Questions/Notes

1. There There is a polyphonic novel, written from the perspective of a dozen different narrators.
Why do you think Tommy Orange made this structural choice? How does it relate to Dene
Oxendene’s storytelling project, and what is Orange saying about the importance of
storytelling to the survival of a culture?
a. Polyphonic novel: simply means “many voices”; more complex – “a variety of
conflicting ideological positions are given a voice and set in play both between and
within individual speaking subjects, without being placed and judged by an
authoritative authorial voice” (Lodge 1990: 86).
I love Orange’s choice of making this a polyphonic novel, I think he did it so wonderfully. The use of
this structure allows the readers to compare these characters who are very different from each other,
but find the common themes of addiction, trauma, and the past from each character. It challenges
us to compare these stories from these different people and put the pieces together to help us
understand the importance of storytelling and the effects it has on a person.

2. Not unrelated to the first question: consider the use of first- and third-person perspective in
the novel. Are there one or more central, dominant perspectives that we are meant to
privilege/prioritize over others? Why or why not?
Not necessarily, but yes at the same time. I think that the use of first person for certain characters helps
the readers to connect and understand their history, past, and emotional values. But throughout
the novel, I notice that the use of first person starts to become less and less frequent, almost as the
personal and emotional sides of the characters close off until they become— characters. You no
longer get to connect with them as well, especially in the last section where all characters are narrated in
third person. It’s like reading the news, you feel the chaos and the shock in your gut, but you can’t
connect to these characters on an emotional level. You feel pity, but you can’t personally and
emotionally feel grief for a specific character. It’s powerful, and really shows that you never know
what’s going on behind a person unless you physically and mentally step into their place.

3. What is the predominant narrative tone of the novel? How is it established differently by
different narrators’ use of diction, imagery, and other literary devices?
Get clarification

4. What does it mean that, speaking of Oakland, “there is no there there,” and how does the
setting play a role in the story and in these characters’ lives? (38)
Get clarification

5. How would the novel be different if Orange didn’t include the “Prologue” and the “Interlude”
sections? With reference to the novel, how do these sections enhance the reader’s
understanding of the story and its themes?
The sections of Prologue and Interlude gives readers content and an explanation of the events taking
place in the novel, such as the powwow or the Native American culture. These sections enhance the
reader’s understanding because of what they tell the reader. The prologue is more of an essay, like a
research paper, of the events that took place in the past of the Native American genocide and
dehumanization during the 15th century when colonizers landed in America. The prologue gives the
reader information about past experiences of a Native American, which allows them to connect to
the discrimination and struggle Native Americans in the novel continue to experience. The novel tells
stories of experience in the novel. The interlude is told by this unknown voice, which could be the
narrator of all the parts of the novel narrated in third person. The interlude gives the reader an
understanding of what a powwow is, and the history and culture behind it. This allows the reader to
have a better understanding why the powwow is so important to characters such as Orvil, but
also why some characters are more opposed to powwows because of the trauma it reminds them
of.

6. Addiction is a prominent theme in the novel, although it manifests in many different ways. Is
there evidence to suggest that Orange thinks there is a common origin to characters’
experiences with addiction?
I think that the addiction is the outcome of the unfair treatment given to Native Americans.
Because all characters have some form of addiction to drugs, alcohol, or have family members who are
affected by an addiction, this means that something relating to all characters, or the group that all
characters belong to takes place. Usually, when one turns to some kind of substance abuse, it means
something big and overwhelming is happening to them, or to others. Because one of the one things
in common that they have with each other is that they’re Native American, means that this unfair
treatment of Native Americans across generations has directly impacted their life in some
way.

7. What do the spiders and spider legs symbolize?

● The spiders can symbolize generational trauma, and independence for both characters who the
spiders directly affected. Opal and Jacquie’s mom always told the two girls that spiders carried
generations of home and traps. She says “Spiders carried miles of web in their bodies, miles of
story, miles of potential home and trap” (Orange 163). She also compares spiders to herself,
Opal and Jacquie. The way that she explained to the girls what the spiders were— home and
trap, carried for generations— then compared themselves to the spider feels as if she’s saying
that they are spiders. They carry this generational trauma on and on, passing it onto their
children and grandchildren. It’s present in Orvil too, as when he was affected, his life changed
too, and he seems more independent. He starts to embrace his culture, wanting to dance and
participate in powwow. He starts to care and take pride, saying to his brothers that they “gotta
carry it on… if we don’t they might disappear” (Orange 131).
● The spider legs symbolize change for the two directly affected. For Opal, she had found spider
legs in her leg after leaving the home that felt like a trap for her and her sister. The removal of
the spider legs was her introduction into adulthood, and removing herself from a dangerous
situation. Home and Trap. Home being her sister, and the relief of freeing herself, but trap,
that dangerous environment the two of them were in. The spider legs also are used to reference
 Orvil, when he woke up and pulled out spider legs too. The spider legs in his case could
symbolize him growing to love his culture and embracing his Native heritage

Why spiders? How do you think it symbolizes the characters that are directly affected or not,
and how does it relate to the book as a whole?

8. Throughout this story, all of the characters wrestle in one way or another with what it means
to be Native American. What conclusions do they come to by the end of the novel? Do these
characters reach similar conclusions, or do they all seem to have very different conceptions of
their identities as Native Americans in the end?
I think that all of these characters have this desire to belong, that directly links to what it means to be
Native American. They seem to all represent different versions of what people expect Native
Americans to be liked— Violent in Octavio, Almost Giving up in Jacquie, Passionate about their
culture in Orvil, and more. However, these characters all have this wanting to belong into society in
some way. Towards the end, they all have this tense relationship to what it means to be Native
American, but they all seem to start to accept it and learn about their culture more as the novel
progresses.

9. In what ways is violence an important theme in this story, and what is Tommy Orange trying
to say about violence? How did you feel about the violence at the end of the story when
characters converge at the pow wow? What was the purpose of having everyone’s story
culminate in this way?
In the end of the novel, Orange utilizes violence in the form of guns and bullets, which is a timeless
version of what violence looks like in literature. As stated in HTRLLAP, some of the simplest
things could have symbolism behind it. For this symbol, I think that it represents corruption and the
continuous hate that spreads to each group that exists. Throughout history, all groups of people have
been affected by gun violence because of some unfair treatment or bias directed towards them. For
natives, it is no different as they have also suffered from unfair treatment ever since the 15th century.
However, the impact that Native Americans are the ones releasing the bullets is powerful, and it’s
almost as if they've been affected by this treatment so much that they become a part of that
corruption, spreading more corruption and hate to the group.

10. James Baldwin once wrote, “People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them.”
How does Tommy Orange’s novel, especially at the beginning and the end, embody this idea?
In other words, why do you think he chose to begin and end the novel with the perspective of
Tony Loneman?
I feel like Tony was the perfect character to start and end the book with for numerous reasons.
● I feel like he embodies this character that’s been through it all, regarding his history. He’s
been bullied because of his heritage, been bullied from a syndrome that was caused
from generational trauma, is affected by said generational trauma, has turned to
violence, and more. The history of where he’s come from, this generational trauma that has
 affected his mother, and many others before her, has affected him in ways that are cruel and
hard for someone to deal with. His syndrome, caused from his mom’s alcohol addiction, has
affected his growing up and his discovery of what makes him him. He self deprecates, and turns
to violence, inevitably making his hands red at the end of the novel when his actions cost lives.
The thing together in this novel is done so well because of his character, and the history that
has caused him to do such things makes everything so— wonderfully created. It really pushes
this message of history, and the repetition of history, the consequences of our actions and what
effect of what others have influenced us.

Because of what happened to Orvil at the end of the novel, what do you think will happen to Jacquie,
Opal, and Orvil’s two brothers? Do you think the cycle will continue or will someone from their family
(probably the two brothers) will step out and fight against the crowd?

Partner Observation Checklist:

Reflection:

Upon reflecting on today’s seminar, I think that I did a decent job overall. I think where I was
the strongest would be being attentive during the seminar: taking notes, going to pages in the novel
that are mentioned, making eye contact with the person who was talking, and nodding my head when I
understood something. I think that this was the strongest part of what I did in the seminar. I wish I
would have been a bit more aggressive, as I held back because I was scared of interrupting someone or
cutting off the opportunity for someone to speak. I also wished I could have spoken a bit more overall,
as I felt that I had a couple good points of where I would’ve wanted to participate, but my fear of
public speaking also took over. Nevertheless, I felt that this seminar allowed me to further understand
and connect the dots together with pieces of the novel which I didn’t quite get. There were
little details of the novel that I didn’t catch, and this seminar brought those details into light for me.
One of the standout details was the idea of spiders— their webs are circular, representing history
repeating itself. Another point was that the spider’s legs represent the different branches that each of
the characters represented, and the spider’s body represented Native Americans as a group.
In the next seminar, I hope to have more confidence in what I am doing, and what I want to talk
about. Another thing I would like to improve on is becoming a bit more confident in speaking what
I’m trying to say. I think this is a struggle for me because English isn’t my first language, and I’m not
necessarily “fluent” in it as I still have trouble communicating what I’m trying to say. I hope that next
seminar I can improve on staying calm and communicating my thoughts and ideas better than I did
today.
I wish I had spoken a bit more about the spiders, as I absolutely loved the concept of using the
spiders and thought that the symbolism Orange used was brilliant. I wish I would have also spoken
more about Tony, as he was the character that stood out to me the most. I had thoughts of why I
thought he represented these stereotypical Native Americans, and was the epitome of what Native
Americans go through.
As of my partner Serena, I thought she did incredibly well! I aspire to be like her because of the
way she presents herself and communicates exactly what she wants to. She allowed others to speak and
gave them opportunities to speak when they wanted, while still being passionate and participating
when she could. She was incredible, well spoken, well prepared, engaged, she was spot on. In terms of
what she observed for me, I think that she actually gave me more credit than I deserved. She was so
supportive; she and Chloe gave me these helpful tips during the intermission that helped bring my
confidence up so I could speak. Throughout the period, she was supportive and encouraged me. I’m
really grateful for her and everything she taught me today, and I genuinely think that she deserves a
really good grade for this seminar.