A Yellow Raft in Blue Water

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Summary: uggggg
Review: Yellow Raft in Blue Water is a novel written by Michael Dorris. He does not just tell a story of a young girl and her family. He emphasizes the need for strong family relationships. He also emphasizes the love that children need from their parents and other relatives. This story is interesting, touching and exciting.
Michael Dorris' Yellow Raft in Blue Water is a heart-warming tale of a young girl, her mother and grandmother and the problems each one of them has faced. The story begins with a focus on Rayona, a fifteen-year-old girl who is abandoned by all of the people she loves and has to live for herself. After her mother leaves her Rayona lives with her grandmother known as "Aunt Ida". Rayona feels very alone and confides in the one person who shows any sympathy for her. Father Tom in the only person who she is close to. Father Tom eventually leaves Rayona on her own thinking she is going back to her hometown of Seattle. He only does this because he knows that Rayona feels like she is alone on the reservation. "And you won't feel so alone, so out of place..."(63). Father Tom believes that Rayona will make it one her own just as her mother did when she was younger.
A third of the way through the story changes focus to Rayona's mother, Christine. In this part of the story we get to see how Christine became the person she is. Christine is a party girl. She always went out in the middle of the night to party with friends. Because of this she was in the hospital a lot. Rayona was always there to support her mother but Christine could not support her. The end of the story finishes with focus on the grandmother, who is known as Aunt Ida. In this part of the story we learn that Christine is not Ida's real child. That Ida only took her in to cover up the fact that her husband had gotten another woman pregnant. This part of the story ties the three women together because it shows that everyone has problems and that is why people are the way they are.
Some of the main points of this story are race, age, gender and class. Dorris does and excellent job of describing each of these points in his story. Each section has a little bit of each main point but they all work together to show a common ground. Being half Indian himself Dorris can relate to the struggles that his characters face. Like when other characters judge Rayona because of the color of her skin instead of what she is really like. It may be hard for the reader to understand what the characters are feeling but they can better understand it because Dorris describes the emotion in such detail.
Dorris gets his main points through to the reader very well. All the major ideas are laid out clearly. The book talks about all of the ideas it intends to like racial differences and age differences. It emphasizes on each point in different parts of the story so that the reader can fully understand and absorb what is being said before moving on. Dorris also uses many different literary elements to support his points. Like imagery, diction (word choices), and tone.
Michael Dorris does and excellent job telling this story. It is very creative and captures the reader. It is a story for all ages and genders and should be read by everyone. This book talks about very important issues that everyone should know a little about. By reading Yellow Raft in Blue Water the reader can better understand major social issues and can have a great time reading a really great story.