I believe that Rufus is an alternation of his father he still sees slaves as more than a piece of property with only a couple of exceptions. For example when Dana told him that Alice doesn 't love him, but he refused to take no as an answer which showed that he didn 't really care about the way she felt or thought of him. Furthermore, he also received some of his father 's temper or anger problems. Throughout the book there been moments where Rufus would suddenly get angry and become demanding, for instance when Rufus demanded Dana to get up form her chair but lucky he claimed down before he could do anything irrational. He also sold slaves like his father and punished them when he had too. Rufus grew up to be a very manipulative person. “He believes Dana allowed tom weylin to die, and he sentenced her to fieldwork, where she briefly experienced the physical brutality of field slaves” (Bedore). He likewise sold slaves like his dad and rebuff them when he had as well. …show more content…
Both Rufus and his father are products of the environment and the time in which they live. They both conform to survive in an environment that requires little compassion for the slaves they own. Tom Weylin recognizes the threat that Dana’s education poses and punishes her for taking the spelling book and reading (Butler 106). Tom Weylin also understood Dana’s role in aiding his troublesome and at times hapless son periodically throughout his life (Butler 131). Rufus also recognizes Dana’s value and accepts her intervening on his behalf and assisting him when in dire need assistance (Butler 118). Both Tom and Rufus are motivated by fulfilling their needs by taking advantage of the black women on the