A Yellow Raft In Blue Water Analysis

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People don’t always deal with the same issues in the same way. In the novel, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, author Michael Dorris explores the perspectives of three women whose stories are tangled together through a history of secrets and lies. Rayona, Christine, and Ida all deal with their own share of hardships throughout the course of the novel. As each new perspective is revealed, it becomes clear that our three protagonists face issues with self discovery, a desire to fit in, and personal growth. Despite that though, each one deals with those problems in different ways. Apologetic, aggressive, and distant--Dorris’s effective use of word choice enables the reader to tap into the mindsets of each of these characters, allowing us to see …show more content…

One example of this is when she tells the reader about her time mothering Christine. She explains her reasoning for making Christine call her aunt Ida, saying, “and every time she said it, the feelings for her that I couldn’t help… got flaked away. That was as I intended. Someday Clara would arrive at the door and might steal Christine back” (325). Rather than be the best mother she could be, Ida felt she needed to distance herself from Christine so as to save herself the heartbreak. She doesn’t consider the effects it might have on Christine, however, and is instead so focused on preserving her own feelings that she fails to give her “daughter” the nurturing she needs and deserves. By using the word “steal” in the quote, the author is able to effectively show the reader that even though Christine is not really Ida’s child, she still cares for her in the same way, and the possibility that she might lose her is frightening. In the very next paragraph, Ida exhibits these same behaviors with Father Hurlburt. “I didn’t want to need those evenings--their regularity was irritating to me because I was sure that as soon as I expected Father Hurlburt, he would cease to come--so I remained aloof” (325). In this passage, Ida explicitly tells the reader that she believes???

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