Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in There There, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Cultural Identity vs. Personal Identity
Storytelling
Interconnectedness, Coincidence, and Chance
Generational Trauma
Summary
Analysis
Bill Davis works as a janitor at the Oakland Coliseum, going about his job with both exhaustion and pride. He has worked at the Coliseum for years, performing any job available from security to selling peanuts. He knows he’s getting old, and will soon be edged out of work. As Bill pauses for a moment to catch his breath while picking up trash in the stadium seating, he looks up at the sky and sees something “unnatural” there. He is distracted when his phone vibrates in his pocket—it is his girlfriend Karen, no doubt calling to complain about “her man-boy son, Edwin.” Bill hates the way Karen coddles Edwin, and hates the entitled, self-obsessed way the younger generation behaves more generally.
Bill is a relatively minor character throughout the novel, but by giving him his own point-of-view chapter, Orange is demonstrating the inherent relevance and worth of the stories of people who are often invisible in society. Bill has feelings of his own, and his contempt for Edwin and frustration with Karen shines a new light on another side of their makeshift little family’s situation.
Themes
Bill answers the phone call—Karen tells him that Edwin needs to be picked up from his new job at the Indian Center later. Karen knows Bill doesn’t want to pick Edwin up, but begs him to anyway, reminding him of “what happened to [Edwin] on the bus.” Bill reluctantly agrees to pick up Edwin, telling Karen that she “owe[s] him” later tonight, then hangs up the call. Bill continues picking up trash, thinking about Edwin’s tussle with an old veteran on the bus several weeks ago. He reflects on his history of working at the coliseum—Bill himself is a “crazy AWOL Vietnam vet” who has served jail time and as a result hasn’t been able to find much work outside of the coliseum.
Bill has had a difficult past himself, and compared with the violent struggles he’s faced, he feels that Edwin’s problems are insignificant or even manufactured. He clearly has a tenderness for the boy in spite of his contempt for him, and more than anything is grateful for the ways Karen helps them both to feel less lonely.
Themes
As Bill looks out into the outfield, he sees a “tiny plane”—a drone has landed on the baseball field. As the drone heads for home base, Bill runs down the stairs with his trash grabber. He approaches the drone and tries to hit it with his trash grabber, but misses. The drone flies away quickly, and Bill watches it sail out “over the rim of the coliseum.”
The drone’s presence foreshadows that something—or someone—is watching Bill. Orange won’t reveal the drone’s significance until later on, but its presence now hints at a connection to something strange and unseen.
Themes
