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Part IV: Calvin Johnson (3)
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in There There, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Cultural Identity vs. Personal Identity
Storytelling
Interconnectedness, Coincidence, and Chance
Generational Trauma
Summary
Analysis
Daniel has begged Octavio to take him along to the powwow so that Daniel can see how it all goes down, but the night before the powwow, Octavio definitively refuses to take him. Daniel asks if he can at least fly his drone overhead and watch that way, but Octavio says he’s nervous that if the drone should fall, they’ll be able to trace it back to them. Daniel presses Octavio, and Octavio angrily relents, telling Daniel that as long as he keeps the drone out of the way, he can use it to watch. The two shake on their deal, and Daniel promises he himself will stay behind.
Daniel’s desire to witness the powwow via his drone shows how badly he wants to be a part of something larger than himself—and also how inured he has become to the trauma and violence others both inflict and endure.
Themes
