"Kindred"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how on the surface, Octavia Butler's "Kindred", is a time-travel science fiction novel investigating a modern day female African American's experience in the pre-Civil War south. However, it contends that, underneath the surface, the novel attempts to examine the inter-personal relationships between parents and their children. It looks at how Dana, the novel's protagonist seemingly becomes the surrogate mother to the accident-prone Anglo child Rufus and how, as the novel progresses, the adept reader realizes, Dana's martial characteristics contributes to the unhealthy emotional childhood development of Rufus.

From the Paper:

"Having established Dana as a strong maternal figure, Rufus demonstrates the qualities of an erring and insecure child. First, the reader learns about the quality of love that has shaped the young Rufus' psychic; "And there was Rufus, swung from his father's indifference to his mother's sugary concern" (69). Rufus the child, experiences his biological parent's paternal love as "indifference" and "sugary", which only reinforces his dependent bond with the maternal love provided by Dana. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Butler, Octavia. Kindred. Boston. Beacon Press. 1979.

More papers on "Kindred":

• Analytical Essay # 144691 : "Feminism in "Kindred" by Octavia Butler"
• Comparison Essay # 109560 : "Kindred" Versus "Beloved"
• Book Review # 32714 : "Kindred"
• Analytical Essay # 6631 : "Kindred"

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