, but the interaction ends in an assault. Jacquie becomes pregnant with Harvey’s child, and gives the baby up for adoption—unbeknownst to them, the baby girl is adopted by white parents and grows up to adopt the Indian name Blue and work on the Big Oakland Powwow committee. Harvey is also Edwin Black’s birth father. After years of alcoholism, Harvey cleans up his act and gets sober. He reconnects with Jacquie at an AA meeting during a conference on substance abuse and suicide in Native communities out in Albuquerque, and the two of them travel to Oakland together for the powwow—which Harvey is emceeing. A gregarious and ultimately kind man, Harvey is wise enough to know that though he’s let people down throughout his life, there’s always a chance for redemption and reconnection.

Harvey Quotes in There There

The There There quotes below are all either spoken by Harvey or refer to Harvey. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Cultural Identity vs. Personal Identity Theme Icon

“There’s gotta be some reason for all this. That we would meet like this,” Harvey said, holding the elevator by putting his arm across the threshold.

“The reason is we’re both fuckups and the Indian world is small.”

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 115

Explanation and Analysis:

Harvey Character Timeline in There There

The timeline below shows where the character Harvey appears in There There. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...the group of teens—Jacquie is drunk, and introduces Opal excitedly to an older boy named Harvey. Opal spots another younger boy standing near the water tossing rocks into the ocean, and... (full context)

...eventually caught by some elders and forced to return the boat to shore. Jackie and Harvey immediately scramble away, while the shell-shocked Opal and Rocky stay on the boat holding hands... (full context)

...on a visit to her gravesite, Jacquie reveals to Opal that she is pregnant with Harvey’s baby. Jacquie wants to have an abortion, but Opal begs her to reconsider, insisting that... (full context)

Interconnectedness, Coincidence, and Chance Theme Icon

...has told him little about his dad except for the fact that his name is Harvey, he lives in Phoenix, and he is what she—a white woman—calls “Native American Indian.” Edwin... (full context)

Edwin reads the message from Harvey, which states that he’s coming to Oakland for the Big Oakland Powwow in a couple... (full context)

...sitting in a circle. A man in a cowboy hat introduces himself to her as Harvey, and Jacquie finds herself floored: she texts Opal to tell her sister that she is... (full context)

...to the group after the start of the meeting, she takes the opportunity to shame Harvey, and begins telling the story of her time on Alcatraz—and the “piece-of-shit kid” who “stretch[ed]... (full context)

...speak, getting lost in thought about the day she, her sister, and her mother left Alcatraz—Harvey and his brother Rocky didn’t want to leave, and jumped off the transport boat into... (full context)

After the meeting, only Jacquie and Harvey stay behind. Harvey tries to make conversation with Jacquie, telling her he’s going to Oakland... (full context)

Jacquie and Harvey are in Harvey’s Ford pickup, riding through the Arizona desert on their way to Oakland.... (full context)

Harvey continues his story, explaining that he woke up freezing in the middle of the desert,... (full context)

Jacquie and Harvey get to Oakland the night before the powwow and stay in separate rooms at the... (full context)

At the powwow, Jacquie sits next to Harvey in the sound system booth. She wonders aloud if their daughter will be there—she would... (full context)

Blue and Edwin approach the sound tent, and Harvey seems to recognize Edwin right away. He puts his mic down, takes off his hat,... (full context)

Harvey tries to push Jacquie down onto the ground to take cover, but she insists on... (full context)

...an aide, she sees a car full of people pull up. The doors open, and Harvey, Jacquie, and several other people—one of them a wounded, unconscious teenager—pour out of the car.... (full context)

...say something to her, but has no idea what it could be. She looks at Harvey, and is amazed by how much Edwin and Harvey look alike. She wonders if Harvey... (full context)

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Harvey Character Analysis

Harvey Quotes in There There

Harvey Character Timeline in There There

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