A Yellow Raft in Blue Water
A Yellow Raft in Blue Water written by Michael Dorris is a story about three women; the grandmother Ida, the mother Christine and the daughter Rayona. Each woman had their own hardships in their lives; however, they all persevered through these hardships and grew into wonderful and caring women. In the book, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, the author reflects on the life of all three women and how they dealt with their own life struggles. In life there are people we admire because of their integrity, loyalty and commitment. I admire all three women for these qualities, but the one who struggled the most is Christine. She endured a loveless home life, both as a child as well as an adult. It wasn’t until she was …show more content…
Christine didn’t have many friends when she was younger, but didn’t need any since her whole life revolved around Lee, who was her best friend, her confidant and her idol. Growing up, they did everything together and enjoyed life just the two of them. “He was everything to her, until the spring afternoon he saved my life” (146). Lee was “turning into a criminal” (160) and Christine didn’t want that to happen since she adored him. Life on the reservation had to be hard as there wasn’t much to do and honestly, there couldn’t have been many jobs. Christine was a good student and was able to get good grades in school, which surprised the teachers. As a teenager Christine fell madly in love with Dayton, who told her once “It’s just that you’re a big sister to me, Christine” (152). Christine had a difficult time knowing she loved Dayton and thinking he only thought of her as a sister. When Lee joined the army, Christine decided she was ready to leave the reservation and move to Tacoma, WA. While living in Tacoma, WA, Christine received the horrible news that Lee was MIA. She was devastated and blamed …show more content…
The doctor diagnosed her with cancer and informed her she only had about 6 months to live. “All my life I spent my time like I spent my money, with no thought to tomorrow” (234). She never imagined she would get cancer and was having a difficult time dealing with the news. After a few days in the hospital, she had to get away from Rayona, Elgin and honestly her life. She felt all alone and that neither Elgin nor Rayona wanted her around. Christine decided to run away; however, Rayona figured out what was happening and she would not let her mom go without her. Rayona insisted on staying with her and finally Christine agreed. Once Christine had a chance to clear her head, she made a decision, she had to go back to the reservation. Christine realized she needed to ask Aunt Ida to take care of Rayona after she died. When they headed back to the reservation, Christine was “afraid to hear the vacuum that sucked through the wind” (202). She didn’t want to die, but knew that was going to happen. She needed to know Rayona would be taken care of and she hoped Aunt Ida would be a better mother to Rayona, than she ever was with
A Yellow Raft in Blue Water written by Michael Dorris is a story about three women; the grandmother Ida, the mother Christine and the daughter Rayona. Each woman had their own hardships in their lives; however, they all persevered through these hardships and grew into wonderful and caring women. In the book, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, the author reflects on the life of all three women and how they dealt with their own life struggles. In life there are people we admire because of their integrity, loyalty and commitment. I admire all three women for these qualities, but the one who struggled the most is Christine. She endured a loveless home life, both as a child as well as an adult. It wasn’t until she was …show more content…
Christine didn’t have many friends when she was younger, but didn’t need any since her whole life revolved around Lee, who was her best friend, her confidant and her idol. Growing up, they did everything together and enjoyed life just the two of them. “He was everything to her, until the spring afternoon he saved my life” (146). Lee was “turning into a criminal” (160) and Christine didn’t want that to happen since she adored him. Life on the reservation had to be hard as there wasn’t much to do and honestly, there couldn’t have been many jobs. Christine was a good student and was able to get good grades in school, which surprised the teachers. As a teenager Christine fell madly in love with Dayton, who told her once “It’s just that you’re a big sister to me, Christine” (152). Christine had a difficult time knowing she loved Dayton and thinking he only thought of her as a sister. When Lee joined the army, Christine decided she was ready to leave the reservation and move to Tacoma, WA. While living in Tacoma, WA, Christine received the horrible news that Lee was MIA. She was devastated and blamed …show more content…
The doctor diagnosed her with cancer and informed her she only had about 6 months to live. “All my life I spent my time like I spent my money, with no thought to tomorrow” (234). She never imagined she would get cancer and was having a difficult time dealing with the news. After a few days in the hospital, she had to get away from Rayona, Elgin and honestly her life. She felt all alone and that neither Elgin nor Rayona wanted her around. Christine decided to run away; however, Rayona figured out what was happening and she would not let her mom go without her. Rayona insisted on staying with her and finally Christine agreed. Once Christine had a chance to clear her head, she made a decision, she had to go back to the reservation. Christine realized she needed to ask Aunt Ida to take care of Rayona after she died. When they headed back to the reservation, Christine was “afraid to hear the vacuum that sucked through the wind” (202). She didn’t want to die, but knew that was going to happen. She needed to know Rayona would be taken care of and she hoped Aunt Ida would be a better mother to Rayona, than she ever was with