Generational Trauma In Tommy Orange's It All

Generational trauma is a serious issue in society that could affect people in all age groups and could be caused by numerous reasons, like drug abuse, violence, racism, etc. Researchers believed that generational trauma could cause changes to one's DNA and be passed down to future generations. Tommy Orange, the author of the well-recognized novel There There, relates to the theme of generational trauma, in which the characters experience different forms of generational trauma. These traumas had significant effects on their lives, experiences, perspectives, and choices. In There There, Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield is one of the characters who are victims of life-changing generational traumas. When Opal was still a young teenage girl,

Orvil’s mother, Jamie, shot herself to death when Orvil was only six. After that, he and his younger brothers were adopted by their great-aunt Opal, as their real grandmother, Jacquie, did not want to get involved in her grandsons’ lives. Having such a miserable childhood, and the fact that Opal was unwilling to expose Orvil’s past and his Native heritage to him as a form of protection according to Opal, Orvil was very unclear about his past and his own culture. He also mentioned that "It was the first time [he] heard that [he was] Indian." (124) when a Native American CPS worker arrived at his house after he called 9-1-1 once he found his mother

He then looked up information through Youtube and websites such as dance videos, Powwows.com, and even "Googling stuff like ‘what does it mean to be a real Indian,’" (121). This allowed Orvil to gain satisfaction and confidence by successfully obtaining access to his Native heritage and his past, as well as starting to grow up mentally to become a man. On the other hand, it was out of luck that the risk of participating in native activities, especially powwows, which was mentioned earlier by Opal when Orvil tried to ask Opal about Indian heritage, did happen. After Orvil learned enough information about the powwow, he was quite determined to go there, which he did. Unfortunately, a robbery took place during the powwow, and Orvil was severely injured by getting shot by a stray bullet. This reflected how his traumas ended up having two-sided effects on