Reflections on Kindred

After finishing Octavia Butler's novel Kindred and discussing various scholars take on the book through different articles in the panel presentations, there is one quote that stuck out to me the most. During one of the presentations, a group quoted Butler reflecting on her own work, stating something along the lines of, "I would like to kill all the white people that contributed to our oppression, but I would have to start with my own relatives." I think this point really gets to the heart of the novel through all of the complex relationships, such as Dana's constant struggle between trying to make Rufus a better person vs. insuring the future of her family lineage through rape. Butler's point especially highlights why Americans are so uncomfortable talking about slavery, that whether you agree it was right or not, it directly effects most all American's history.

In the panel presentation, the speakers also brought up an interesting point on how today it is popular to view all people through a "colorblind" lens. That is that slavery doesn't exist anymore, therefore all people are treated as equals regardless of their skin color. While times have definitely  changed regarding racial equality since the time of the Antebellum South, racism is still  a very prominent issue in our modern day society. Not only among blacks vs. whites, but from prejudices and stereotypes involving numerous other races as well. In addition, viewing all people through a colorblind lens would deny people the right to racial pride within a given culture. One aspect of  Kindred I would have liked to learn more about, is Dana's experience with the unique aspects of African- American culture of the time. I think adding this would have made Dana's ties to the slave community stronger, as well as more realistic for the reader.

One thing I really learned by reflecting on this novel, is that although there can be a hazard in looking back in time, there is so much forgotten history to be shared. One reason I think Butler had Dana return back to the plantation in the 20th century time in the very end of the novel, is to show how much of a hidden history there can be in the most unlikely of places. This point is solidified by Dana loosing her arm, symbolizing her literally and figuratively leaving a piece of herself behind, lost forever in the forgotten history.  

Keeping up with Rufus Weylin

While Butler's novel Kindred can easily be seen as an anti-slavery book based on the horrifyingly accurate depictions of the life of a slave through a 20th century perspective, it is easily ignored that the novel can also be regarded as a coming of age book as well. Introduced to one of the main characters, Rufus Weylin, at a very young age, throughout the course of the story we see his character develop into the role of a southern plantation owner within the Antebellum south. However Rufus' upbringing isn't your average story of a privileged white boy. Throughout the course of his life, he finds himself mysteriously intertwined with an African-American women from 1976, who for some unknown reason has the ability to travel back in time whenever Rufus finds himself in trouble. Though Rufus can still be viewed as a white supremacist at heart due to how he was raised, his distinctions from his father Tom Weylin, your stereotypical plantation owner, can arguably be a result of Dana's influence.      

While I disagree with a lot of the choices Rufus makes, overall I feel pretty sympathetic towards him due to his extremely unusual upbringing. His relationship with Dana completely upsets his understanding of the accepted racial power structure between blacks and whites, causing Rufus to look for more out of slaves than the color of their skin. This can especially be seen when Rufus admits to saying he wishes he could marry Alice if he lived in Dana's time. I almost wish Butler would have had Alice and Rufus travel to the 20th century so they could be together, however Alice probably would not have been too thrilled about the idea. This can be seen in contrast to Tom Weylin's views on slaves, treating them as his property he can use as sex toys or even split up families and sell them.

Though it may have been Dana's goal to try and mold Rufus into a better person, she ultimately has an impossible conflict of interest with insuring her own existence. While she can preach to Rufus all she wants about respecting a person regardless of skin color, in the end, Rufus must still feel as though he has the power over Alice to rape her and have their child Hagar, Dana's relative. And even if Rufus does change his outlook, he would be viewed as an outcast in his community for going against the social norms. Therefore while Rufus could be deeply unhappy with his lifestyle, following in his father's footsteps and adopting his similar values can be seen as a survival strategy.

Even though Rufus and Dana's relationship is very peculiar, I think its interesting how easy it was for both characters to almost walk in each other's shoes. Dana is shocked and disturbed how easy it was for her to accept slavery, and Rufus and shocked and disturbed at how easy it was for him to see slaves as more than his property. Together there share an unusual form of mutual trust between each other, and even though Rufus threatened Dana with a gun begging her not to leave him, I wonder if their relationship will be able to look past the incident. However I do think it must have hindered their level of trust for each other, which I'm curious to see of this takes effect.