River of Names

Context: 

      Dorothy Allison was born April 11th, 1949. She was born in Greenville, South Carolina. Her first book "Bastard Out of Carolina" was published March 1992. "Trash" which is a series of short stories which is where "River of Names" is was published in 1988 by Firebrand Books. In 1988 the U.S. was going through poverty. The U.S. House of Representatives rejected President Ronald's request for $36.25 million to help support the Nicaraguan Contras. 

Summary: 

      The story "River of Names" is about a young woman who is talking about the events and things that went on in her life to her female partner. From understanding that she has become a lesbian and the sexual abuse she went through in her childhood. The story compares to her past life and present life. It talks about how she was not wealthy growing up. "River of Names" is like explaining Dorothy's life but using third person.

      In the story we learn about Dorothy's life and childhood. The story is based on Southern culture. She also speaks on the fact that she was not able to have children but it did not upset her because she claimed she did not want children. The story speaks on her childhood and a poor family which is what Dorothy grew up in. She talks about her tragic family events.

      There was 100+ children that were cousins in her family. She state that she had a cousin that hung himself and things were really dangerous. She also writes about how every one had to be careful because they could of been raped by the older men in the family. Dorothy went through that herself. She was sexually abused for seven years by her step father.

Character List: 

Jesse

Billie

Lucille

Danny

Pammie

Cousin

Uncle

The Wife

The Blind Man

The Husband

Analysis of Major Characters:

Jesse- Was the narrator's partner/ lover. Wanted to know about the narrator's childhood/ family history. 

*Jesse was the only major character due to the fact that this story is included in the series of short stories called "Trash". This part of the series is focused on the narrator's female partner and her family.*

Themes and Symbols:

A theme is growing up painfully. That came about because the narrator talks about her childhood and what she went through and it is not always that people grow up with a smooth, nice life. A symbol is the isolated setting which is showing loneliness and separation. The narrator felt divided from her family since she went through so much. 

Important Quotes:

"Almost always, we were raped, my cousins and I. That was some kind of joke, too." This quote is important because it is stating how tragic the narrator's life was and how the author was sexually abused. 

 "It wasn't funny for me in my mama's bed with my stepfather, not for my cousin Billie, in the attic with my uncle, not for Lucille in the woods with another cousin, for Danny with four strangers in a parking lot, or for Pammie who made the papers."  This quote is important because it is explaining the dangers the narrator and her family dealt with. 

"How wonderful to have such a large family" This quote is important because he narrator wants to have a normal family and be perfect but it is something that can not happen due to the tribulations the family goes through in the story.