There There

There There

by

Tommy Orange

Tony Loneman Character Analysis

True to his name, Tony is something of a loner who has always been ostracized because of his strange face, disfigured due to fetal alcohol syndrome—which Tony calls “the Drome.” He has an adversarial relationship with himself and often sees himself as a monster. Tony is not particularly intelligent, though his counselors at the Indian Center attempt to inspire him by pointing out that he’s smart in other ways. Tony inadvertently gets involved in selling drugs, a path on which he meets Octavio and becomes a part of his scheme to rob the Big Oakland Powwow. Octavio selects Tony as the one to facilitate the robbery, ordering him to purchase bullets and hide them in some bushes at the coliseum entrance and come dressed in full regalia, so that when he demands the safe which holds the powwow’s cash prizes, he’ll be harder to identify and trace. Tony’s alternating invisibility and hypervisibility often leaves him feeling unbearably lonely, and when he dies at the end of the novel due to gunshot wounds sustained in the robbery, he feels as if he has at last been freed from wearing the “mask” of his identity, which has always imprisoned and minimized him.

Tony Loneman Quotes in There There

The There There quotes below are all either spoken by Tony Loneman or refer to Tony Loneman. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Cultural Identity vs. Personal Identity Theme Icon
).
Part I: Tony Loneman (1) Quotes

I pulled my regalia out and put it on. I went out into the living room and stood in front of the TV. It was the only place in the house I could see my whole body. I shook and lifted a foot. I watched the feathers flutter on the screen. I put my arms out and dipped my shoulders down, then I walked up to the TV. I tightened my chin strap. I looked at my face. The Drome. I didn’t see it there. I saw an Indian. I saw a dancer.

Related Characters: Tony Loneman (speaker)
Page Number: 26
Explanation and Analysis:
Part IV: Tony Loneman (3) Quotes

To get to the powwow Tony Loneman catches a train. He gets dressed at home and wears his regalia all the way there. He’s used to being stared at, but this is different. He wants to laugh at them staring at him. It’s his joke to himself about them. Everyone has been staring at him his whole life. Never for any other reason than the Drome. Never for any other reason than that his face told you something bad happened to him—a car wreck you should but can’t look away from.

Related Characters: Tony Loneman
Related Symbols: Buses and BART Trains
Page Number: 234
Explanation and Analysis:
Part IV: Calvin Johnson (4) Quotes

[Calvin] looks over to Tony, who’s bouncing a little—he’s light on his feet like he’s ready to dance. Tony’s supposed to do the actual robbing. The rest of them are there in case anything goes wrong. Octavio never explained why he wants Tony in regalia, and why he should be the one to take the money. Calvin assumes it’s because someone in regalia would be harder to identify, and ultimately harder to investigate.

Related Characters: Tony Loneman, Calvin Johnson, Octavio Gomez
Page Number: 272
Explanation and Analysis:
Part IV: Tony Loneman (4) Quotes

Tony plays with his Transformers on the floor of his bedroom. He makes them fight in slow motion. He gets lost in the story he works out for them. It’s always the same. There is a battle, then a betrayal, then a sacrifice.

Related Characters: Tony Loneman
Page Number: 289
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire There There LitChart as a printable PDF.
There There PDF

Tony Loneman Quotes in There There

The There There quotes below are all either spoken by Tony Loneman or refer to Tony Loneman. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Cultural Identity vs. Personal Identity Theme Icon
).
Part I: Tony Loneman (1) Quotes

I pulled my regalia out and put it on. I went out into the living room and stood in front of the TV. It was the only place in the house I could see my whole body. I shook and lifted a foot. I watched the feathers flutter on the screen. I put my arms out and dipped my shoulders down, then I walked up to the TV. I tightened my chin strap. I looked at my face. The Drome. I didn’t see it there. I saw an Indian. I saw a dancer.

Related Characters: Tony Loneman (speaker)
Page Number: 26
Explanation and Analysis:
Part IV: Tony Loneman (3) Quotes

To get to the powwow Tony Loneman catches a train. He gets dressed at home and wears his regalia all the way there. He’s used to being stared at, but this is different. He wants to laugh at them staring at him. It’s his joke to himself about them. Everyone has been staring at him his whole life. Never for any other reason than the Drome. Never for any other reason than that his face told you something bad happened to him—a car wreck you should but can’t look away from.

Related Characters: Tony Loneman
Related Symbols: Buses and BART Trains
Page Number: 234
Explanation and Analysis:
Part IV: Calvin Johnson (4) Quotes

[Calvin] looks over to Tony, who’s bouncing a little—he’s light on his feet like he’s ready to dance. Tony’s supposed to do the actual robbing. The rest of them are there in case anything goes wrong. Octavio never explained why he wants Tony in regalia, and why he should be the one to take the money. Calvin assumes it’s because someone in regalia would be harder to identify, and ultimately harder to investigate.

Related Characters: Tony Loneman, Calvin Johnson, Octavio Gomez
Page Number: 272
Explanation and Analysis:
Part IV: Tony Loneman (4) Quotes

Tony plays with his Transformers on the floor of his bedroom. He makes them fight in slow motion. He gets lost in the story he works out for them. It’s always the same. There is a battle, then a betrayal, then a sacrifice.

Related Characters: Tony Loneman
Page Number: 289
Explanation and Analysis: