Kindred is a fictional novel written by Octavia Butler, which touches upon the topic of the value of human life, referring to the horrifying antebellum South events. The female protagonist Dana suddenly experiences the time-traveling to the past and meets her ancestor Rufus, the antagonist of this story. Dana has to make turning decisions that can change the history of her family. The novel reflects the problem of slavery and racial discrimination through the relationships of the characters. The connection between Dana and Rufus has a paradoxical and complicated nature. Dana is called to the past when Rufus needs her to save his life, physically or morally. Dana suffers a lot because she has no other option but to harm others because of Rufus. However, despite the burden Dana takes, she is right to save Rufus’s life, following the conviction that human life is the most precious value in the world.
Dana, raised in a society where human rights are respected, faces the horrible lives of black slaves during the antebellum South events. The reason why she is called back in time was the death threat to her ancestor Rufus. Dana realizes the kinship with Rufus, and without hesitation, saves the little boy drowning in the river. She is cornered in a paradoxical situation when her existence depends on her interactions with people from the past. The nature of the paradox resembles the grandfather paradox, which also implies the influence of the non-existing person on the past and future. However, there is a possibility that Dana is not trapped in the paradox. Her strong bond with unfamiliar people in the past proves this. Describing Rufus’ house, Dana says that she “… recall feeling relief at seeing the house, feeling that I had come home. And having to stop and correct myself, remind myself that I was in an alien, dangerous place.” (Butler 231). Therefore, Dana is sent back because she wants to understand the people who lived in the terrible years of inequality. Her family objects to their marriage with Kevin because they keep the prejudice about skin color even in modern society. Experiencing the violence, she defeats Rufus as an embodiment of discrimination and slavery. Saving young Rufus, she demonstrates humanness and love to everyone. However, when society’s laws turn him into a powerful monster, she kills him, protecting his soul from deterioration. Butler emphasizes that Dana has never considered Rufus evil and says that “… he wasn’t a monster at all. Just an ordinary man who sometimes did the monstrous things his society said were legal and proper.” (Butler 184). The kinship paradox is probably caused not by the risk of Rufus’s death but by Dana’s desire to understand the nature of the inequality problem and learn more about her roots. By creating this time paradox, Butler addresses the issue of ethics and the power of legislation. People make rules which later control them, and everyone becomes the lifelong slaves of the system. Butler emphasizes that it is essential to remember your history and avoid making ancestors’ mistakes. Dana’s disappeared arm symbolizes the unbreakable bond with the past and the heirs’ responsibility to create a world without inequality and slavery. Thus, the paradox Dana finds herself in results from the mental need to understand a life full of tragedies and survival. Saving Rufus, she stays true to her beliefs and gains a new overview of the course of history and its implications in the modern world.
Therefore, Dana’s decision to save Rufus is the right one because she proclaims human life as a principal value. This decision turns over her life from a time and moral perspective. Understanding their origin, people may change their attitude to life and consider it from the other angle. The ancestor’s mistakes are the essential keys to opening the door to a highly moral life without slavery. The only thing people should do is accept the terrifying past.
Work Cited
Butler, Octavia. Kindred. Doubleday, 1979.