Octavia Butler’s novel, Kindred, predominantly deals with the social issue of racism in the current era and ties it in with slavery in the United States during the 1600s-1800s. Race and ethnicity play a large part in Kindred’s themes, as the entirety of the novel encompasses surviving in terms of your race. Dana is forced to survive and fit in to the past despite being an intelligent African American woman in the present. Rufus has a difficult time due to him being a careless young white boy finding his place as a man. Alice failed to survive the end of the novel because of her being an African American woman compelled to live surrounded by whites and to live for a white man. By sending a modern character such as Dana into the past, Butler is able to give her and the reader (through her thoughts and emotions), as close as possible to a direct experience of slavery. This direct experience allows Dana to understand the complex power of human behavior and law that permitted slavery to exist during this time period, and that caused some people to willingly submit to slavery.
Dana travels back in time to save Rufus time and time again throughout a period of twenty years, who she winds up simultaneously loving and hating. Rufus’ character shifts during this time from being a kind young boy, to a cruel slave owner akin to his father. Because Dana fears this change will occur, she attempts to shield Rufus from the same mentality of a white slave owner that
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his father holds. The two’s interactions is something unheard of during this time period as Dana grows into a sort of mentor figure for Rufus. Dana herself recognizes the strange relationship they
share, thinking “Strangely, they seemed to like him, hold him in contempt, and fear him all at the same time. This confused me because I felt just the same mixture of emotions for him myself. I had thought my feelings were complicated because he and I had such a strange relationship.” (Butler 229) Her attempts allow the relationship between her and Rufus to become close as Rufus begins to trusts her, however, it will ultimately end in one of their deaths. Whenever Dana exists in the past, she acts as a middle-man or neutral party on the Weylin plantation, frequently having more favor with Rufus than any other slave there. Dana also manages to cultivate a positive friendship with a few of the slaves on the plantation, regardless of her being an obvious outcast due to the way he dresses and the way she talks. To them, Dana sits in a middle ground between what actually constitutes “black” and “white.” Through Dana, the reader can see differences between what society typically depicts and says about the antebellum South and how reality was for the slaves. Dana and Kevin toe a thin line between their two worlds, and only manage to survive by acting out their roles as they tried to “fit in as best [they could] with the people [there] for as long as they [had] to stay… [they had] to play the roles [they] gave [them]” (65). These views complicate contemporary views of how people existed in that time. African American and white, while clearly separated by social constructs, were also tied together by love, violence, and the fact that regardless of color, each of them was human.
Kindred explores the relationships created during this period of slavery, both between those who were slaves and between whites, as well as between slaves and whites. Each of these
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relationships caused a strain on both parties, ultimately ending poorly. After being brought up in a time where the institution of slavery no longer existed, traveling back into the 19th century made Dana very vulnerable to abuse by the white slave owners. She was forced to adapt and learn how to survive in a period where most people of her race did not live long. Once again, Dana “began to realize why Kevin and [her] had fitted in so easily into [that] time. [They] weren't really in. [They] were observers watching a show. [They] were watching history happen around [them]. And [they] were actors” (Butler 98). Being suddenly placed into a slave society causes immense distress and terror for Dana, but it also helps her to understand what her ancestors faced during this time period. Dana uses her friendship with, as well as her power over Rufus to keep herself safe throughout her travels. Their unorthodox relationship brings a great deal of tension upon both of them, yet neither could seem to escape the other. The relationship they shared will continue to impact them as Rufus ends up dead, and Dana will lose her arm and be scarred for the rest of her life in her present world. There are also many times when it seems as if Rufus is actually being improved by having Dana and that he will become a good man at some point. Unfortunately, the relationship between these two characters fails to have any positive consequences, and Dana must kill Rufus.
Throughout the novel Butler reminds the readers that the present time that Dana and Kevin live in (1970s) are not exactly much different or far removed from earlier times. Kevin and Dana’s relationship does not go over well with their families as well as society, and racism has not faded a significant amount in recent years. Kevin suggests to Dana, “…let’s go to Las Vegas and pretend we haven’t got any relatives.” (112), suggesting that they feel discriminated against due to one of them being white, while the other is African American. This comparison of the race and gender
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issues from the past to the present show an ongoing battle with social problems within the United States. Despite the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power having transformed the way African Americans were treated in society, many still had trouble coming to terms with the fact, and others remained too stuck in the past history of African Americans to be able to retract any transgressions against people of color.
As Dana settles in to her life on the Weylin plantation, she has to negotiate what being a slave really means. She quickly learns that she will be unable to continue acting the way she did in the 20th century while in the past. Unfortunately, Dana’s adaptation leads her to become almost stuck in the past, as her survival instincts allow her to act as she must in the past, until she becomes ingrained into it. She even comes to see the Weylin plantation as “home.” There is no doubt that Dana had faced discrimination in her present world before, and her transition to the past leads her to wonder, “was [she] getting so used to being submissive?” (220) Kevin, on the other hand, became so fixated with the past. He states, “This could be a great time to live in… I keep thinking what an experience it would be to stay in it–go West and watch the building of the country, see how much of the Old West mythology is true” (Butler 97). Butler already extends the idea that Kevin wants to be in the past way more than Dana does. There’s a difference between their preferences obviously because of their difference in skin color and subsequent role in society. Dana is the African American slave, Kevin is the superior white master. Kevin has the idea that because he’s white he can protect Dana. This thought is soon crushed by the harsh realities of an African American person in the 1800s.
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The social issues presented in this book tie together both the past and present that Dana experiences over the course of the novel. She is forced to face the harsh realities of the world her ancestors once lived in. She is also forced to deal with the discrimination and ridicule she receives in the modern world. These issues are the direct result of human behavior, and they cause only suffering in the people’s lives. These social issues are not something that can easily disappear from society, however. As Kindred shows, oppression and racism can exist for hundreds of years.