Children tend to be very malleable. Whether it’s because of the way they were raised or the environment they were raised in, they tend to copy those around them because they simply don’t know any better. Rufus Weylin from Kindred is a little like that. He starts off as a harmless kid who doesn't know any better than to follow his bigoted parents, but instead of straying away from them and improving himself, he becomes much worse. The readers follow Rufus’s growth throughout some major points in his life, from a young boy who forms a bond and friendship with Dana, to when he grows up to be a racist man who ultimately attempts to rape her. In the sci-fi novel Kindred by Octavia Butler, Rufus becomes more brutal, more selfish, and crueler as the …show more content…
He seems to be a helpless boy who’s struggling with an abusive dad and a mother who won’t stop coddling him. This makes him act out irrationally and recklessly. For instance, when Dana goes back to his time for the second time, Rufus can be seen setting drapes on fire and when asked why, he states that his father beat him and even shows the scars to prove it (25). Despite his impulsive and dangerous behavior, Dana doesn't think he’s a bad person as he helps her get away and stops calling her the n-word when she asks him to. It’s clear that he’s not used to treating people of color with respect but it seems like he’s willing to learn. Though he’s not as bad and racist as most living in the antebellum south, he’s still the son of a plantation owner and is bound to be influenced by his …show more content…
Not only does he start selling slaves just because “he can,” he also slaps Dana when she doesn't obey him, proving that they’re not equals as Dana thought. When Dana comes back to his time for the final time, the readers find out that Alice had taken her own life after Rufus sold her kids in order to “teach her a lesson” (251). It shows that Rufus is willing to go to extreme lengths in order to keep what he has, which in this case, was Alice. Even when he seemed depressed, he still isn’t willing to free the slaves, proving that even Alice’s death hasn’t changed him. Towards the end of the book, he attempts to rape Dana which results in her stabbing, and eventually killing