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
Orvil hears the shots as he is walking onto the field for another round of dancing, and immediately thinks of his brothers—and of how much trouble he’ll be in with Opal if something happens to them. He begins running towards the noise, but a loud boom “pulls him to the ground.” Orvil realizes he’s been shot, and puts a hand to his stomach—his fingers come away red with blood. He coughs up blood, and as he does, wishes he could hear drums “one more time.” He wishes he could fly away, but instead knows he must focus on one objective: “keep breathing.”
Orvil’s first foray into celebrating and embracing his Native roots is one marked by violence and danger. The trauma and violence Orvil’s ancestors endured has come for him, too, and the only thing on his mind as he realizes this horrible fact is survival.
Themes
