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Kailey Holbrook

Dr Malashewski

IB English

30 October 2023

A Camera’s Perspective

Out of all of the chapters in the last section of There There by Tommy Orange, Dene

Oxendene’s stood out to me the most. The story is gorgeous, but the symbolism of the camera is

what makes it so profound.

The young Dene did not know his uncle well. They had spent very little time together,

and when they reunited his mother had many disagreements with her brother. Yet, even through

the rift between the house, Dene had found a connection with his uncle. Which is why when he

found out his uncle had very little time left to live he was distraught. His uncle promised that

they would make a movie together, and tried to connect his Nephew with his filmmaking. He

told him about his special camera with “a grip like a gun” (Orange). Their connection is

represented by the camera itself, only, it is one sided. After Lucas died Dene ran away with the

camera, griefing hysterically, “He wanted to believe that when he turned on the camera, his uncle

was with him, seeing through it.” (Orange). Which is why, when seeing his mother’s reaction to

her brother’s death, he points the camera to her to show his uncle what he had done. It is here

that the reader sees the significance of the “grip like a gun” (Orange), as the uncle now has to

face the damage he had done to his family. A view though it is, the gun grip goes to show how

much his art hurt his sister, and eventually, his nephew as well.
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Passage: 36-37, 43-44 (Orange)

A TV or Mirror

Tony Loneman is surrounded by consequences, but they are never his own. His

environment is because of his parent’s choices. His opportunities are determined based on

generational struggle. But most importantly, his Drome is not his fault. The Drome referenced is

alcohol syn-drome, a condition that causes facial deconstruction and other medical problems if a

mother drinks while pregnant. Tony finally sees his condition one night while looking at the TV.

He stated, “I found it there on the TV, staring back at me like a fucking villian” (Orange 16). It,

meaning the Drome. The choice to have Tony see the condition on a TV was a purposeful

decision by Tommy Orange, and one that circles back to the very first point he made: The Indian

Head. The profile of an Indian was shown on TVs when they left on for too long. It was

stereotypical, to say the least, but to start with this idea and begin a new perspective with the

same object connects them almost instantly. Tony sees himself on that TV, not as stereotypical

Indian, but rather one with faults. Just like everyone else saw him, faults and all.

Passage: “I found it there on the TV, staring back at me like a fucking villian” (Orange

16)

Works Cited

Orange, T. (2019). There There. Vintage.