In essence, a typical view of power would be associated with masculinity, while Butler addresses how knowledge and identity is true power, which isn’t limited to a specific sex.

The writer makes a good point here honestly. In similar narratives, the repercussions of the actions of the protagonist on the other enslaved people are not really discussed in-depth or even brought up most of the time. In Kindred however, these tensions provide the bulk of the novel’s conflict.

When critiquing masculinitst bias, it is interesting to think of any of her own personal biases that she may have when writing the piece. Everyone has biases and it is interesting to see how they effect the work of the piece.

In 2020 with the uproar of BLM protests and people asking what is ethical and what isn’t, we see a rise in the idea of education expanding. Just like in the 60s where history became not only what the government and the powerful people said but also the ideas of the smaller person.

this is the first book i have seen both strongly represnting black history and incorporating science fiction.

Race is not defined by the way you act or the things you do, it’s defined by your heritage and nothing you do can ever change that

I have heard the book came from the comments of the young man – put him in the place of his ancestors and see what he would do…

It is interesting in how Butler self-describes the piece with “grim fantasy.” In using such language she acknowledges the harsh, gritty tone of the piece, yet with fantasy tells how it is a story. It is not to a tee in its reality but serves more to describe a message rather than the pure actions of the story.

The interesting conundrum to all of this is that Dana doesn’t want to betray Rufus eventually. Instead of feeling this responsibility and requirement, she begins to feel at home with the people there. Butler’s choice to not have Dana hate Rufus is interesting because it makes her feel guilty for forgiving him every time he does something wrong. This is another aspect of the book that would not have been different if her main charecter was male.

dana in the beginning is not as connected with her ancestors as the story goes on she finds herself connecting with them and finding more out about herself.

Dana initially viewing Sarah as loyal to the people who enslaved her means Sarah is doing her job well. Sarah has to pretend to be loyal to make sure her children are not taken away from her, which is something many slave women had to do during that time period.

By coming out as allies, they are perhaps feeding into the “fantasy” of forward progress.

I have to disagree with the essay here. I feel like the descriptions of the memories created in the past fading away are just a side effect of time travel, rather than Dana just distancing herself from the idea that “the past can touch her”. Although I will admit that I may just be interpreting things too literally.

Carrie’s character adds a lot to the story. She’s able to give meaningful additions to parts happening, without saying a word. It’s really good writing. This can also prove that a character does not need to be verbal to be insightful.

Specifically, Butler introduced a unique concept of placing a modern character in a past, where they’re identity is abused. From there, the reader is treated with curious interactions and situations.

I think it can be taken for granted on weather male or female were treated worse or better during slavery , men did have the more intense work but women also had to deal with there part as well

Violating human rights is not unique to America. The fact that the similar things have happened throughout history and not just the injustices that Dana experienced makes everything even more depressing than it already is.

Although Dana and the rest of the slaves are close in relationships, and pull some risks for eachother; banding together to rebel against the master seems out of the question. This is possible, they all have the power especially as adults because after all, Tom Weylin is only human. But the fact is that the trauma from punishment and the whole world being against them makes every one of them completely alone together.

The thought of having to use mechanisms to “distance” information in order for it to be consumed…it reminds me of how distanced Dana is at the beginning – and how 1976 serves as a shield.

These campaigns to promote egalitarianism feel a little disingenuous. I think that these companies are just pandering to the societal attitudes at the time instead of promulgating morally correct messages out of intrinsic motivation.

I feel that it is so important when reading books like Kindred to look at authors like Butler’s exigence behind the piece. The fact that black women’s representation was so lacking probably fueled much of her steam behind the piece. Looking at that it is interesting to think what was her goal in representing. What did she want Dana and her story to represent in the female African American and their history.

While some characters, such as Weylin and Kevin, thought that Carrie was useless and stupid because she was mute, this scene portrays the wisdom she had and the ability to teach Dana about how they are viewed in society. It not only portrays Carrie’s intelligence, but it is also a moment of clarity for Dana because even though the other slaves there don’t understand Dana’s paradoxical circumstance and reasons for helping Rufus so often, they still understand that she is different and by helping someone who hurt them all as a collective, she is hurting “her people,” which in turns creates a tension in Kindred.

Memory has power – and collective memory requires constant re-memory. It reminds me of the Holocaust. Many European countries surround themselves with the past and spend time trying to understand the past. This is healing. As a country, we don’t do that – and then wonder why there are such divisions.

I hadn’t thought of this before, but Butler is correct that a male protagonist who performed the same actions as Dana would have been killed. Dana is able to get away with more than she should because early in the book she is considered weak and while intelligent, she is still a woman. Later in the novel, Rufus regards Dana with more affection because of her gender, if she was male and challenging him, he would have found it threatening and likely sold/killed him. Both of these actions show how men in the story misjudge Dana for her gender, if Butler had stuck to the original protagonist she would have created a very different story.

That women were just as brave during this time or even in general just as much as men

Dana sadly realized the hard way that the depictions of slavery in media are usually horribly falsified and made to be less horrific than they actually were. She resents people for ever trying to portray slavery as anything than what it actually was- a disgusting violation of human rights.

This situation does not satisfy any aspect of the categorical imperative. Therefore, Dana is in a situation where her existence is reliant upon the execution of a morally depraved task. I wonder if committing this task is inherently self-serving.

It’s really tough to think about things like this, because you’re like, “Man, I can’t imagine this ever happening to me.” And the awful thing is that it truly did happen to others. It’s still happening today, a lot of us just happen to be fortunate. Dana’s story helps give a first person point of view so we can understand how it may have felt to live during that time period.

Both of these medias describe the realities of life in thsi time exeedingly well, with graphic detail and storyline that draws the emotions out of the viewer/reader. I think both of these medias could drastically change a persons point of veiw on the subject.

With every movement it feels like someone is left out. With the ERA, members of the LGBTQ+ community who fought hard for the amendment, where ultimately disappointed by the fact that they took a less strong stance for their rights fearing that it would harm the possibility of others recognition. Every movement tries its best to represent and do its best, but their is always a group that is one step beneath that is forgotten in the fight for representation. This is then interesting to look into Kindred and see if there is anything flawed in representation. If taking a less strict historical fiction approach to the story, that Butler could have left some stories out of her own.

These ideas of women being known as “the other,” or someone who was supposed to live an operate in “a separate sphere” was emphasized during the antebellum period in U.S. history as well. These ideas are portrayed in Simone De Beauvoir’s novel, “The Second Sex” and many other feminist authors’ writings. Beauvoir describes how women were seen through a lens in which they were only allowed to preform mundane tasks, which often led to depression and confusion about one’s role in life. These ideas are explicated through various tests in order to illustrate the struggles that many endured in this time period.

kindred and roots and very much similar they both focus on the everyday horror stories of slavery ,this is telling us we need to pay more attention to what really went on and improve our future

This is precisely Dana’s struggle – how does she preserve her existence…especially now that she has formed a family with these individuals?

Just a little discretion is advised here. DONT READ ITS A HUGE SPOILER!!!

I think that is what makes Octavia Butler and her characters (especially Dana) so unique. Dana is shown as an independent character who does not get saved but saves others. Butler also shows how women that were enslaved were frequently raped not only because they couldn’t fight back, but because they knew they can not escape for fear for their lives or their children’s.

Dana is supposed to play the role of her, but keeps getting knocked down by racism, mysogeny, and social statuses of the time. Traumas like these make it increasingly more difficult to figure out what she is there for and how she is supposed to execute it.

The author here introduces an interesting concept – networks of kin. Kin can be interpreted beyond biological relation in Kindred. For example, Kevin and Dana can be related through epochal networks of kin, but they differ in their racial network of kin. Therefore, a conflict between familiarization and opposition takes place. Dana and the other slaves share a racial network of kin, but their epochal differences present more complex conflicts. Dana and the Weylands’ also share educational networks of kin, but obvious racial and hierarchical differences persist. Each relationship is magnified under a duality of kinmanship and stark constrast.

I always love hearing stories about the creative process, you always end up hearing interesting things that were cut or changed. In this case however, I think it was a good choice (not just realistically of course) to have switched the gender of the protagonist.

This is really interesting. I genuinely have never thought about a story that’s being told in a way with time travel, that includes such real storytelling. The way that Octavia Butler executed it is incredible.

Neo-narratives challenged the mass media’s message that marginalized people would be accepted into the white model.

I wonder if the discussion now would be about devising a new model – this statement implies there is only one way – and all other models are erroneous. How does one understand their place in the world if their reality differs so completely from the fantasy sold to everyone?

This is a really sad realization. It’s awful that people who were slaves were even subjected to this kind of treatment. It’s also heartbreaking to hear that originally she had a male protagonist, but he wouldn’t get away with things that the female protagonist would be able to. Either way, the main character is faced with horrible treatment.

This concept of literary allowing slaves to escape is important in many novels, such as The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, where Frederick Bailey, later Douglass, describes how learning to read The Columbian Orator, gave him a voice and allowed him to make his struggles and the struggles of so many others known once he achieved his freedom. Dana, being from the present in the 1970s, likely understands this concept, which is why she finds importance in educating the slaves she lives amongst in Kindred.

takes into account the personal nature of history. not simply events or statistics. the repercussions on thought, expression, and community are significant in documenting historical evolution.

I think kindred beautifully combines both political and science-fiction/ history topics. For example when Dana gets mad at Rufus for objectifying, abusing and raping Alice after he claims he loves her. This shows the messy, uneducated man he is becoming that fits in with most of the men of his time. However later she explains to Sarah? (not sure if it was Sarah specifically) how times are different in 1976 and her and Kevin are in a devoted, mixed race, not abusive relationship.

Octavia is an incredible writer for being able to take one comment and turn it into an entire novel. The way that it allowed and inspired her to create a story important to women who are POC is incredible.