4. Write an essay in which you compare Rayona’s and Ida’s characters. What can Rayona learn from her grandmother? Can Ida learn anything from Rayona? 5. The color yellow is important thematically in Dorris’ novel. What does yellow symbolize for Rayona? for Christine? 6. Does Father Tom sexually assault Rayona […]
Read more Study Help Essay QuestionsStudy Help Full Glossary for A Yellow Raft in Blue Water
an Alberta blow a strong, bitterly cold wind blowing southward from Canada’s Alberta province. All Souls’ Night the night before All Souls’ Day, a day of prayers for the dead; usually on November 2. American kitsch art or figurines that are characterized by an excess of sentimentality — for example, […]
Read more Study Help Full Glossary for A Yellow Raft in Blue WaterCritical Essays Dorris’ Narrative Technique
Rayona’s narrative section, which forms the first third of the novel, is the most stand-alone section of the novel, but Rayona discusses more than just her own history, as do the two narrative sections that follow hers. She begins her narration with the episode in which she’s visiting her mother, […]
Read more Critical Essays Dorris’ Narrative TechniqueCritical Essays Yellow as a Symbol
The most apparent use of yellow as a symbol is the yellow raft anchored in Bearpaw Lake. Before Rayona swims to the raft, her life has been anything but conventional. She’s had to face a reversal of roles concerning her mother, Christine, who acts more like a child than Rayona […]
Read more Critical Essays Yellow as a SymbolMichael Dorris Biography
Dorris earned a bachelor of arts degree from Georgetown University in 1967. He graduated cum laude. In 1970, he earned a master’s degree in philosophy from prestigious Yale University. Immediately following his graduation, Dorris began teaching at the University of Redlands, Redlands, California, as an assistant professor. He moved back […]
Read more Michael Dorris BiographyCharacter Analysis Ida
Raised on a Montana reservation, from which she never moves, Ida is faced with the grim decision at fifteen years old to raise her aunt’s child as her own. Although she has the emotional feelings for Christine that any mother might have for a daughter, Ida and Christine’s relationship is […]
Read more Character Analysis IdaCharacter Analysis Christine
Although Christine doesn’t know it, Ida is not her biological mother, although Ida certainly is her emotional mother. Christine’s mother is actually Clara, Ida’s aunt and therefore Christine’s great-aunt, whom she once meets in a Seattle hospital when Ida forces her to go. This unconventional genealogy symbolizes the reckless, devil-may-care […]
Read more Character Analysis ChristineCharacter Analysis Rayona
From the outset of the novel, Rayona is unsure of herself. Her uncertainty is based in part in the apparent role-reversed relationship that she has with her mother. In the hospital scene in Chapter 1, Rayona seems more like a mother to Christine than Christine does to Rayona. For example, […]
Read more Character Analysis RayonaSummary and Analysis Ida: Chapter 20
Ida doesn’t limit Christine and Lee in anything that they want to do. She’s more of a follower than a leader. For example, one night when Christine is eleven years old, Ida sees her running outside without her clothes on. Ida merely calls Christine and Lee into the house and […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Ida: Chapter 20Summary and Analysis Ida: Chapter 19
Willard, scheduled for reconstructive surgery on his ear, checks himself into the hospital. During the time he’s there, Ida learns that her father has died. She doesn’t appear to be overly concerned about him. Willard again goes to the hospital, this time for surgery to repair his entire face. While […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Ida: Chapter 19