The Oppressed And The Oppressors In Octavia Butler's Kindred

2364 Words5 Pages

The history of slavery in America is one that has reminders of the institution and its oppressive state of African Americans in modern times. The slaveholders and the slaves were intertwined in a cruel system of oppression that did not yield to either side. The white slaveholders along with their black slaves became codependent amongst each other due to societal pressures and the consequences that would follow if slaves were emancipated with race relations at a high level of danger. This codependency between the oppressed and the oppressor has survived throughout time and is prevalent in many racial relationships. The relationship between the oppressed and the oppressor can clearly be seen in Octavia Butler’s novel Kindred. In this novel, the protagonist Dana Franklin, a black woman, time travels between her present day 1977 and the antebellum era of 19th century Maryland. Throughout her journeys back to the past, Dana comes in contact with her white ancestor, Rufus Weylin, a white slave owner and Dana ultimately saves his life and intermingles with the people of the time. Butler’s story of Dana and her relationship with Rufus and other whites as she travels between the past and the present reveals how slaveholders and slaves depended on and influenced one other throughout the slaves bondage. Ultimately, the institution of slavery reveals how the oppressed and the oppressor are co-dependent; they need each other in order to survive. The oppressed and the oppressor’s lives are intertwined through their need to protect and maintain their well-being. As seen in the novel, Dana is summoned to the past only when Rufus, her distant ancestor’s life is in danger. Rufus continues to summon her from his childhood through his adult years. ... ... middle of paper ... ...eir codependent relationship had a one-sided communication model in which whatever Rufus wanted, Rufus got. The communication between the two of them flowed from the oppressor to the oppressed. Dana had to withhold her true feelings about Rufus and what he could do with her for fear of being sent out to the fields earlier on in their encounters and being forced to do hard labor. Dana’s needs as Rufus’s friend were constantly placed on the lower level of importance. Throughout the novel, Dana was expected to place her needs, which were mainly finding Kevin, returning home, and educating other black slaves, on the back burner in order to completely service him and perform tasks, which resulted in her punishment. The fear that the oppressed and their oppressor have for each other is one in which they must maintain if they want to survive in their respective societies.

Show More
Related

  • Power Exposed In Kindred By Octavia Butler

    1513 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Comparing The Characters Of Rufus And His Father In Kindred Octavia Butler

    1048 Words  | 3 Pages

    In kindred Octavia Butler writes about how a modern day black woman, Dana, is traveling back to the past to save a man that would become her ancestor. Whenever Rufus faces danger he calls upon Dana to save his life. Each time Dana goes back she finds out the brutal reality of the slave trade in America. She finds out the true meaning of freedom when she compared her life to the slaves in Tom Weylin’s plantation. She discovers that being a slave is not as easy as the books show it; instead it is a complicated relationship between master and slaves. Most of the slave masters depend on slaves for economic survivals. Throughout the novel Butler compared and contrasted Rufus and his father. She compared the way they cared for power and money and she contrasted their attitudes about education for their slaves and relationships with slaves. His father was a man who only cared about money and his power, but on the other hand Rufus is a man with feelings for his slaves.

    Read More

  • Interracial Relationships In Kindred By Octavia Butler

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    In her novel, Kindred, author Octavia Butler addresses the challenges of interracial relationships. She touches on both consenting and non-consenting relationships. While Dana and Kevin are in a consenting relationship, their experiences and difficulties are similar to that of Rufus and Alice. Conversely, there are also many aspects of the two relationships that are very different.

    Read More

  • Octavia Butler's Kindred Literary Analysis

    1210 Words  | 3 Pages

    The human brain has great power and abilities, some of which we fail to realize it uses every day of our lives. This can be exemplified by our brain’s ability to create mental shortcuts by assigning labels to what is around us. Although this skill is typically good and helpful to us, “[it] can also be extremely damaging, especially when it comes to categorizing people” (Kaufman). This statement’s validity true enough that novelists have noticed and incorporated it into their work to raise awareness. Different authors have incorporated this into their work such as Barbara Kingsolver and John Irving. The novel that will be analyzed specifically is by Octavia Butler called Kindred. It is a 1979 novel of an independent, African-American woman who travels back through time to save her kin from death during the time of slavery. The analysis of this novel will present examples of labeling, the rejection of labeling, and real life commentary as it

    Read More

  • Oppression In Octavia Butler's Wild Seed

    1119 Words  | 3 Pages

    them” and “friend and enemies”, there are other texts in which correspond to the same ideas and can be utilized to further support the relevance oppression has to these particular concepts. To elaborate, another text also written by Octavia Butler entitled Wild Seed thoroughly supports the concept that “control” is regarded as the underlying issue to oppression. A clear reference to be made involves characters of both Kindred and Wild Seed. Within Wild Seed Doro abuses his control and utilizes his powers for selfish purposes as do the white men in Kindred. In both instances innocent people are harmed and abused without proper cause. Another inference to be made details that in each situation both Doro and the white men are referenced as the

    Read More

  • Character Devices In Octavia Butler's Novel 'Kindred'

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the novel, Dana is often seen as Alice’s doppelgänger. Butler first shows this to her readers in noting the physical similarities they share, so much so that they are often mistaken for sisters. They can further be paralleled by the situations they are in. Both women were born free but are thrust into the institution of slavery, and under the control of Rufus are denied the rights they previously held. Although powerless by these laws, both of these women share such a unique relationship with Rufus that eventually he begins to see them as the same woman. Because of this, Alice and

    Read More

  • Slavery by Another Name

    584 Words  | 2 Pages

    For most American’s especially African Americans, the abolition of slavery in 1865 was a significant point in history, but for African Americans, although slavery was abolished it gave root for a new form of slavery that showed to be equally as terrorizing for blacks. In the novel Slavery by Another Name, by Douglas Blackmon he examines the reconstruction era, which provided a form of coerced labor in a convict leasing system, where many African Americans were convicted on triumphed up charges for decades.

    Read More

  • Relationship In Kindred

    888 Words  | 2 Pages

    In an occurrence while Dana tries to stop Rufus from selling an african american man from his family, the two have an unforgettable confrontation, Dana said. “Please, rufe. If you do this, you’ll destroy what you mean to preserve. Please don’t… He hit me… It was the breaking of an unspoken agreement between us — a very basic agreement — and he knew it.”(Butler, 238) For the first time Dana’s sense of safety with Rufus is lost. when Rufus betrays her as she has anticipated for a long time, she is filled with fear. Rufus and Dana's relationship for the first time shifts. Before the two had an unspoken agreement to protect each other, but Rufus forgets himself and breaks that trust. He is use to treating the african american people as if they are nothing, he forgets that Dana is the exception. In a final moment in the 1800’s with Rufus, Dana experiences the most fearful moment of her life, while she thinks to herself. “He was not hurting me, would not hurt me if I remained as I was. He was not his father, old and ugly, brutal and disgusting. He smelled of soap, as though he had bathed recently—for me? The red hair was neatly combed and a little damp. I would never be to him what Tess had been to his father—a thing passed around like the whiskey jug at a husking. He wouldn’t do that to me or sell me or . . .“No." A slave was a

    Read More

  • Kindred by Octavia Butler

    1391 Words  | 3 Pages

    As far as how it works in the actual story of the novel, firstly, and most importantly, it puts a strong, independent, black, 20th century black woman in the antebellum south. This provides a strong contrast in living conditions, as well as psychological patterns with those of the 19th century Dana sees and conveys the world of slavery around her with the background of the 20th century, "our world." This allows the reader to find a real connection with the protagonist, Dana. Dana describes in its gory detail the whippings she took:

    Read More

  • Genealogy In Kindred

    304 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Hatred In Octavia Butler's Kindred

    402 Words  | 1 Pages

    “But where was Rufus? If he was in trouble inside the house, why had I arrived outside?” (198)

    Read More

  • How Does Octavia Butler Use Racism In Kindred

    389 Words  | 1 Pages

    Through the use of time travel, Octavia Butler creates a profound new view of racism in her novel, Kindred by having Dana see and understand what it was really like to be a person of color on a plantation from an outsider's perspective. Though Dana’s life in the present is filled with issue, it is drastically different from the problems of the past. When traveling to the past, every negative thought associated with Dana due to her race is amplified and violently acted upon, reducing Dana down to the color of her skin rather than an actual person. Fundamentally, having Dana time travel to a real plantation gives her a first hand experience of racism at the time, effectively showing the evolution of racism through time.

    Read More

  • Women In Colonial America

    1875 Words  | 4 Pages

    White men could abuse their wives and slaves and it was perfectly normal, no one would say a word about it. If a woman or person of color harmed somebody they would immediately be put in jail or they could even be hanged. This oppression of women and people of color is weaved into Chains by showing Isabel's relationship with colonial women like Hannah, Mary, and Madam Lockton as well as Isabel’s relationship with other slaves like Curzon, and Grandfather.

    Read More

  • Butler's Kindred Satire

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    Butler’s Kindred induced a personal understanding of slavery that is relevant, as much as it is unique, to the modern views of African-Americans and society. The largest and most frequent theme of the novel is the underlying notion of society influencing behavior. Butler shows her readers the influence behavior has on society, by literally sending Dana back the source of the behavior. By portraying societal influence in her novel, Butler was able to craftily instill a sense of empathy, understanding, and even sympathy for events of the past. If these attitudes may be developed toward slavery, the most grotesque of all behaviors, they are surely applicable to lesser behaviors of today.

    Read More

  • Slavery and Dehumanization in Toni Morrison’s Beloved

    1620 Words  | 4 Pages

    The atrocities of slavery know no bounds. Its devices leave lives ruined families pulled apart and countless people dead. Yet many looked away or accepted it as a necessary part of society, even claiming it was beneficial to all. The only way this logic works is if the slaves are seen as less than human, people who cannot be trusted to take care of themselves. In Toni Morrison’s Beloved the consequences of a lifetime of slavery are examined. Paul D and seethe, two former slaves have experienced the worst slavery has to offer. Under their original master, Mr. Garner the slaves were treated like humans. They were encouraged to think for themselves and make their own decisions. However, upon the death of Mr. Garner all of that changes. Under their new master, The Schoolteacher, they are relegated to a position among animals. They are seen as beasts of burden rather than equals. Paul D and the other slaves are stripped of their free will and their manhood. The Schoolteacher treats them as though they were animals without emotions. The schoolteacher is not the only one; he is representative of society in general and its mindset towards African Americans. The system of slavery by nature devalues the lives of slaves and demotes them to a status below humans.

    Read More

More about The Oppressed And The Oppressors In Octavia Butler's Kindred

Open Document