Week 9: There There's Meaning of Home Discussion

    What does home mean for varying characters in the book, and how does it relate to the injustice Native people have experienced? More specifically, how does the concept of ‘home’ differ between different main characters?

Comments

  1. Griffin JonesNovember 24, 2022 at 11:46 AM

    I think that for a lot of the main characters, the concept of home is not quite set in stone. With characters being forced to move around, kicked out of houses, and leaving on their own accord due to circumstances. However, I think that in a broader sense there is a theme of Oakland being home. Not because it is safe, comfortable, or inviting, but rather it is because Oakland is all that's left. Native people are a group of people, not a land, so the idea that Native people would need to be out "in the wild" is wrong. It is the people a communities that have all formed in Oakland that make it a home.

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  2. Critical Thinkers and WritersNovember 26, 2022 at 1:39 PM

    An excellent question, Andrew. One simple answer for this novel and for Orange is that home is Oakland, even though many non-Natives might not see it as a Native space or "homeland."

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  3. Paulos HabtewoldNovember 28, 2022 at 6:41 PM

    Home is a place that moves with you. It's the community and the people you love that make a house or apartment into a home. In There There, characters like Jaquie have homes that constantly moved as they grew up. However, a character like Dene or Edwin only had one home. The land itself is not as important as the traditions and people within the home.

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