There
There by Tommy Orange begins with a prologue that outlines
the struggles of Native Americans throughout history and ending with their
place in society today. Orange begins his novel this way to expose readers to a
bevy of information they are overwhelmingly unlikely to have known prior to the
novel and to instill a sense of shock as to the horrors that have been
inflicted upon Native populations. Personally, I believe Orange did this to
encourage readers to be spurred by the prologue to open their minds and even
conduct their own research about the events outlined. This may even motivate
the reader to externally search for information about the history of Native
Americans. Similarly, the ‘Rolling Head’ section educates the reader on the
spiritual nature of Native American stories and may similarly encourage a
Google search in an effort to further their understanding as I found myself
doing.
The ‘Indian Head’ section which
begins the prologue helps to portray the insignificance and erasure of Native
American identity in American culture. The Indian Head in question was a TV
test image that showed up on, “American TVs everywhere after all the shows ran
out” (3). This image was so unimportant that it would only show up after all
the scheduled shows had finished, just like Native people in America at the
time. Similar to above, even those who were alive during this era would
probably have to refresh their memory to even notice the Indian Head located at
the upper-middle of the image. This strong symbol of Native American culture is
demoted to serve the mundane purpose of setting brightness and contrast.
Supposedly, “[t]he Indian Head Portrait provided the needed consistency and
familiarity” (Fasciano, 2005). The cultural significance of the image is so irrelevant
that the author of the test image saw straight past the Indian Head, as if it
were translucent, to its utility.
All
of this contributes to setting a dire tone that carries throughout the remainder
of the novel. With sections such as ‘Massacre as Prologue’ which uses an
overwhelming amount of violent imagery, it coalesces well with the rest of the
prologue to prepare the reader for what is to come (8). A grim novel with
Native people at its center who have been systematically oppressed with their
cultural symbols relegated to the likes of test images and sports teams. Therefore,
it is no surprise that as the characters attempt to reconnect with their
culture it is met with a mix of pride and joy along with the perpetual
suffering that seems to follow their people.
Works Cited
Fasciano, Pete. “The Art of
Engineering The Indian Head Test Pattern .” Wmbt.org, 2005,
www.wmbt.org/ihtp_restoration6.pdf.
I completely agree that the prologue of There There is set up to invoke emotion and curiosity out of the readers. The stories of the prologue were not traditional, stereotypical stories told about Native Americans today. This allow Tommy Orange to erase any preconceived notions of Native Americans that the readers may have. By erasing any stereotypes early, he can write the story that he wants to write, one about modern Native Americans and how Native Americans are not so different from everyone else. They suffer through the same hardships as most people, and they even suffer through worse hardships.
ReplyDeleteThe passage on urbanity was the real eye opener, as it establishes the idea of native Americans in cities (11). The stereotype of modern-day Native Americans is that they live on reservations, but Tommy Orange shows how there is a large population of Native Americans living in cities across the nation. He provokes the reader asking “Are we so different? Were we at one time not something else entirely, Homo sapiens, single-celled organisms, space dust, unidentifiable pre-big bang quantum theories?” (11), he shows how we are the same and that there are a lot Native Americans out there in urban areas that many people just do not know about.
By using the prologue in the way that he does Tommy Orange allows himself to tell modern stories of twelve different characters and show their differences. He shows that different Native Americans have different problems and that the race of Native American can not be categorized by just one label.
Jerick,
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree with your assertion that the prologue is intended to galvanize readers into conducting further research while simultaneously being shocked to learn just how morbid past relations between whites and Native Americans truly are. I also found the foreshadowing used to be interesting. Readers can interpret the “stray bullets and consequences [that] are landing on [Native American] unsuspecting bodies even now” (10) as a claim that the effects of the past have never ceased to exist as well as a hint towards future violence in the novel.
Native Americans have a past filled with violence and tragedy. It is no surprise and nonetheless effective that Orange begins There There with such grim connotations and horrific stories of the past. On another note, your personal commentary on the ‘Indian Head’ gave me a new perspective on symbolism, as I previously did not see the comparison between the head showing up only following all scheduled programming and Native American people as a whole being behind whites in the sense that their culture has been neglected and oppressed since the beginning of Western civilization in the Americas. While the showing of the head may be more subtle, I found the overall portrayal of Native Americans in American film (7) to be degrading. These film portrayals fail to take into account the entirety of Native American culture, and often portray Native Americans as either being dependant on whites or being killed by whites.
You provide an excellent analysis of the prologue and demonstrate the Tommy Orange's purpose in introducing the novel with the gruesome narrative of Native History. I agree that the prologue sets a dire tone for the rest of the novel, a tone continued in the stories of the various characters.
ReplyDeleteThe prologue also serves to set the scene for Native life in cities, an essential aspect of the prologue. The prologue sets the stage for how Natives live in cities, how they have learned to adapt and how they struggle with new problems. The prologue serves to connect Natives living in cities with the struggles of their ancestors. The US government drove people from their lands, hoped to place then on remote reservations or assimilate them into American culture and make them invisible. The prologue connects the history of Native people with modern living, a point you do not demonstrate. The purpose of the prologue is more than outlining the horrific past of Natives. The point of the prologue is to demonstrate how Native Americans have adapted and survived, despite the efforts of the US government.