In Kindred Racism Quotes

Everyone’s upbringings are different. Like some people say, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” In Kindred, a novel written by Octavia Butler, many characters show their diverse personalities in many situations of the book. These differences in their personalities quickly show the reader that the way these characters are raised have a significant impact on themselves as a person. The impact from their childhood years show when they grow up into adults that either make good or bad decisions. Many of the characters in the 1800’s grow to believe that racism is a normal way of life. Other characters, however, believe that racism should be stopped at all costs. Characters in the novel clearly show learned behaviors as the novel focuses

A person can’t just pop into the world and know from their very first second that black people are to be treated as “animals”. At a young age, Rufus has already been taught that he’s of a higher rank than any black person in the world. Dana speaks to him, “She said I was… niggers, Rufe?” (25). This quote shows that Rufus already knows that he can be in command of any slave without any faults whatsoever. His mother says the offensive word time and time again, and naturally, he learns to do the same. It’s like, “Monkey see, monkey do”. Rufus doesn’t know that “nigger” is a disrespectful word, but he is taught that it is okay to say it. It is considered a normal thing to call a black person on a daily basis if the person saying “nigger” is white. The amount of racism back then is overwhelming. Racism can blind a person, and having morals that aren’t necessarily right in society’s eyes can

It is about having control and dominance over another person. Rufus, however, seems to think differently. He talks to Dana and says, “ Talk to her… away from me again. Never” (163). This quote shows the desperation that Rufus feels in wanting to rape Alice. He claims that it is the only way to show his “love” for Alice, but what really is love? Love is certainly not rape. Rufus grows up seeing his father rape slave women a countless number of times. As it constantly continues to happen, Rufus seems to start convincing himself that rape is an “okay” thing to do. His father does it, other white people do it, so why can’t he? That is Rufus’ mindset. He uses the excuse of “love” to show the side of him that no one wants to see. This side of him is a mirror image of his father, who unknowingly made a great impact on his son’s ways of life. Rufus himself doesn’t see that he’s becoming more like his father, but it’s there. Rufus is somewhat different from his father, though. He shows pity and compassion for the slaves he holds close to his heart, like Alice. He loves her, but raping her is not and will never be the answer. It’s just what he’s grown up to