Power Strategies in Kindred
In Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred, issues of misused power are prevalent. Through time travel between the 1970s and the 1800s, the book, Kindred, has shown major differences in lifestyle between an era of slavery and modern culture. The slave owners shun the slaves if they did not listen to their demands. Many of the slave owners use violence in order to control others. Slaves are mistreated with violence for something as small as not bringing back enough food from the fields, or not cleaning enough. The violence that is used is mainly whipping, hitting, yelling, and cutting off their fingers or ears. Despite the misuse of power, Dana, the protagonist, resists the violence through time travel. Throughout the book there …show more content…
The patrollers cut off Isaac’s, a slave, ears because he tries to run away. "[T]hey cut off the boy's ears"(Butler 149). Isaac’s attempt to run away results with him getting his ears cut off; the fact that he gets his ears cut off shows slave owners that he is a trouble maker, and reminds them to keep a good eye on him. The next people who try to purchase Isaac will assume that he is a troublemaker just because of his missing ears. It is intimidating to Isaac. This act of violence shows Isaac that if he tries to run away or do anything as bad as that then it will result with death. Another moment where violence occurs is when Rufus becomes jealous of Dana’s relationship with Sam. Sam, a slave, asks Dana if she can teach him and his family how to read, but Rufus does not know that; therefore, he assumes that Sam being so flirtatious with Dana is something more than it actually is. A couple days later, Rufus sells Sam because he does not like Sam and Dana flirting, and it upsets Dana. Dana tries to explain why, but Rufus ends up using violence and power to solve Dana’s confusion and anger. "[H]e hit me"(Butler 238). As Dana watches Rufus grow up, she only hopes that he will not turn into his dad, and this was Rufus's turning point in his life where he was turning into exactly what Dana hoped he would not. It was hard for the slaves to get through their lives with having this huge amount of power over …show more content…
Dana has a lot more power than slaves during that time because she has the power to send herself home, but it is with risk because she could die before she gets home, and get the help she needs. During the final pages of the book, Dana realizes that Rufus has turned into exactly what she hoped he would not. She is at home in her own time, but somehow still trapped in the 1800s; the spot exactly where her flesh and the wall meet is the exact spot where Rufus had gripped his hands. "I pulled my arm toward me, pulled hard. And suddenly, there was an avalanche of pain, red impossible agony! And I screamed and screamed."(Butler 261). Dana has the power to leave, but she has to make the choice to leave and lose her arm, go through all that pain, and risk dying. Although Dana has that possibility, she still has the choice, and choice is power. At one point Dana chooses to remove herself from her surroundings. After unexpectedly being hit by Rufus, "[Dana walked over to the warm water] and in the warm water [she] cut her wrists"(Butler 239). Dana was so terrified from Rufus hitting her that she risks her own life just to go home, and get away from the terror and betrayal. In this moment Dana resists getting even more hurt from Rufus, and takes a risk to die, but also to get home.
Throughout Kindred the struggle for power is evident when slaves are shunned by slave owners and the slave owners use violence in order