Understanding the Critics and Orange's Perspectives on Domestic Violence

Criticisms of Orange's Novel

To understand the overarching theme of Orange's There There, it becomes essential to understand the various critiques that readers have given the author of his story. Since the novel's debut in 2018, there have been numerous people who have a variety of opinions. While some people believe that Orange's work allows for a new way for different perspectives that were kept "under" wraps for so long, there are plenty of other people who don't believe his story shows the struggles of Native American people effectively. When it comes to Orange's writing style for this novel, we can start to notice that he decides to write a story with each chapter being about a different character. To be exact, there are twelve different characters that he decides to represent in his story which to some people can be seen as "...a little sloppy in execution" (Allen 551). While this format does seem a little abnormal initially, there's something very unconventional way of storytelling that can be an effective tool in helping understand how everyone's experiences are interconnected and to a certain degree universal. Some people refer to this kind of storytelling as the "victim-perpetrator" lens where the author wants us to understand the survivor's side of the story instead of assimilating to the traditional norms and standards that have been portrayed by the offender (Noji 22). With this, we can begin to see how the author attempts to begin to connect with the audience on a more emotional level.

While there are a lot of criticisms about the "sloppy execution" that claims to have ruined the storyline of There There, I would have to argue the complete opposite because it shows more of this stream-of-consciousness line of thinking where we see writing that becomes more conversational; and more emotive. Many critics have gone along to argue that this is a way to show that violence has a way of affecting people's abilities to explain their experiences and stories (Shaw 251). With this, we can notice some of the controversial points of view that There has been a lot of controversy about this point of view, especially since this is more of a "twenty-first-century" view on the issue of domestic violence (Brickhouse 40). With this, we can continue to notice how these different lenses bring to light the different ideologies that the author has when it comes to topics surrounding Native American history. In the novel, we can see how the "isolation" plays a big role in the author's writing as he desires to focus on the way the "individual perceptions and processes" that each of the characters go through (Shaw 251). While some might think that his tool of "isolation" allows us to take in different "perceptions" of how people encounter and process violence, there are some other people who believe that it makes it harder for people to pinpoint the root issue of domestic violence and the traumas from being continually discriminated against. 

Controversial Opinions About the Author 

In terms of understanding the novel as a whole, it becomes imperative to look at the beliefs of Tommy Orange to not only see the criticisms that are directed at him and his work but also, how these criticisms amplify the struggles that the Native American community faces and continues to face in terms of bringing up the systemic issues that oppress its people. To begin, there have been a lot of criticisms about Orange's portrayal of Native American people, especially since he was gearing away from what the media perceives native people as (Hamilton 171). Coming back to the idea of how Orange is attempting to focus more on the individual "perceptions" of the character, which is something that not a lot of books tend to focus on. What society is used to seeing in stories is some idea of "cultural continuity," where there's a clear beginning middle, and ending (Shaw 252). There's a lot of controversy when it comes to the author portraying his ideas in a discontinuous manner, especially since this shows him already being willing to go against the grain of the stereotypical ideologies that society has placed on its citizens.

This idea of going against the grain is seen throughout his novel, but he truly tries to break the gender stigmas and boundaries when it comes to talking about Jacquie and her experiences of domestic violence. One of the things that Orange has been mainly critiqued for believing in is his view on women's rights, especially when it comes to tying it into domestic violence. I keep on coming back to the one line in the book that I had mentioned on a previous page in this exhibit where Orange amplifies Jacquie's experiences of being assaulted where her "no" was somehow manipulated by Harvey into the word "yes" (Orange 110). This stems a lot of controversies because he's trying to prove a point that not everyone necessarily believes: that many emotional traumas come with experiencing domestic violence or violence of any kind (Duncan 204). There are so many stigmas that come into play when someone goes through an experience such as Jacquie's. From feeling afraid to speak up about the violence that someone has experienced to constantly feeling tethered to the perpetrator, Orange brings up this somewhat questionable lens to his readers where he strives to advocate for the woman's experiences and blame the offenders instead of the survivors. In tying all of this together, we can begin to grasp the ideas that come into the ideas of the "political struggles" that come into play when trying to ensure that women, and in particular Native American women are forced to deal with (Shaw 251). When it comes to dealing with a situation that never seems to go away, there's this idea that people are constantly walking on eggshells because any violent situation seems to be continuing in a vicious neverending cycle of suffering. With this, we can notice that Tommy Orange is trying to portray domestic violence as an issue that causes people to feel that they can have some sense of belonging within a community.