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Racism Exposed In Octavia E. Butler's Kindred

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In Octavia E. Butler’s novel Kindred, Dana battles an external conflict of time traveling to the past, and experiencing what it was like to be a slave. Dana ultimately resolves this conflict by killing her ancestor named Rufus to return to her present time; however, this choice also illustrates her true character as both scared but brave. Dana’s decision to kill Rufus because she did not want to live in a time where slavery and racism occurred also reveals the universal theme that racism was very common in the past, and it still occurs till this day. When traveling to the past Dana struggles with an external conflict of racism and slavery. Dana suddenly travels to the past, and as a result, has to deal with harsh and violent environments.“And Weylin is by no …show more content…

"Do your job! Go tell him! That's what you for—to help white folks keep n—s down. That's why he sent you to me. They be calling you mammy in a few years"(114). Dana goes back in time during the slave days where racism was very common, and this piece of evidence shows how rude people of color were treated. Butler draws on that experience to convey the universal theme that racism happened frequently in the past, but it’s still occurring today. Through this novel, Butler speaks to the reader with the message that racism is something that continues, and will keep on continuing for a long time. The words“ job and white” show a negative connotation, and implies that people of color did not have very pleasant lives before. Dana experienced time traveling to the past, which lead to an external conflict of dealing with racism and slavery. Throughout this experience it showed that Dana was scared yet brave. Going through the tough and harsh conditions from the slavery of the past made Dana strong. This connects to the universal theme that racism is something that occurred long ago, and after many years, it still occurs

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Octavia Butler’s novel Kindred is a science fiction time travel novel, but Kindred is not like other science fiction novels. The book is told in first person by the main character Dana, a modern day black woman as she travels between her time 1976, and the antebellum South. When Dana transports to the antebellum South she is forced to endure slavery and the violence and abuse that comes along with it. As we read further into the book we see Dana’s life and relationships change because of the time travel. Dana is first introduced to us a Dana's last visit to the past brings us full circle; when she must murder Rufus to fend off his attempt to rape her, he grasps her arm as she is sent forward in time, anchoring her arm in the past.

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She gets taken away from her home in Southern California and via time travel magically transported to 19th-century Maryland. Throughout the book, Dana time-travels back to the early 1800’s and the slavery days of the southern United States where she discovers the truths about her family history and the harsh reality of being an African American woman at that time. Dana’s first time being transported back to this time period was on her 26th birthday. She and

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Prabesh Acharya Mr.Cowell IB English 18 May 2023 Analysis on Symbolism Kindred by Octavia E. Butler is a novel which takes the reader through 2 different time periods while following the perspective of Dana, an African- American woman who is forced into traveling back and forth from 1979 Los Angeles, California to Antebellum Maryland. She is forced to travel accordingly to the dangers which Rufus, her ancestor faces. The complexities of racial identity are displayed as she is forced to navigate the horrors of Slavery day to day inorder to ensure her existence in the present. Octavia E. Butler's use of literary devices such as Symbolism, Foreshadowing and Irony among others help to portray a sense of suspense, anticipation, and bottomless

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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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Moreover, this violent encounter left Dana defenseless until she “[discovered] the thing [she hit her] head on.” By instinct, she “brought it down hard on his head,” giving her the ability to prevent the rape from proceeding. The danger for black people that is common in the 1800s led to the need for Dana to be instinctive to protect herself. Thus, the characterization of Dana as instinctive helps reveal how dangerous the 1800s is for black people and

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Through her interactions, it is shown that racism and hate are learned habits while love is a born characteristic. Racism and hate are purely the result of one’s environment. In the book, Dana sees how slave owners were immersed in a world of

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Situations are defined by choices. Small actions in one moment of time alter the future of what happens forever. In Kindred by Octavia Butler Dana, the main character, is a black women born in 1976, who time travels back to the early 1800’s in order to save her relative, Rufus, a white boy who is the son of the owner of the plantation. Along the way she also meets her other relative, Alice, a slave born free, but enslaved since she helped her husband run away. Alice is owned by Rufus, who is convinced that he is in love with her.

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Racist and sexist stereotypes are depicted in the short story, Kindred. Kindred, is about an interracial couple living in California during the 1970s. Dana and Kevin are happily married, when Dana suddenly time travels back to the antebellum south during the time of slavery. Dana is an educated black woman, in the 70s it is normal for a black woman to have higher roles in society, but it is not

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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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This analysis of agency would be useful for a person pushing for more freedom of expression or freedom of speech. All in all, Bast’s successfully supports his perspective of agency through his evaluation of Kindred, and the comparison of the human instinct of expression to Dana’s want to create change with her time traveling powers constructs a powerful parallel between the novel and Bast’s article. The novel Kindred, however, serves to create an important message about society on its own, as well. Octavia Butler’s Kindred is a science-fiction novel that depicts the life experiences of a young black woman named Dana, who is given the task of traveling back in time to the era of slavery to save her ancestors, but is unjustly oppressed and has most, if not all, of her rights stripped away from her simply due to her race and gender. As a result, the most prominent overarching theme of the novel is the inequality of power and social status given to people of varying gender and race, and the struggle that those people must go through to gain as much freedom and equality as possible.

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Harming not only slaves but free blacks as well in the novel, when Dana is transported back to the moment right after Rufus rapes Alice: Dana attempts to express how she felt about Alice’s right to refuse Rufus sexual advances and he replied, sarcastically saying “‘She must have thought she was a free woman or something”. In the novel, shows the oppression of black women. Dana asks Rufus: “‘...your father whips black people?’” and he replies “‘when they need it’” (Butler 26).

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The Tone of Butler’s writing in this section of text, shows that there is a deeper meaning, and understanding to what Dana is talking about, and how so many factors of her life have been affected because of one singular event. Slavery, and Acts of terrorism towards people of color did not end even after the end

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Octavia Butler’s novel, Kindred, is written in science fiction, where the female protagonist, Dana, travels back in time to Maryland, during the period of slavery. Dana realizes the reason she is called to take part in the past is to help her family heritage last through another character in the book, Rufus. Dana must learn to adapt to the time of slavery and help Rufus when he is in trouble and may not survive, but she must do whatever it takes to allow him to survive. Dana experienced many hardships and struggles during her journey in the novel. Many of her experiences were based upon the facts of discriminations which were brought on by her race, gender, and education.

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