Octavia Butler's Kindred: An Analysis

Ingrained in every aspect of the western world is the systematic oppression of those with lesser power. Racism is to white people as the cycle of poverty is to the wealthy. Racism stems from the ignorant and repressive beliefs of those in power: white people. From the day, the western Europeans began to colonize the lands of others, the system of racial oppression was formed. Much like a snowfall on a winter's night, a heavy wall of racial segregation builds up as time progresses. Octavia Butler’s Kindred delves into the topic of the power struggle between the exploiters and the exploited. She illustrates a story about an African-American woman - Dana - who time travels back into the early 1800s where she meets her ancestor, a young white

Although Dana says “[they are] dangerous to each other, [It is] more a reminder than a threat”(125) as she does not want to threaten Rufus due to the familial attachments she holds for him, he often forgets that she has the power to let him die. However, even though Rufus does not know the true reason for Dana keeping him alive, he is still very much aware that he is the one with power in the relationship; he has racial authority that is supported by the society he lives in and the financial power to enforce his power over Dana. Therefore the unstable power difference leads to the unhealthy and unethical decisions Dana must make in order to sustain her relationship with Rufus. Power is a two way street; if one person holds authority over the other then the relationship will not be one of genuinity. Since Rufus holds racial authority over Dana, he has the ability to control her life, sentencing her to brutal punishments when he believes she steps out of line. Dana’s fear of “[dying] on the ground there with a mouth full of dirt and blood and a white man cursing and lecturing as he beat [her]” (107) is what keeps her well behaved, despite her initial will to repel the toxic ideologies of the

A system that grows over time is one that cannot be broken down easily as the beliefs and customs are ingrained in the people’s culture - their way of thinking; members of the dominant culture often believe things that, although not true, validate their unethical actions. Humans have the ability to believe anything is true; for one to be skeptical about a belief that is the basis of an entire socioeconomic system, there is often strong opposition that can easily refute the intellectual advancements of one person. Therefore, for those who are being exploited, it is often easier to fall prey to the slavery mindset than to face punishment for standing up against the system. A corrupt and wicked society can easily form when the members of the society create a power difference to oppress, refuse to believe they are exploiting, and continually condition the exploited into submissiveness. If the system of racial oppression cannot be broken down by the oppressed race, then the responsibility of reconciliation and the fixing of a system long broken is then delegated to those with a voice: white