FREE ESSAY ON "KINDRED" BY OCTAVIA E. BUTLER

"KINDRED" BY OCTAVIA E. BUTLER

"KINDRED" BY OCTAVIA E. BUTLER
Kindred was the very first book by Octavia Butler that I read. Unlike many
science-fiction writers, she spends no time discussing the dynamics of time travel, which
for a tale of this emotional magnitude, is a good thing. Kindred is hard book to read and
it leaves you with so many questions; I have never looked at history in quite the same
way. That is the hallmark of good writing, when it leaves you with much to think about.
Also, Octavia Butler was the only black woman writing science fiction at the time, and so
she became a role model to me. 
I don't normally enjoy science fiction novels, but this story was a major exception due
to the fact that it was so interesting and I was really intrigued by the writing of
Octavia Butler, who is a very realistic as well as unique writer. The reason Kindred is
so unique is because of Butler's distinctive style and outlook. I really liked the style
and subject choice of this novel and the fact that Butler decided to add to the story the
idea of moral choice, which is one of the hardest choices any persons can face. 
Kindred utilizes the devices of science fiction in order to answer the question how could
anybody be a slave? A woman from the twentieth century, Dana is repeatedly brought back
in time by her slave-owning ancestor Rufus when his life is endangered. She chooses to
save him, knowing that because of her actions a free-born black woman will eventually
become his slave and her own grandmother. When forced to live the life of a slave, Dana
realizes she is not as strong as her ancestors. Unable to will herself back to her own
time and unable to tolerate the institution of slavery, she attempts to run away and is
caught within a few hours. Her illiterate ancestor Alice succeeds in eluding capture for
four days even though She knew only the area she'd been born and raised in, and she
couldn't read a map. Alice is captured, beaten, and sold as a slave to Rufus. As Dana is
sent back and forth through time, she continues to save Rufus's life, attempting during
each visit to care for Alice, even as she is encouraging Alice to allow Rufus to rape her
and thus ensure Dana's own birth. As a twentieth-century African-American woman trying to
endure the brutalities of nineteenth-century slavery, Dana answers the question, See how
easily slaves are made? For Dana, to choose to preserve an institution, to save a life,
and nurture victimization is to choose to survive. --