Kindred Essay

In Octavia Butler’s Kindred, one cannot fail to see the intense representation of the African-American lifestyle in the decade of 1970s. Perhaps one of the greatest illustrations is through the character Dana. In the novel, the key protagonist Dana carries a journey back and forth through time. One can argue that Dana’s journey through the past is a reminder that while slavery would be in the past, its effects are still as raw as it were yesterday.
Just like many African Americans, Dana was sure that she had ancestors who were affected by slavery; however, in order to come back to reality, Dana has to travel back in time to get acquainted with her lost relatives. Using the first three chapters of Kindred namely the “Fire”, “The River”, and the “Fall” Octavia Butler demonstrates the connectedness of the past and the present in the lives of most African Americans (Andrews et all, 2001 p. 246).
Dana then travels to the South where she takes part in saving Rufus’ life (Castanel, 1993). In the first epic called the “River”, Rufu’s mother screams “you killed my baby!” she screamed. “You killed him!” In order to realize her goal, the author makes use the epic devices. The function of the epics is that is adds weight to the effect of timelessness. In addition, it presents powerful connections with the events of the past that continue to affect the lives of African Americans.
In the second stage the “Fire” Dana insists upon mutual respect despite the differences that society affords to race, gender, and the condition of servitude. In most cases, there are drops of violence in here and there. However, Dana fails to understand the connection between the old age and modern age. In page 27, Dana says “And now I knew why Rufus father used his whip on “niggers as well as horses” While the novel is a science fiction is demonstrates the effect of slavery on the lives of African American people.
In the Fall, Dana remarks “I believe you. I don’t understand”, this is perhaps the culmination of the argument that Dana’s journey through the past is a reminder that while slavery would be in the past, its effects are still as raw as it were yesterday.
Work Cited Andrews, William L., Frances Smith. Foster, and Trudier Harris. The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature. New York: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.
Castenell, Louis Anthony, and William Pinar. Understanding Curriculum as Racial Text: Representations of Identity and Difference in Education. Albany: State University of New York, 1993. Print.