Kindred By Octavia Butler: Book Review
Book Review
The 1979 novel,Kindred, written by Octavia Butler, is a piece of literature that captivates a reader, by expressing issues related to Black Americans that are not often discussed. The novel evokes emotions of love, horror, and power. Kindred allows a reader to deep into the mindset and perspective of characters, to understand the struggle of slavery during the slave era.
Kindred is about a young, free, Black-American woman named Dana, who is the main character and narrator of the novel. Dana time travels into the era of the South in the 19th century 6 times. Dana strives to keep her freedom, while battling her issues of self-identity. Dana continuously saves the life of Rufus, a drunk man who owned her ancestors. When
Dana travels into the past she is owned by Rufus and he often beats and rapes Dana, but Dana continues to care for him. When Dana saves Rufus she is saving herself causing her to question her dignity and fight against her conscience. Throughout the novel, Dana is accompanied by her white husband, Kevin. Through time traveling Dana expresses her her emotions and experiences with her husband, but he is unable to understand the struggles of being a Black woman in the South during the 19th century. At the end of the novel, Dana is able to understand herself through her journey, and kills Rufus to represent that her self righteousness is worth more than rape.
The main characters within the novel are Dana, Kevin, Rufus and Alice. A continuous conflict between Dana and Alice grows throughout the novel. Alice Greenwood is a young Black woman, who is Rufus's sex slave. Alice understands the pain and agony that Rufus has bestowed on her life and she tries to hate Rufus, but unfortunately she gets adjusted to his vicious acts. The power of Rufus makes Alice feel self less, causing her to lash out against Dana. The tension between Alice and Dana occur because Alice is Dana's foil. Even though Alice acts unkind to Dana they are very similar. Through Alice's perspective the reader is able to understand how Dana's life might have been like if she were born in the slave era.
The 1979 novel,Kindred, written by Octavia Butler, is a piece of literature that captivates a reader, by expressing issues related to Black Americans that are not often discussed. The novel evokes emotions of love, horror, and power. Kindred allows a reader to deep into the mindset and perspective of characters, to understand the struggle of slavery during the slave era.
Kindred is about a young, free, Black-American woman named Dana, who is the main character and narrator of the novel. Dana time travels into the era of the South in the 19th century 6 times. Dana strives to keep her freedom, while battling her issues of self-identity. Dana continuously saves the life of Rufus, a drunk man who owned her ancestors. When
Dana travels into the past she is owned by Rufus and he often beats and rapes Dana, but Dana continues to care for him. When Dana saves Rufus she is saving herself causing her to question her dignity and fight against her conscience. Throughout the novel, Dana is accompanied by her white husband, Kevin. Through time traveling Dana expresses her her emotions and experiences with her husband, but he is unable to understand the struggles of being a Black woman in the South during the 19th century. At the end of the novel, Dana is able to understand herself through her journey, and kills Rufus to represent that her self righteousness is worth more than rape.
The main characters within the novel are Dana, Kevin, Rufus and Alice. A continuous conflict between Dana and Alice grows throughout the novel. Alice Greenwood is a young Black woman, who is Rufus's sex slave. Alice understands the pain and agony that Rufus has bestowed on her life and she tries to hate Rufus, but unfortunately she gets adjusted to his vicious acts. The power of Rufus makes Alice feel self less, causing her to lash out against Dana. The tension between Alice and Dana occur because Alice is Dana's foil. Even though Alice acts unkind to Dana they are very similar. Through Alice's perspective the reader is able to understand how Dana's life might have been like if she were born in the slave era.