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9th Grade Paper on Kindred-C Worthy
How can a slave holder have love for one of his slaves, and expect her to love him back? How can a black woman even show even a slim amount of compassion toward a slave holder, while knowing he was rapping and tearing families apart? Dana is living on the edge of slavery and freedom, but freedom is the key word. Dana has the ability to go back; she has the freedom to rid herself of that awful time. Isn’t it possible to express ones love to someone who hurts others rather than him hurting you? This is the relationship Dana and Rufus have. Even though it was his authority pushing others hands to hurt Dana he never actually did it himself. While he did abuse Alice himself this made it impossible for her to love him. The novel Kindred by Octavia butler shows how slavery destroys relationships.

Rufus, the renowned slave holder, gets all he can out of people. He pegs me as a manipulator, he sees what he wants and he goes and gets it. His occupation is a slave holder and he chooses to love like a slave holder with a vulgar kind of affection. “And you had more luck than I did because no matter what happens now, for a while he wanted you too. Maybe I can’t ever have that-both wanting, both loving. But I’m not going to give up what I can have” (Butler, 163). Rufus admits that Alice doesn’t love him. Yet he doesn’t take her feelings into account when it comes to there love hate relationship. Rufus is kind of like his father when it comes to this; he is well aware of how the slaves really feel but as long as they keep up appearances it’s not such a problem. This plays a big role in why a slave and slave master relationship is doomed from the start, because if you’re not really taking into account that other persons feelings it will never be both wanting. It would simply be you wanting yourself.

Everyone knows the policy on the masters women. It has been established that Alice is indeed one, but how can Dana also be considered one? It’s because he already viewed her
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