In the novel “Kindred” by Octavia Butler, the narration focuses on factors that allow readers to understand the challenges Dana faces. It also creates a situation where the readers empathize with Dana’s fate as she lives between two different faces of live; which are separated by the concerns of slavery. The major theme of the novel is slavery. As Dana celebrates her birthday with her husband, she is kept away from him and transported back in time to captivity where she faces the fury of slavery. She provides an opportunity for the readers to understand what happened in the era of slavery by giving a clear image of the significance of freedom and the factor of ‘home’ in the narration. It is worth accepting that slavery was defined by the components of racism and discrimination which led to social and economic rebellion in the endeavor to win freedom. When Dana travels back in time, she lands in the hands of Rufus the son of a white plantation owner who had summoned her for the purpose of saving him from drowning. However, the one day event turns to be a series of forced summons that happen time and again in the course of Dana’s life. Every time Dana arrives in the past, the danger of her visits increases as Rufus continues to be obsessed with her. Her fight against an attempted rape acts as a breakthrough from Rufus’s slavery as she frees herself from the past to live a completely new life in the present. Slavery institutes a culture of mistreatment, torture and discrimination thus affecting the society negatively.
The theme of slavery is based on the narrative on how Dana is forced unwillingly into going to the past by Rufus. It is apparently clear that through slavery, human trafficking was a normal thing because Dana witnesses people being sold and bought by her “owner” to work in plantations owned by the Whites. Dana portrays slavery as a threat to the institution of the family as the backbone of the society as she is uncomfortable with how she was forced to break in time from her husband without her consent, “Repressive societies always seemed to understand the danger of "wrong" ideas” (Butler 141). The quote confirms that although repressive societies continued to influence the vulnerable members of the society negatively through slavery, they well understood the dangers associated with their actions. For instance, due to slavery, Dana is tortured physically and psychologically an aspect that renders the entire encounter selfish and inhuman. She also witnesses other people racially and sexually abused by the slave masters prompting her to desire to break from the chains of their masters and live in the present where freedom is the rule of the day. The danger associated with slavery is that it is instituted on the foundations of stereotypes whereby the Whites believe that they are the superior race while the Blacks are viewed as their subjects. For instance, the statement, “who cares as much about giving his word to a black as to a white” (Butler 181) confirms how deprived many people were in regards to understanding their rights; they just accepted to identify with the stereotype that the White people were better than the Black people. In other words, people did not understand why it was important to embrace diversity. Despite the discriminative believe, Dana’s narration confirms that both races are affected by the institution of slavery which tears the nation in equal measures hence confirming the need to embrace equality and appreciation of people from all races.
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The novel “Kindred” by Butler tries to convene the message that discriminative stereotypes that are based on racial biases perpetrate injustice which affects the entire population of both the Whites and Blacks. It is therefore her wish that the society would be built on the foundations of equality, equity and rule of law and order for the benefit of all. The reason as to why the narration given in the novel drives the reader into such a conclusion is because Butler’s experience of mistreatments and exploitation of the African Americans only strengthens her into becoming a better person while destroying the character of the White “slave owners”. For instance, by deciding to abuse Dana, Rufus dies while Dana acquires freedom although she loses one of her arms. Secondly, enslaving Dana by Rufus blocks her from enjoying the ‘home’ factor by keeping her away from her husband without her consent hence a crime affecting the institution of societal moral fabrics in equal measure. It is quite a perturbing endeavor to commodify human beings on any grounds because the entire encounter affects the society negatively.
