A Yellow Raft In Blue Water Character Analysis

Most everyone has someone they admire or look up to. In the book, A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, written by Michael Dorris, one character stands out and has the most admirable traits. Rayona is one of the main characters and throughout the book she shows us that she is hard working and never willing to give up. As well as getting the job done, Rayona has to be brave in a lot of different situations. Being clever is a trait that everyone looks up to. Everything Rayona does portrays how clever she really is. Rayona is the most commendable character in this novel because she displays young adult behavior.
Being hard working is by far the most admirable trait anyone could have. Rayona was extremely dedicated to everything she did and never gave

up on anything. “When you’re done I’ll put you together with Mr. McCutcheon. He’s the one that hires the maintenance. If he says okay, you’re in… I’m in” (76). Rayona goes out of her way to find a job so that she could start getting money to find her mom. Being hard working illustrates that you take what you are doing and your goals seriously. Rayona didn’t need to get a job because she was just a kid who was going to live at home with her grandmother. With her hard working mentality she couldn’t sit back and let things be given to her. Everyone knows that a hard working and dedicated person is always better than someone who sits around expecting things to come to him or her. Another example that shows that Rayona is very admirable is when she chases after her mom.
“She’s almost to the car before I remember that I’m really here, that this is really happening. I turn to Aunt Ida, expecting her to do something, to call Mom back, but her expression says she’s just bad news of the worst joke in the world. She puts on the earphones, silencing the tiny speakers. I grab the other bags and start down the hill and build speed as I go” (31).
Rayona is trying to get her mother, Christine, to turn around so she can go with her. As the book progresses Rayona goes out of her way to try and find ways to get in contact with her mom.
Rayona showed lots of bravery throughout the course of the novel.

The most exquisite part of Rayona’s section of the book is when she tells Evelyn the truth. “So I tell her. We are stuck in a stable distance from each other, magnets connected by the stream of my words. I start my story in the middle and move in both directions… I don’t hang for her answer anymore. There’s a weight off me. I said it all out loud and the world didn’t come to an end” (105-106). By confiding in Evelyn and explaining her story it shows that she is brave. Rayona told her and didn’t care if she was going to get judged or get her job taken away. She stood up to her past and by telling Evelyn we could see that Rayona had taken a step out of her comfort zone. The second part where we can see that Rayona has to be brave is when Foxy wants her to ride for him. “He hands me the registration and then feels into the side of his boot for the long paper bag around the wine help tight against his thin leg. He tips it to his mouth, drinks, then wipes his dripping chin. “I’ll be watching, just in case you forget”” (113). Riding a bull when you are under pressure takes a lot of bravery. The bull could potentially hurt her but she pushes that thought aside because she is trying to get closer to seeing her mother. Engaging in conversation with Foxy is always nerve racking. Foxy was rude to Rayona in class a few months before this rodeo. Foxy was drunk when he approached Rayona. Talking to Foxy when intoxicated

made her gutsy because she didn’t know if he was going to try and hurt her. Bravery is an admirable trait for the reason that it makes people step out of the realm to accomplish something.
Rayona was a clever girl.

She always thought on the spot and had to make up stories so that she didn’t get caught as a runaway. “I think fast…’They took off on vacation till the end of August. My dad’s a pilot on jumbos’” (70-71). This is an example when Rayona had to be clever with her story. Being clever is a great trait to have because it tells other people that are always thinking one step ahead. In Rayona’s case she always had to think multiple steps ahead just in case something went wrong. Making up stories isn’t a bad thing in Rayona’s situation. She had to pretend to be someone else so that she could find a way back to her mom. Another moment where Rayona was quick-witted was when she claimed the letter she found on the ground her own. As she was picking up trash she stumbled across a letter signed by Mother and Pops. She put it in her wallet so that she had proof that her parents were in contact with her (80-82). Being clever comes with age. Young adults behavior also grows with age and we can see that Rayona is clever due to her situations that are difficult. If Rayona weren’t clever then she would have never found her mom. All because of an admirable trait of being clever, Rayona was able to get to her end result she was looking

for.
All in all Rayona is the character in the book everyone looks up to. She is nothing but hard working, daring, and smart. Every step on her journey during the book we can see that she is growing as a young adult. She had to go through hard times that made her make difficult decisions. Rayona never turned her back on anyone and always stayed true to herself. Her final goal was accomplished due to her admirable traits. Rayona is the most praiseworthy character in the novel A Yellow Raft in Blue Water.