A Yellow Raft In Blue Water Analysis

Lives for Native Americans on reservations have never quite been easy. There are many struggles that most outsiders are completely oblivious about. In her book The Roundhouse, Louise Erdrich brings those problems to light. She gives her readers a feel of what it is like to be Native American by illustrating the struggles through the life of Joe, a 13-year-old Native American boy living on a North Dakota reservation. This book explores an avenue of advocacy against social injustices. The most observable plight Joe suffers is figuring out how to deal with the injustice acted against his mother, which has caused strife within his entire family and within

In the novel A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris shows the three different perspectives of Rayona, Christine, and Aunt Ida with the struggle of feeling out of place and trying to belong. Rayona, Christine’s daughter, is a fifteen-year old mixed with Native and African American who is intelligent, self-reserved, and very independent but is quickly judged with her appearance. Christine had always wanted the attention from people that she never received from her mother, Aunt Ida. She tries to look for love in the wrong places which makes her feel empty later in life. Aunt Ida sacrificed her childhood to keep the family’s secret by pretending to be Christine’s mother. At her young age it was uncommon for the girls to have a child so people

Because of the life that Christine leads, the role of mother and daughter are switched and Rayona often finds herself watching out for her mom. When Ray comes home from school, she would often learn that her mother had gone out to party. Times like

Native American’s find symbolism in many everyday items and colors are no exception. They believe that yellow is a conflicting motif, on one hand it denotes happiness, joy, and contentment but on the other hand it is the color of cowardice, deceit, and hurt. Michael Dorris, the author of A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, coming from a Native American background, most likely considered this while choosing the title for this bestseller. It is overflowing with hidden meanings for the color of yellow, especially in Rayona’s section.

Rayona and her mother Christine grew up in different worlds but they are very similar in many ways. Christine faced various problems as a young child that are now being passed down to Rayona and she is now seeing how they are being affected by them. The novel “A Yellow Raft in Blue Water” walks us through Rayona’s coming of age story and the three perspectives that it is being told in, Rayona’s, Christine’s, and Ida’s. Although Rayona and Christine are very different, they both seem to be facing similar problems; they end up helping one another find their self identity and both are finally able to appreciate and understand one another.

Female characters in feminist literature are constantly highlighted as the protagonist who does not agree to the stereotypic treatment of women in society and refused to be treated the same instead they are prepared to make their own choices, to express their own decisions as well as dealing with the outcomes of their actions. Although every woman is a daughter, a mother, a sister or a wife, any work of feminist literature first deals with her as a woman. The identity of these female characters is not determined by these relationships, roles, or stereotypes. Rather, it is their choices and beliefs that define their identity and they are then associated with these roles. Firstly, there is a big difference between the main female characters; Ofelia, Carmen, and Mercedes. There is an inner conflict towards pregnancy itself where the infant is also the cause of the mother 's worries and sick wellbeing, which is symbolized in Ofelia 's land of magic by

The book, The Color of Water by James McBride presented many aspects of cultural diversity from different individuals to groups of people. The book is an autobiography about James McBride’s mother, Ruth. The author thoroughly explains what Ruth had to go through during the time where diversity amongst individuals was clearly avoided. In addition, it explains James’ life after the death of his father and the ups and downs he encountered. After reading this book, I now have a better understanding of how important it is for people accepted the differences in each other and accept that we are a country of cultural diversity, not divided groups. The analysis of this book will thoroughly explain the positive and

[1] Ruth's memory of her childhood includes the explanation of her drastic separation from her family, that explains why she always avoids the topic of her family when it's brought up. Ruth is hesitant to remember the memories of her painful past.

I find a letter from parents directing their concerns for a their child. I take a moment to appreciate the time and effort the parents place into the letter, but soon after I throw it away. Rayona, one of three main characters of A Yellow Raft in Blue Water placed in the same situation, dwells on the letter for longer and decides to keep it. To Rayona, the letter is much more significant because it reminds her of the little things, talking to her mother, talking to her father, talking to whoever. Michael Dorris, author of A Yellow Raft in Blue Water promotes communication as a key factor to relationships through mother-daughter, siblings, and marriage relationships in the novel.

An emphasis on family is one of the central facets of Native American culture. There is a sense of community between Native American. Louise Erdrich, a Chippewa Indian herself, writes a gripping bildungsroman about a thirteen year old boy named Joe who experiences all forms of family on the Native American Reserve where he lives. He learns to deal with the challenges of a blood family, witnesses toxic family relationships, and experiences a family-like love from the members of the community. In her book, The Round House, Louise Erdrich depicts three definitions of the word family and shows how these relationships affect Joe’s development into an adult.

Ultimately, the authors of A Yellow Raft in Blue Water and Love Medicine create sympathetic indigenous female characters throughout their novels by portraying them as victims of circumstance. Throughout both the novels, there is an overbearing sense of anticipated calamity which overwhelms these characters lives. They are imprisoned literally within their impoverished and bleak circumstances. The prejudice against First Nation people limits their prospects and makes them more vulnerable to drugs and abuse. In addition, they endure being women in a patriarchal society with fewer advancement possibilities; trapped by traditional mores which dictate their roles in the family; lacking positive and successful role models; suffering from an absence

After reading “Yellow Woman”, a sense of mystery is imposed on the reader. Much of the story centers on the identity of the two main characters with issues of duty and desires, social obligations, and the human and spiritual worlds. Taking place in 1970’s New Mexico, the author reveals the aesthetic beauty of a Native American homeland and culture through detail and color.

This book depicts the way ladies' lives were modified by dress designs, medicinal advances, principles of cleanliness, social hypotheses about sex and romance, and the steadily changing states of mind toward instruction, work, and legislative issues. While touching on a broad range of significant experiences of American women, Gail Collins still notes that bodices and uncomfortable shoes mattered a great deal as well.Collin’s choice of the book title is symbolic in it prepares the reader on what to expect in the book. Characters like Pocahontas are carelessly examined, and brief notice is given to local American ladies and their way of life. The portrayal is consistently that of a white

The story focuses on the contradictions and problems that a modern Native American and African Americans have to face because of the color of their skin as they work hard in order to create balance in their lives. The story revolves around the virtue of appreciation. Virtue of appreciation is a common thing and doesn’t concern discrimination on the basis of religion, ethnicity and race.

“Only so that my people may live!” Ella Cara Deloria dedicated much of her life to helping outsiders understand Native American life. Deloria was born on a Yankton Sioux Reservation on 31 January 1889. Although her father was an Episcopal missionary, Deloria still grew up learning the traditions of the Sioux and speaking the Dakota language. Upon graduating college, she served as “a health education secretary for Indian schools and reservations.” But her true passion in life was studying and informing others on Dakota culture and life. When given the opportunity, Deloria dropped everything to become a research assistant. This first step enabled her to ultimately become an ethnologist and write the historical fiction novel Waterlily. Waterlily details the life of two fictional nineteenth-century Sioux characters: Blue Bird and Waterlily. Deloria’s experiences enabled her to contribute to the study of nineteenth-century Dakota life through the historical novel Waterlily; especially, the use of oral history in the creation of the novel, gender roles, and kinship dynamics.