Long Blog There There#1

I think what really stood out to me a lot is when Tony (he isn’t an amazing person but you got to have a little sympathy for the guy) looks in the tv seeing his reflection. Even when other characters looked at themselves once in a while. Now I know there’s so much more important manners in this book with finding your cultural identity, the history behind Native Americans, etc but I want to specifically focus on this part because I really think in today’s world everyone is so worried about appearances. It really hit me at home during this moment because he says, “Most people don’t have to think about what their faces mean the way I do.” I know he is referring to the fact that his mother drank while she was pregnant and now he has fetal alcohol syndrome and I can’t even imagine how that affects someone, but I understand that so much, I think a lot of people can say the same. In our day and age everyone is comparing themselves to one another wishing they had their nose, their lips, their body, etc. We spend our whole lives trying to fix our flaws instead of loving them. I know I do this everyday. When I read that it really kept me thinking and it really made me sad. He has to think every time he goes out “what will people think of me”. Now I know I can’t relate on some levels of what Tony goes through but I know how he feels about seeing his reflection. This was just a minor but major thought that went through my head that I needed to get out in my analysis of this book. I do think the cultural history side to this book gives so much insight, but those few words just honestly hit differently.
I found a critic online (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books/reviews/article-review-tommy-oranges-stunning-debut-novel-there-there/) that I really agreed with especially when she brings up Blue and her abusive boyfriend because this is yet another thing that is widely relatable to in this day and age. I also love when she compares this to how many races (he emphasizes Black Americans) have to see themselves as their cultural identity as well as Americans and that can be extremely hard with the racism we face in our world to this day. She also brings up being stereotyped which is another problem we face today. Throughout the rest of the article the stereotype problem I see kind of continued along with the race. She doesn’t explicitly say that but I connected it. She talks about how she was worried that with the pow wow and all the violence brought from the men that it is how people would see them. Violent. That statement made me think a little harder and I remember a time when I was talking to a friend and it was sometime after hearing about a white man and a black man getting into a fight of some sort (I really don’t remember when this was or what happened) and the black man got punished more severely even though they were equally at fault. I remember her saying how you usually hear how the black man or woman was at fault more so than a white person, they did this or that, and she was always worried that’s how people would see her. As if she’s a criminal. I immediately thought about that when I read those words in the article. Racism is such a huge factor in today’s world and it’s such a touchy subject but it’s something that we need to talk about, I just wish everyone could see that no matter who you are, what you look like, or who you love we all are equal.