In A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, we have spent time looking at events through the eyes of Ray and now through the eye’s of her mom, Christine. I think things become pretty interesting when action begins to overlap with respect to Ray and Christine’s respective sections.
Go back to pages 28-31 and notice the action how Ray sees it and then hit up pages 250-253. This is the same event but told through Christine’s point of view. I noticed a few things of interest. First, the dialogue is different. And there are a lot of little details that are different as well. There are other instances of this, too. The video store scene where Christine describes how she chose the tapes for instance (Ray 18-24;Christine 248-249), the scene in the hospital and the drive to Aunt Ida’s. So, I wonder why the author, Michael Dorris, does this. What do you all think? And how do these differences allow us to see Christine differently? By seeing her ‘side’ of the story, do you think she is a better or worse parent?
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I think that the differences in the two passages shows that Christine has a lot of pride when it comes to Aunt Ida and talking to her. And I believe Aunt Ida knows it and tries to show that she knows it. For instance when Christine and Ray walk up Aunt Ida is bellowing a song about looking for love in all the wrong places. I also think that Aunt Ida knew somehow that Christine would one day come back to the reservation, and Christine doesn't want to admit that she's wrong in front of Ray because she thinks that that will haunt Ray for the rest of her life. I think it's very selfish of her to act this way because she basically says that Ray could survive whatever would come because of what Christine was going to do by telling Aunt Ida off. (I think that her saying she could survive on her own is ironic also, seeing how thats what Ray does) But I think Ray is just confused about the whole situation because she doesn't know about Christine or Aunt Idas past relationship with each other, and I believe the fact that Christine ran out on Ray will scar her much more than her mother admiting she was wrong once. Ray may have even been shocked by the act and grown to respect her mother more.
ReplyDeleteI think Dorris did this to show that there are always diffrent perspectives in every situation. In Ray's section it protrays Christine as a horrible mother that doesnt take care of Ray at all. However once we read Christine's section it lets us understand Christine's life and her point of view on the diffrent situations like the video store. I think Ray realizes that there is a lot of tension between Christine and Aunt Ida, which explains a lot about how Christine reacts to problems in her life.
ReplyDeleteYou get to see the different situations through the eyes of Christine and Ray. You find out why Christine does what she does to Ray. Through Christines eyes, Christine is benifiting Ray. Ray hates the things that Christine does for her. I think Ray also sees the disagreement and agrivation between Aunt Ida and Christine.
ReplyDeleteDorris showed the two different perspectives because everyone is always going to see things differently. There could be 3 people watching the same sense but all their perspectives are going to be different in some short of way. When you first read Rays section you think wow Christine is such a horrible mom what is going on. But once you start to read Christine’s section you start to see that Christine really did have good intentions and that she tires to be a good mom to her daughter. Ray is the only thing Christine has and is what she lives her life for. An example of how after you read Christine section you see her intention of trying to be a good mom is the video store. You find out that the only reason Christine took Ray there was because she felt bad for not really Ray anything when she dies. So she wanted Ray to have at least something even if it was only a free video pass.
ReplyDeleteshowing the two different perspectives is an interesting way to tell the story since two people will always see things slightly differently than the other. Christine may have a good intention behind many of her actions however, Ray may not always be able to see the good intentions behind some of her actions. forexample at the vidoe store Ray doesn't see the reasoning behind Christine putting the account in her name. However it was the only thing christine really had to give her.
ReplyDeleteI think that the author chooses to show the same scenes from different perspectives because he doesn't want us to take one person's side over another. This is true because hearing the story first from Ray always seemed to give me a bad impression of Christine. But then hearing it from Christine's point of view changed my mind about the whole situation. By seeing her side of the stoory, I see her as a better parent. For example, when she is picking out the videos for Ray and getting the membership in Ray's name shows that she wanted to give her something to remember her since she has nothing else. So, we wouldn't know that Christine had good intentions unless the author added Christine's section, like he did.
ReplyDeleteI believe the reason why Michael Dorris introduced the reader to the two different perspectives was to open the eyes of the reader and all sides of the events be told. this allows the reader to better understdnd what is going on in the minds of each character as a specific event is occuring like the Video Store when Christine put the Video Store membership in her Rayona's name.
ReplyDeleteI think Dorris lets us see different sides of the same situation because everyone has their one perspective on things and as an audience, he didn't want us only hear one side of it. We can be involved as readers in forming our opinions with the different sides presented. In Ray's part, I did not like Christine because Ray gave me a bad impression of her. Christine, though, was able to justify her actions, which made me understand her more as person and made me think of her as a better parent.
ReplyDeleteI think Dorris used two different perspectives because he didn't want us as an audience to get one side of the story. I'm pretty sure that everyone looks at things a little differently; if we were to get just one side of an event, we would have a completely bias view when actually the perspective we are reading just interprets the event differently. By getting two different points of veiw, we can see this difference in opinion and then we as an audience can make a decision based on both sides of the story.
ReplyDeleteBasically agreeing with everyone above, I also think that Dorris includes two perspectives because people always see events differently than someone else who may have been there too does. I also think Dorris tries to show how first impressions can be wrong. When Christine bought the video membership for Ray my first thoughts were wow this is so random? Why wouldn't you buy her something useful? But, after reading Christine's section she explained that the membership was the best she could do and it meant something to her. Christine was able to explain herself in her section, which gave me a new perspective on her situation and parenting skills. I think her side of the story makes Christine a more like able character but not a better parent; she still goes out at night and leaves Ray alone and then abandons her at the reservation.
ReplyDeleteI like how you get to see how certain parts of the book are from different points of view. When you hear what happens in a case you must hear both sides of the story. Based on the stories that we have a point of view from both sides i feel that she is a better parent. We got to hear the reasoning for her actions from the parts we thought she was crazy in Rayona's section. In Rayon's section she seemed like a bad parent, but she really redeemed herself in her section when she got a chance to explain herself and why she did it.
ReplyDeleteDorris gives us two different perspectives on several events between Ray and Christine because as the reader, we could form our opinions around just what Ray's perspective is without knowing if Christine had certan reasons for doing what she did. I like that he gives us multiple perspectives, as the reader you need to find out the entire story from all perspectives before you make your final opinion. When Ray is telling her side of the story, i get the imprssion that she is a horrible parent and that she doesnot deserve to bea mother. But then Chritine tells her side and the impression got from Ray completely changes. from Christine's point of view I understand why she did the things she did because she justify's it. from Christines point of view I got that she is a good mother.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the different points of perspective in this book. It gives you a chance to form opinions of all the characters in the book and try to understand their actions and many times you tend to agree with all of the characters in one way or another.
ReplyDeleteLike many times after seeing things through another persons eyes it's easier to understand their actions. For example at the video store Christine sees getting the movies more as a gift and when she puts "the deed" for the contract in Rays name she's doing it as a pressent for her to have all her life. However, Ray seems to see it more as a parting gift or something for her to take care of when Christine leaves. After reading both sides of the story it's easy to understand both their points of view. I don't agree with one person over the other though.
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ReplyDeletei agree mostly with everyone that the author really puts out everyones point of view. to ray christine doesnt act like a mother. she's more like an older women who is less mature than her own daughter. ray thinks her mom neglected her and chose her pills over her. once you read christine's section, you find out that christine only did what she did because she was about to die. she had to find someone that can take care of ray. she was less mature about not telling her but she did what she thought was right for her daughter.
ReplyDeleteFrom seeing christines side of the story i can tell that on some level christine does care about her daughter. And all though she may not show in the way that may seem appropriate you can tell that their love their but it just gets blinded by anger and hate.
ReplyDeletei think that in the book it gives you many different perspective to see from. ie: christine, ray, the eyes of a mother, and many others. its cool how the author seems to evoke the multiple personalities through him/herself. i wonder if mabey she experienced these events or similar ones in her/his lifetime. bang out yup!
ReplyDelete-conner turk
a yo was good dog, even reading through chrisitines section i dont beleive her life justifies the way she raises her daughter
ReplyDeletei think seeeing these two different scenes from each persons perspective ,i believe christine has a reason for the way she was acting like that towards ray
ReplyDeleteI think that the author chooses to show the same scenes from different perspectives because he doesn't want us to take one person's side over another. By seeing both sides of the story we are getting an overview of the whole situation which is allowing us to make out own conclusion and "choose" a side. Christine had some good intentions with some of her actions but Rayona was not always seeing it in that light. So in conclusion, I believe that Christine is a better mother than I thought in Ray's prospective.
ReplyDeleteI dont think that christine seeing something a different way would make her a worse parent. There is always two sides of the story, and something that you may no think is important may be important to the other person. I agree with Luke, and after reading christines side of the story it makes me feel like she is a better mother. i think that teenagers are always going to make their parents sound a whole lot worse just because ( i know ive done it enough times) even though that may not be the case. and teens dont always know the whole story, which in christine and rays situation, ray doesnt know everything.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't necessarily make her a bad parent. We actually don't know which side of the story is legit. It's kind of funny how some of their point of views are differnt though. They both are convinced that they tell the truth.
ReplyDeleteI think that the book is wrote like this to show that everyones story is always different. Ray thinks Christine doesnt care about her, but when it was Chirstines turn to share we found out that she is a very good mother and Loves Ray more then we think. I think next we will find out that Aunt Ida is misunderstood when it comes to Christine telling us about her and how she cared more about Lee then her.
ReplyDeleteWe don't know whose side of the story is true, whether it be christines or ray's, but the way those stories are told doesn't necessarily mean that christine is a bad parent its just that sometimes her actions are not what they should be in order to raise ray. I think its interesting how the "same" story can be told in two different ways and how both people believe that the version they tell is the correct one and is completely true. I think when it comes to Aunt Idas section we will find out a secret that shows us why she is the way she is towards her kids and even Ray for that matter.
ReplyDeletei personally feel the shifting of points of view really adds to the book and keeps you guessing... everyone may experience the same situation but at the same time everyone interprets that same situation differently.. this is important to remember because now you have the responsibility of finding whos right and who is fabricating the situation to benefit themselves.. In this book so far you start out seeing that christine is a bad mother and doesnt care much about ray but after seeing christines side you begin to see that she really doess care about ray and that some of her past experience may add fault to not showing her true mother side
ReplyDeleteI also find it interesting that their point of views of the same situation are different. Yet, isn't it true that all people have different views of similar situations? Don't some people block out certain parts of conversations from memories because it made them look bad? Don't people exaggerate when telling stories? I think that Ray exaggerates the truth and Christine blocks out the bad parts. When they hear certain things they have thoughts specific to their perception based on past events in their lives.
ReplyDeleteShowing two different sides of the same story gets the larger persepective while also getting the reader to really feel all the emotions that are coming from that one momment. Before Christine side was shown everyone saw her as one big lost mess with nowhere good to go. We saw her as a demening mother who can't make one good choice, rather than a human who is trying to do right but has struggled n made a few mistakes. But once we see all sides we can say that Christine cares, just in a different way-the only way she knows. While seeing both sides we see that Ray and Christine are a lot a like because they both talk about how they have to stand on their own, and be strong for themselves alone.
ReplyDeleteFrom Christines perspective I can tell that she does love her daughter even though it seems there is a lot of anger covering it up.Ray does not realize how much Christine really cares.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading both passages Ray and Christine was talking from their point of views , So i think that there are always different perspectives of situations. It doesn't mean someones right or wrong just cause they don't agree with each other.
ReplyDeleteI don't think chritine is a better or worse parent form reading her section. i can just understand why christine is the way she is. Nobody is perfect.
ReplyDeleteI would say these side stories we get let us as reader feel more connection to the charcters because we get to know the back round of what went down and see one event in many points of views. You also get to know the chacter more and how they feel about sercent events.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading both points of view i decided that Christine is a better mother. We got to see her reasoning and it was easier to see WHY she did somethings, like break out of the hospital, and leave Aunt Ida's. We also saw that she didnt realize how it affected Ray, she left Ida's because she felt like she needed to. She didnt see the hurt that it actually caused.
ReplyDeleteI like how they put Christine second. Putting her second let is have a prejudment and then seeing her point of view meant something more, and made us focus on those differences. Also, it made Ray seem more credible because we trusted the begging of the book, and we question Christine's side, becaus she's crazy, and because some of it contradicts what we already know.
ReplyDeleteIf anything, showing the two different perspectives reminds us of the humanity of those involved. I have often questioned Christine's state of mind throughout the book, and this just goes to show that she and Ray are not always going to be objective. I think people elaborate a lot when they tell their side of the story--especially when they want the support of those listening. For this reason, I feel like neither side can fully explain Christine's fitness as a mother. Dorris does this, I believe, because in reality, that's how it is. People aren't always going to have exactly the same details from the same story. We all change things a little bit when we share our side, and he reminds us of that by writing things this way.
ReplyDeleteI think after reading you see a different part of christine and that made me change my mind bout her because she seems more caring then in
ReplyDeleteFirst couple chapters. But I do agree with alot of the blogs that you can have people be in the same situation but have different views on the matter.
You really get to see both perspectives of being a kid, and the troubles they have to face. Someof their problems, being very similar, helped to shape them into the characters they become truely in the book. Christine seems like a horrible careless mother at the beggining of the book but later after reading her part, you realize her personal struggles that made her who she is and you then have to question yourself and say, do i really have the nerve to judge her as a human?
ReplyDeleteWhen I read Christine's side of the events it confirmed what I had been thinking all along. I think that most of what Christine did to or for Ray was done with the best of intentions. Some of what she did seemed weird or selfish or both to us but in her mind she was doing what she felt was best.
ReplyDeleteThe things that Christine does seem to be very odd and differnet, but as the story went on we seem to kinda of get a reason why. Christine's life was much like ray's she lies, and does not get along with ppl to well. i feel that all the think she does for Ray is to protect her form having the life she had lived and it is to help her!
ReplyDeleteNow that I see Christine side of of the story..I understand how she feels. I know that she cares for Ray very much. But its just hard for her to take a child in and she isnt ready ready for none of it.
ReplyDeleteI have never read a book like this where i got to see multiple sides of the story. I'm happy we got to see both Ray and Christine's sides of the story. When reading Ray's part she gives Christine a negative image in my opinon. Then after reading Christines part you can tell she cares about Ray very much and was doing the best that she could do.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to see multiple sides to the story like this.. Christine's section showed how much she really wants what is best for Ray as any parent would do, but in Ray's part it seemes as if she doesn't realize what Christine is really trying to do.
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