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Kindred By Octavia E. Butler: Review

1063 Words5 Pages

Inhumane What is a slave? The word slave in the dictionary is as stated; a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them. Many have heard the word slave before but few are familiar with the brutality and horrors slaves endured in the past and still sometimes today. Through the book Kindred, written by Octavia E Butler, the movie Roots, Incidents in the life of a slave girl seven years concealed, and the diary of a slave we are exposed to some of the gruesome and appalling ways slaves were treated. Not only are we exposed to the physical inhumanity but we also get a glimpse of the emotional expedition slaves overcame and overcome on a day to day basis. For Dana in the book, Kindred slavery was an unexplored path in her life. …show more content…

Does being a slave mean you have no human rights and deserve to be treated with such brutality that you wish day in day out you 'd rather be dead? Are you a slave because of the color of your skin? Or the family you have been born into? Many of us are familiar with the word slave but very few open their eyes, dig deep into the past and try to comprehend what slaves went through. The inhumanity they faced for what? The color of their skin? Before reading the book Kindred, the Slave Diary, and watching the movie Roots I would have told you it must have been pretty tough being a slave but now with the knowledge I have and the brutality I witnessed I would tell you that I have no idea how miserable it must have been but that my heart breaks for all of those who suffered and still are suffering from slavery. I cannot tell anyone that I know exactly what it feels like to be treated in such a disgraceful manner but through Kunta Kinte, Anita Ross, Harriet Jacobs and Dana I get a glimpse of the ongoing pain and suffering they endured as well as all the others slaves. Determination and a willingness to fight against all odds are what lead Kunta Kinte, Anita Ross, Harriet Jacobs and Dana to

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Kindred has a more overt portrayal of slavery than The Nickel Boys, given the time period and storyline. The main character, Dana, describes being whipped for running away from the Weylin plantation. She states, “He beat me until I swung back and forth by my wrists, half crazy with pain. This was only punishment and I knew it” (Butler 176). Dana knows that while she is being cruelly punished for attempting to escape, she was still somewhat lucky to be kept alive since she still had a life to go home to.

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913 Words | 4 Pages

Kindred is a book written June 1979 by Octavia E. Butler comprised of two genres, historical fiction, and science fiction and as a result, the book classifies into a new genre. This book can be considered a historical fiction because it shows the history of the pre Civil War 1800s when there were still slaves and it shows the perspective of a slave's life in the south. This book can also be considered a science fiction because Dana can time travel. The logistical issues for it cause the effects to be considered science fiction. Kindred can also be called both of these two genres, but the genre it creates is something new.

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1936 Words | 8 Pages

Analyzing Character Development: Dana Octavia Butler’s novel, Kindred, provides a unique look into slavery in the antebellum South through the eyes of Edana Franklin, a black woman living in the late 20th century, who is suddenly sent through time to the early 19th century where she is suddenly faced with the task of protecting her ancestor, Rufus, from many dangers in order to ensure her existence in the present. Dana begins her adventure with no knowledge of how or why she has been given this responsibility and, as a result, must adapt to her new and unfamiliar surroundings. As the novel progresses, the reader sees Dana’s internal battle with herself as she decides whether or not Rufus is worth saving, or if she should let Rufus die

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1016 Words | 5 Pages

There is still such a false concept floating around about slavery, even in the twenty-first century. I enjoy reading articles and documents, like the ones provided for this essay, to properly give me an idea of what slavery was like when our ancestors were around. Slavery, even today in schools, is not taught how it should be. Many people, especially in the South, try to ignore slavery as if it never existed, when it is definitely a part of our history. I think there is a falseness, on both ends of slavery, that many people do not talk about; these documents showed me just that.

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814 Words | 4 Pages

In the 1700-1800’s, the use of African American slaves for backbreaking, unpaid work was at its prime. Despite the terrible conditions that slaves were forced to deal with, slave owners managed to convince themselves and others that it was not the abhorrent work it was thought to be. However, in the mid-1800’s, Northern and southern Americans were becoming more aware of the trauma that slaves were facing in the South. Soon, an abolitionist group began in protest, but still people doubted and questioned it.

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1052 Words | 5 Pages

What is a slave? The word slave in the dictionary is as stated; a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them. Many have heard of the term slave before, but seldom are acquainted with the brutality and horrors slaves suffered in the past and still sometimes now. The book Kindred, written by Octavia E Butler, the film Roots, Incidents in the life of a slave girl, and the diary of a slave expose just a few of the gruesome and appalling ways slaves were treated. Not only do they show the mechanical inhumanity, but the emotional expedition slaves overcame and overcome on an everyday basis.

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1598 Words | 7 Pages

And Rufus was Rufus-erratic alternately generous and vicious. I could accept him as my ancestor, my younger brother, my friend, but not as my master, and not as my lover. He had understood that once” (260). Dana is distancing herself from being a slave doesn’t feel that she could ever be subjected to it like Alice was. She uses pronouns like “her” to describe a slave to show that she will be associated with one.

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458 Words | 2 Pages

Dana was a positive part of Rufus’s environment because she was the one who really helped him through the good and the bad. Dana tried to help Rufe reach a realization that slavery was clearly wrong and tried . But in the end not much changed. “What’s he done to you?” ‘Sent me to a field, had me beaten, made me spend nearly eight months sleeping on the floor of his mother’s room, sold people. . .

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886 Words | 4 Pages

In his “’No.’ : The Narrative Theorizing of Embodied Agency in Octavia Butler’s Kindred,” Bast underscores humanity’s desire for agency, one’s “ability to reach decision[s] about themselves and [express them]” and how one’s agency can benefit a society or a community (Bast 151). In the beginning of his article, Bast labels this decision-making and expression as beneficial and necessary for a community, while simultaneously underlining society’s limitations put on mankind’s freedoms such as discrimination, prejudice, or injustice. Nevertheless, he follows up by stating that it is simply human instinct to want to express thoughts even if other factors oppress them, undermining these social limitations.

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896 Words | 4 Pages

Octavia Butler’s book Kindred, written about slavery in the Antebellum period of US history, has many themes. However, the most important theme is Family as indicated through the title and in the content of the novel. Specifically the word kindred reveals the true intent behind her work through the juxtaposition of the past with the 1970s. This technique used in order to bring about social change in regards to the view of interracial relationships. The word kindred itself has multiple very similar meanings.

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901 Words | 4 Pages

Kindred is a clear instance of the neo-slave narrative, an Afro- American genre of writing that recounts the personal experiences of slaves that examines the past of African-American slaves and represent the nineteenth century slave narrative tradition, that was first published in 1979. Ashraf argues "that there are three types of neo slave narrative: the third person historical novel of slavery, the first person narration of the life story of a slave, and the recounting of the traumatic legacy of slavery of slavery on later generations. This genre identifies historical narrations from those that follow the effects of slavery in the present. This book is the first person narration of the life story of a young Afro-American woman writer, Dana,

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1843 Words | 8 Pages

Maryland in 1815, like much of the south, was a hot bed for slavery plantations. For slave owners in particular, it was a benefit if your slaves were not educated, as they would be less likely to question the oppressive treatment, and not adequately be able to express the conditions under which they labored. In the novel Kindred by Octavia Butler, various aspects of education are intertwined throughout, effectively depicting how education and slavery do not go together cohesively. Specifically, in the case of Dana, the novels protagonist, her intelligence led to her owners feeling inferior, which prompted many verbal and physical attacks, an exploitation of her abilities, and the overriding attempt to suppress the education of other slaves

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1042 Words | 5 Pages

Whether it is reality or books, there are always different types of relationships involved with the main characters. In the antebellum South, white people are taught to be dominant, leading to a feeling of superiority over black people. This leads to a stereotype of what types of relations you should have with those around you, though this leads to the white man doing what he wants and thinks is ok. Rufus is no exception to this matter, as he is raised in an environment with role models who exemplify this stereotype. In Octavia Butler’s Kindred, this environment leads to Rufus and Alice having a warped relationship because of their social standing, Rufus’ thoughts as he grows up with the conflicting views of a white man’s mentality, and Rufus’ action as he realizes the power he holds over Alice.

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771 Words | 4 Pages

When somebody doesn 't do the right they get hit with a whip till they do what is told. Slavery is nothing like doing chores for your parents it 's worse you can 't take a break until you are done you have to keep working until they tell you when your done, and you barely get paid for it. • B. Background information: There has been a lot of injustice in society in slavery like beating up up someone when they don 't do the right thing for the job. slavery isn 't there choice they have to do it for them not for

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853 Words | 4 Pages

Dana and Rufus’s Relationship Ever wonder what it's like to have a changing relationship with a plantation owner's son back in the 1800’s? Dana Franklin is a younger African-American woman married to Kevin Franklin who is a middle-aged man. Dana travels from California in 1976 back to the early 1800’s whenever Rufus is in trouble. Rufus is a plantation owner son and is also the father of Dana’s ancestor. Dana’s travels are random; she gets lightheaded and dizzy when she is about to travel.

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