Key Facts full title • A Yellow Raft in Blue Water author • Michael Dorris type of work • Novel genre • Coming-of-age story; tale of conflict among generations language • English time and place written • 1984, Minnesota date of first publication • 1987 publisher • Warner Books narrators • Rayona, Christine, Ida point of view • Each section of the novel is told from a different point of view. The first section is told from Rayona’s perspective, the second from Christine’s, and the third from Ida’s. tone • The tone varies depending on the narrator. Rayona’s voice is both jaded and naïve, Christine’s voice is irresponsible and playful, and Ida’s voice is resentful yet caring. tense • Rayona speaks in the present tense, and Christine and Ida speak in the past tense. settings (time) • The three stories overlap, but each story spans a rough time period: the 1980s for Rayona, the 1960s to the 1980s for Christine, and the 1940s to the 1960s for Ida. settings (place) • The novel opens in Seattle, and then moves to a reservation in Montana. Most of the events in A Yellow Raft in Blue Water take place in one of these two locales, although Ida also spends some time in Colorado. protagonists • Rayona, Christine, Ida major conflict • Rayona wants to belong and struggles to connect to her family; Christine wants to raise Rayona better than Ida raised her but struggles to convert her feelings to action; Ida wants to interact with the world only on her own terms. rising action • Clara gives birth to Christine; Christine finds out that Lee is dead; Christine abandons Rayona at Ida’s climax • Rayona rides at the rodeo in Havre and finds the courage and confidence to confront her family’s troubled history.

Falling action • Christine and Rayona are reconciled; Ida joins them at Dayton’s house for their first cordial dinner in years Themes • Understanding different perspectives; the effect of past events on later generations; finding a true identity Motifs • Pop culture; faith Symbols • Christine’s videos; Ellen’s letter; braids Foreshadowing • Foreshadowing plays a curious role in A Yellow Raft in Blue Water. Because the narrative travels backward in time, we see a foreshadowing of events we have already read about.

. This scrap of paper in my hand makes me feel poor in a way like I just heard of rich. Jealous. What kind of a person would throw it away?

Explanation for Quotation 1 >>

This passage is from Chapter 5, when Rayona finds the letter on