Physical Scars In Octavia E. Butler's Kindred

In the novel Kindred, by Octavia E. Butler, while Dana was traveling in and out of the 1800’s she experienced many traumatic events. Because of these traumatic events she will have physical and emotional scarring that she will reflect on constantly. These scars are important symbols which are shown in various levels. As we read Kindred, we also get scarred and have a better understanding of American history. Throughout Dana’s experience in the 1800’s she gained many physical scars. Dana will be reminded about her experiences with her ancestors, and what happened every time she sees herself. When Dana time traveled to the 1800’s, Tom Weylin kicked her in the face. Dana attempted to run away from the plantation because she was upset about the way she was being treated. Tom and Rufus eventually found her, and Tom kicked her in her face. “His father strode over and kicked me”(174). As a result of being kicked she lost two

When Dana is in the 1800’s she makes the decision to kill Rufus, her ancestor. After killing him she starts to time travel back to the 1970’s. As she's traveling back Rufus grabs on to her arm causing it to get stuck in the wall of her house in the 1970’s. The cause of her arm getting stuck in the wall results in her arm being amputated. From this point on she will have to live the rest of her life with one arm. As a result of only having one arm she will have a hard time doing daily activities. Not only will it be hard for her to do daily activities, people will also view her differently. In addition not only is losing her arm physically scarring, it's also emotionally scarring. Dana killing rufus is something that is way beyond what Dana thought she was capable of. She will have to live her whole life with the guilt of killing one of her ancestors. After killing rufus she's at an emotional level she didn't even realize was even