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Research essay focusing on Octavia Butler's Kindred
Purpose of kindred by octavia butler
Research essay focusing on Octavia Butler's Kindred
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Rape Rewarded in Octavia Butler’s Kindred “So you’ll be rid of the man and have possession of the woman just as you wanted,” I said with disgust. “Rape rewarded.” He turned his head toward me and peered at me through swollen eyes. “I begged her not to go with him,” he said quietly. “Do you hear me, I begged her!” I said nothing. I was beginning to realize that he loved the woman-to her misfortune. There was no shame in raping a black woman, but there could be shame in loving one. Dana is brought back for the fourth time and this time five years has passed. The Rufus she sets eyes on is now 19 and was beaten badly by Alice’s husband Isaac. Rufus tells Dana, with anger in his voice, that Isaac and Alice will be apprehended eventually and when the time comes he’ll buy Alice and let them sell Isaac. Dana is shocked and bewildered by his comments. She sees that her past attempts to make him a better man has had no affect on who he has become today. He has turned out exactly like his father or possibly even worse. This quotation reveals a lot about who Rufus has become and what is acceptable in his time period. Rufus has three of the most powerful qualities. He is white, a male, and a slave owner. Anyone that has these qualities is allowed to believe that they are powerful enough to demand anything. Because he feels this powerful he disregards Alice’s sacred bond to her husband and attempts to rape her. In the back of his mind he knows that even if the ...
First, these works attest to the frequency of trauma and its importance as a multicontextual social issue, as it is a consequence of political ideologies, colonization, war, domestic violence, poverty, and so forth”(Vikory). Rufus is a representation of the white male system and having control over not just the slaves body but their mind and as any white save owner he thrives off that power.He has a desire to be loved and tries to control everything and everyone around him with out getting his hands dirty. Rufus morally knew it was wrong to force himself upon Alice, but instead he asks Dana to get Alice and persuade her to come to his bed. "Go to her. Send her to me. I'll have her whether you help or not. All I want you to do is fix it so I don't have to beat her. You're no friend of hers if you won't do that much!” (Butler 164). Rufus as a character feels remorse after he commits rape, divides families, and beat slaves. In all reallity he is just submitting to the cultural and social norms that are expected of any white slave
This rule applies not only to slavery, but also to sexism. In Kindred, Butler concentrates on the powerless position of women in society and continuously relies on unexpected rhetorical tools to approach the problem. On one hand, the story of Alice who was raped by her master Rufus employs pathos to give a very accurate description of her feelings, as well as experiences of Dana who was forced to convince the woman to sleep with Rufus after her body recovered from severe beatings. On the other hand, Butler uses logos to examine gender inequality in society. Despite decades of economic, social, political, and technological transformations, women are still perceived as inferior to men. They are often viewed as a tool to satisfy men’s ambitions and needs. Butler acknowledges this incongruity between human progress and human prejudice as illogical when describing Dana’s choice to return to Maryland after she had spent two months there, and witnessed the evils of slavery. The progressive and seemingly independent Dana feels she owes something to a cruel and narcissistic
A large message Kindred sends to the reader is how one individual with a large amount of power can destroy other people's lives solely on their own whim. Rufus is the character who exemplifies this theme the most, especially with Alice. When Rufus begins to pester Dana to speak with Alice, she begins to worry that Rufus will exhibit his power on her: “I had thought that eventually, he would just rape her again” (Butler 110). The most disturbing part of this sentence is the casual tone used towards it. Dana already knows the type of power Rufus takes against Alice, which is constantly sexually violating her. Since he already put her through the abuse once, Dana knows he will do it again. In Dana’s last time travel, she begins to truly reflect
I struggle to truly define this as a relationship, as it is mainly a one-sided infatuation. Like Kevin, Rufus simply does not understand Alice and her experiences as a black woman. He disregards her marriage with Isaac, as he doesn’t take it seriously. Rufus believes that since Alice is a black woman that he has total control over her, although she was initially a free woman. His initial rape shows his lack of regard for Alice’s wellbeing, even though he claims to love her. Once she belongs to the Weylin planation his continued use of her for sex gets violent, again showing his lack of regard for her as a human
This represents how the protagonist’s scientific perspective is informed by his theological background. In “The Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas”, by Ursula Le Guin, there is a child locked in a room. This child is a symbol of the societal guilt within the town of Omelas. This utopian society within this town understands that without negativity, happiness is not possible because the “trouble is that we have a bad habit… of considering happiness as something rather stupid. Only pain is intellectual, only evil is interesting.” The town of Omelas is a very happy place but society needed a scapegoat for their personal and societal guilt. If they did not have this bad thing to compare their lives to, then they would not have the happiness they experience. In “The Star”, by Arthur C. Clarke, the controversial ultimate irony is found in the faith that inspired them to go on this quest is the very faith that was destroyed. “Will my report on the Phoenix Nebula
In that moment, she sees Rufus in his bedroom window trying to light up the drapes on fire. Rufus is nine years old and he introduces himself to Dana. As they start to talk, Rufus uses the word "nigger" to Dana which makes her mad at him. Rufus tells a story how his father beats black people in their plantation. When they finish talking, Rufus helps Dana to go to Alice house whom Dana believes she is her other ancestor. On her way to Alice’s house, she witnesses how white people brutally hitting Alice 's father. A few minutes later, the two white folks left and Dana has the chance to go near to Alice 's house to helps Alice 's mother. On her way out, a white man captures her and try to rape Dana. However, Dana manages to get away and gets back in her present time. Dana uses all her time to gather information during slavery day and she packs useful materials for her protection. Also, she realizes that every time she is in panic, there is a chance she comes back
Dawn by Octavia Butler is a feminist take on an origin story. Due to its feminist foundations Dawn interrogates how gender, individuals, and social constructions shape people 's as well as society 's creation. The story follows the "rebirth" of Lilith Iyapo in an alien world after they 'saved ' her from the nuclear apocalypse on earth. Lilith 's journey is both mental and physical. She becomes more than human physically due to Okanali enhancements and mentally beyond the constraints of human beliefs, such as that of gender and time, due to her acceptance of the Ooloi and the Oankali way of life.
In the middle of the night, four white men storm into a cabin in the woods while four others wait outside. The cabin belongs to Alice and her mom. The four men pull out Alice’s father along with her mom, both are naked. Alice manages to scramble away. The men question Alice’s father about a pass, which allows him to visit his wife. Her father tries to explain the men about the loss of the pass but the men do not pay any attention to him. Instead they tie him to a tree and one of the white man starts to whip him for visiting his wife without the permission of Tom Weylin, the “owner” of Alice’s father. Tom Weylin forbid him to see his wife, he ordered him to choose a new wife at the plantation, so he could own their children. Since Alice’s mother is a free woman, her babies would be free as well and would be save from slavery. But her freedom “status” does not stop one of the patroller to punch her in the face and cause her to collapse to the ground.
Ultimately, time travel lets Octavia Butler convey her own views on slavery, and the brutality of it. However, her main point is that although we have advanced through the last century, bigotry is still a major problem in our society. And, in order for any major progress to be had, each side will suffer losses, as Rufus’ life was taken along with Dana’s arm.
Since Rufus is white and born from the 1800s, his race and gender alone gives him authority over others. Throughout Rufus’s
Dana, the main character in Octavia Spencer’s graphic novel, Kindred, is not complicit in the sexual exploitation of black women. Rather, she was burdened with a precarious dilemma in which she was forced to choose between risking her own life by asserting what little influence she had over Rufus to protect Alice, or risking the disruption of her family lineage which would ultimately dissolving her existence. Forced to choose between two unfavorable options, Dana selects the lesser of the two evils. Her decision appeared to be deceitful because of the circumstances, however, to preserve her family genealogy, both Rufus and Alice needed to remain alive.
Dana draws her agency from this bond of trust, as Rufus allows her to do things that other slaves would not be permitted to, such as the letter writing, providing Dana more autonomy and control over her conditions and over the lives of the entire household. This trust is destroyed completely when Rufus decides to sell a slave who had been regularly talking to Dana. When Dana confronts Rufus about this sale, he hits her, dealing a blow both physically to Dana’s body, and psychologically to her relationship of trust with him. Rufus then orders Dana to “‘get in the house and stay there’,” curtailing her freedom of movement and establishing dominance in their relationship (239). The use of the short, direct, forceful diction preventing Dana from arguing, literally taking her speech away shows how Rufus is showing dominance over her. With the removal of Dana’s agency and perceived influence in one moment, she only has one action available to show Rufus her continued agency:
The production of nuclear energy is not as safe and clean as some say that it is. The Oxford Research Group released a report providing evidence that supports this point. It is clear that nuclear power plants do not produce a lot of carbon dioxide when they operate, but it is the mining of uranium and the storing of waste that produces the carbon dioxide pollution. This way of producing power is not as friendly to the environment as once thought. The report states that over time more carbon dioxide will be produced because more equipment and energy will be needed to extract uranium ore and store the waste. It is estimated by 2070 uranium nuclear power would produce as much carbon dioxide as a gas fired power station. If the use of nuclear power continues to increase this number would increase as well having a significant impact on global warming and the environment (Herbst).
Dana’s attachment to Alice and her plan to see her be freed; was suddenly altered when Rufus laid his hands on her. As I have discussed in a pervious assignment “The Storm” and “The Rope,” the word “love” can mean many emotions. Jealousy is one of the emotions that arise when: fear, concern, and suspicion take over our body. “I grinned. ‘Get out of here, Sam.
Nuclear energy has been identified as an effective source of electrical power that is being capitalized upon around the world. While nuclear power offers benefits, such as sustainable energy, the risks associated with it including nuclear accidents, proliferation, and terrorism make it a gamble. The probability of such events occurring is low, but the impact they could cause is immense. However, the irreversible effects of climate change override the concerns with nuclear power which can be alleviated by heightened security and international efforts.