Octavia E. Butler’s book Kindred illustrates how significant one’s surroundings can be in molding one’s beliefs and behaviors. One’s environment is made up of situations and connections, and the most important is speech. Dana’s civilization differs substantially from Rufus’s world, and so the approach these individuals use and perceive words varies. The environment plays an immense role in the book since it allows the reader to perceive the situations and their impacts.
In the first chapter, the readers are introduced to the main character, Dana. Here, a reader can observe her natural environment of the 70s in Los Angeles (Butler, 2004). The author later starts depicting the time-traveling of the character. From feeling dizzy and nauseated, Dana finds herself in a different time and place (Butler, 2004). The new environment could mean the true path to finding oneself and one’s history. For example, as soon as Dana sees herself in another dimension and hears a boy drowning, she tries to help him. In this situation, the setting allows readers to grasp the new reality, the time, and the place.
Additionally, several moments allow a reader to understand another character, Rufus, a white ancestor of Dana. Various moments showed that Rufus could use inappropriate words and the climax included his trying to rape Dana (Butler, 2004). The given environments and the killing of Rufus allowed Dana to become stronger. She learns about herself and her story through the depiction of evil and her long battle.
Hence, Kindred is infused with different environments that help characters in their paths and experiences. Every environment sets the tone for the circumstances and mood of the narration. The setting of the particular settings helps a reader understand the meaning of the things happening and what role they will play in the characters’ lives. In the beginning, a reader can grasp the location and time when Dana woke up.
Reference
Butler, O. E. (2004). Kindred. Beacon Press.