“The Storm,” “The Rope,” and “Epilogue”

Kevin and Dana

 Kindred. Published in 1979.



In “Kindred” Octavia Butler states that Kevin was longer than Dana because Kevin wanted to live more real situations than Dana’s ancestors lived. It prolonged stay affects Kevin in many ways like he could't see the situations lived at that time, same as Dana saw, Kevin saw more natural when whites treated black people as slavers. Kevin acted as Dana master, Kevin sometimes was forced to treat Dana in ways he would not normally treat her because Dana's and Kevin's races was that it was illegal for them to be married in the slavery times. They usually had to hide this from whites for keeping Dana in safe.

When Kevin came back together with Dana from their travel, Dana unfortunately discovered that his lovely husband Kevin had similarities between her cruelty ancestors, Rufus.  Both of them were whites, which it was a big advantage at that time.  White’s males had power in slavery times.  Also, Kevin and Rufus spoke with strong southern accents. Both Kevin and Rufus cared for Dana in different way, Rufus’s love for Dana was expressed more after Alice’s death, but his love was only for satisfy his desires by force. Rufus always considered Dana lower class than him.  In contrast, Kevin, Dana’s husband would never attempt to force Dana into anything. According to Butler, Dana said “He was so careful, so fearful of hurting me” (190).  Dana offered, but Kevin at the beginning refused because he was scared Dana will be hurt more than she already was. Also, Kevin always considered Dana an equal of him. This alteration isn't symbol of changes because today's human being always are trying to hurt between them.  So, only people who grown up with values know how to treat and have compassion for others.

Tom Weylin and Rufus Weylin

Tom Weylin was a cruel man who punished his slaves for insignificant things, but at the same time he took care of them because slaves were a big investment for him. Tom was plenty of fairness, he was uneducated and he didn’t know what was happened outside of his plantation, so he always kept only in his world. Tom was a man who didn’t have feeling for his slaves; he beat them violently, and rape women as it was a right. He never showed love for his own son Rufus. 

whip used to punish slaves

Rufus Weylin while older he got, he was worse.  He was crueler than his father because he knows that rape a black woman was not right and he did as many times as he wanted.  He also was unhappy and drunk man who couldn’t see happy people like Alice who was married with Isaac. They were captured when they runaway.  He brought Alice, and he  paid twice that other buyers offered for her, only because he wanted her for only one purpose rape, beat, give children, and see her unhappy. Isaac was sold and was cut his ears from his own hands.

Dana’s influence on the young Rufus never was useful because Dana also was abused physically, mentally and morally. Rufus used other people to punish other slaves as he did with Dana. Dana was whipped, smacked, and insulted as other slaves were.  She was other slave more; Rufus never thanked her when she saved his life many times.       

Oppression

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oppression

 In "Kindred," Octavia E. Butler tells that slavers' experience are full of terror and pain. As a example, Sarah the cook, apparently looked strong, but unfortunately she was humiliated. She was  a lonely black woman in a household. She had to confront the rest of her life with people who sold her three lovely children and she had to remember everyday that she lost her part of her life forever. She couldn't make any claim for fair to loose her unique lovely daughter left, Carrie.  So, she had to be a good slave with her white masters. Instead of masters thank her for  her service, they paid back with pain, punishments, and hard work.

I also find that Dana was involved in a moral trap in the sexual exploitation, which she had to convince Alice to go to bed with Rufus. Unfortunately, Dana couldn't reject Rufus order because Alice could be hurt twice. She could have been beat, and also rape by Rufus. So, white always did wherever they want, it didn't matter how many people could be hurt. Masters were unemotional, isolated, pathetic, and alien. Despite the severe stresses under which slaves live, the slaves constitute a rich human society.

Unfortunately, in every country in the world, there is  oppression for any group that does not fit in with the majority, or it has caused to be look down on by our own race.   In some places, if you appearance is good people treat you with courtesy and the people are very friendly. If you are not just the opposite occurs.  I think we can teach our children to not be prejudiced based on a person’s skin color.  It hurts to know that it comes from previous generation is being slowly poisoned.

SLAVERY IN AMERICA

HOUSE SLAVES

April 16, 2012

House slaves were better than field slaves.  House slaves had better food, garments.  However, it depended how good their master were.  Usually, masters were miserable and without feeling forward slaves.  Slaves used to live like animals.  Their bodies smell bad because they didn’t take shower or dressing every day.  Sometimes, slaves didn’t have anything to eat, or maybe something that their masters gave them.  Some masters preferred throw food or spit in all the rest of food to make sure that slaves could not take it.  Slaves always were exposed to listen between them whims and desires; house slaves were inhabited between various families. Slaves sleep on the ground, or with old rugs.  When it was summer their odor were stronger than winter.The environment was stinking, but slaves were accustomed. When slaves were working for many years and were good workers, master always used to say them than they will be free before their master died.  It never happened.  Slaves who were hard workers also lived close to their masters, and were treated better than others slaves.    Slaves usually lived in deplorable conditions, but slaves couldn’t do anything for improving because only masters have decisions the way that slaves have to live.