"Kindred"

Paper Summary:

This essay takes the form of a brief summary, followed by a critique of the novel "Kindred" by the African-American woman science fiction author Octavia E. Butler. This novel details life on a plantation, but beyond its fictional scope it provides the reader with knowledge and information about what life was like during the age it chronicles. Ultimately, it presents its readers, both black and white, with a profound moral quandary of the impact of slavery upon the lives and ancestors of both slave owners and former slaves.

From the Paper:

"The novel tells the tale of a young, African-American woman of the present who is transported back in time to an era and a place in our country's history where she was no longer considered a human being but merely a piece of chattel. The woman's name is the very modern appellation of "Dana." The first time she is brought back in time to the ages of her ancestor, she meets a future slave owner named "Rufus." (A ridiculous name thinks Dana.) Rufus' life is endangered as child. Dana chooses to save the white baby Rufus, as one day he will become her own ancestor, though a slave-owner. She decides to do this even though the way the two of them will become linked is by a freeborn black woman becoming his slave and her own grandmother."

More papers on "Kindred":

• Analytical Essay # 144691 : "Feminism in "Kindred" by Octavia Butler"
• Comparison Essay # 109560 : "Kindred" Versus "Beloved"
• Book Review # 32714 : "Kindred"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: