A Yellow Raft In Blue Water Analysis

Words: 1077
Pages: 5

Family Secrets Through Three Generations
Three complicated generations, intertwining on crossing paths through secrets kept in an invisible mystery. A classic novel, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris, sets a story told from the perspectives of three Indian women. Each character tells their own story revealing hidden secrets that shape the character. Rayona, a teenage girl, struggles to find herself as she deals with racism and isolation. Christine, Rayona’s mother, experiences resentment toward her loved ones as she searches for love from others. Ida, Christine’s mother, faces betrayal and learning lessons from her mistakes. Each event putting pieces back together from the past as the women kindle their bonds and searches for themselves.
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Hearing from Ida that Rayona has gone missing and Christine finds her at the rodeo with Dayton. Christine and Rayona get into an argument after seeing each other after a period of time, “‘I thought you were dead!’I screamed at Rayona...‘A lot you cared. You came for your precious box of pills from Charlene and didn’t even wait around.’...‘What do you know about pills?’ I asked her, but she went on complaining” (281). Christine’s point of view demonstrates anger at Rayona from the belief that Rayona left selfishly to find independence without considering Christine’s feelings. From Rayona’s perspective, she believes that Christine is the one who abandoned her. Saddened by the time when Christine took her pills without a word, Rayona saw it as a betrayal. Due to the lack of communication between Christine and Rayona, they end up in a conflict of misunderstanding each other for leaving, creating resentment in their relationship. These series of accusing one another with listening to each other’s situation demonstrates that these secrets amplifies by how they are kept. Christine and Rayona both start off with an argument after reuniting that creates tension between them and decreases the chance of rekindling. At first, both are not willing to express their true feelings about one another that harms this mother-daughter relationship. Soon after, Rayona and Christine learn to listen to each other that ceases their tension. With this in mind, family secrets are amplified by how they are kept from the misunderstandings from the lack of