Hardly scientific

There are a few interesting dynamics in Octavia Butler’s Kindred. As was noted in class, the main character Dana really has no idea what is happening to her. Butler’s use of a first-person narrative forces the reader to follow alongside, and in the mind of Dana as she discovers more and more about the situation. At first, this is painstaking. Both Dana and the reader are anxious to know the explanation for her time travel. Slowly we begin to gather pieces of the puzzle, eventually learning that she is drawn back to the past when Rufus’s life is in danger and he needs her help. She comes back to the present whenever she feels her life threatened.

I found that Dana quickly accepts that she is a time traveler, and proceeds from there. After her second trip, she decides to arm herself in preparation for the next time. I thought it interesting that she was able to suspend her disbelief so immediately. Some people might dwell on the fact for a while before composing themselves and thinking rationally.

Another point I thought was worth exploring was the setting of the present-day portions of the novel. The modern story is set in 1976, a year known primarily for the bicentennial celebrations that took place. America “turned 200” that year, and patriotic displays were commonplace. There is no way this was not done intentionally on Butler’s part. I think it is meant to accentuate the blight that slavery is on the history of America. I wasn’t alive at the time, but I’m certain that celebrations of America’s formation didn’t include a retrospective of slavery in the south. Dana’s journey between bicentennial America and the antebellum south is an interesting juxtaposition.