Essay on Kindred: A Black Visionary Heroine's Journey Through Slavery and White Supremacy

Octavia Butler's Kindred is a story that presents a black visionary heroine who faces the horror of slavery, as well as the impacts of white supremacy, sexism, and racism. The modern black woman named Dana is snatched from her home in California while celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday together with her new husband (Tseng 29).

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Upon the capture, Diana is transported to the antebellum South. The author presents the characters such as Dana in such a vivid manner that any reader cannot complete reading through the story without feeling changed. The characters such as Dana and Alice face the racist milieu in which they have to struggle to survive the slavery experience, a situation that is also presented in 'The Intergenerational Trauma of Slavery and Its Aftereffects: The Question of Reparations,' by Gilda Graff. As such, this paper shall use Gilda Graff's ideas about intergenerational trauma and slavery to analyze actions and situations of characters such as Dana and Rufus in Octavia Butler's Kindred.

To begin with, Dana faces the horror of having to live as a slave and a concubine to a white planter. She is insulted, whipped, threatened of being sold, slapped, and treated in ways that she had never been treated before (Tseng 20). Most of the slaves of the time experienced physical abuse, exclusion from their kin, and loss of culture among other social ills that were collectively traumatic to the slaves. However, she faces all these with dignity, courage, and strength.

Dana's experiences as a slave are also noted of other slaves by Gilda Graff when he says:

'There is little in slavery that is not traumatic: the loss of culture, home, kin, ...sense of self, the destruction of families through the sale of fathers, mothers and offspring, physical abuse, or even witnessing the castration of a fellow slave. Yet subjugation was its most heinous aspect, as it sought nothing less than the annihilation of that which is uniquely human-the self.' (Graff 259)

As such, it is imperative to believe that the African slaves that were transported to America suffered both psychologically and physically, as exemplified by Dana. Through Dana's experience, the reader can appreciate what it took to undergo slavery as well as how the blacks were often forced into submission and bondage. They, however, did not reject slavery because it was fashionable, but just because they dreaded the repercussions.

When the reader comes across Rufus, he is a young, empathic soul with a naturally good sense that attracts Nigel and Alice. However, his great mind ceases when he turns into a slave proprietor. For example, he perpetrates the separation of Isaac and Alice, which later results in Isaac being sold as a slave and his ears chopped off. The exploitation of the slaves, which is exemplified by Gilda in his book, is exhibited when Rufus forces Alice to 'love' him-an act that leaves Alice with mental scars (Graff 262).

Gilda says,' the perpetuation of slavery was as inevitable as their self-loathing, each the result of their inability to experience love and wholeness and thereby learn, as Freud suggested, to love and work... [They] pursued glory instead.' (Graff 262). As such, many slaves, such as Dana, resorted to self-defense as a way of redeeming their honor and glory. Most of the slave owners and the perpetrators of slavery suffered revenge from the exploited slaves. Dana's position in the society is to demonstrate the cruelty undergone during slavery as well as the powers in which the society can have on the morals and the ideals of various individuals.

Furthermore, the hopes of the slaves diminish when Rufus starts selling slaves for his plantation. At some point, they think of killing him, but doing so would still exuberate their being sold. As such, they remain hopeless in the hands of the oppressor (Graff 259). Interestingly, when in deep trouble, he calls Dana rather than his uncaring parents.

During slavery, female slaves were often faced with sexual exploitation. Gilda Graff notes that the white migrants had declared Southwest slavery frontier as a Whiteman's sexual playground. He notes, "Masters, masters' sons and other men who visited or lived in the neighborhood felt entitled to the sexual favors of any female slaves they encountered, pubescent and adolescent girls included.' (Graff 262). This condition was experienced by Dana when she is whipped by Rufus, a person she had hoped to mold into a good man. Rufus later tries to rape Dana- an act that forces Dana to stub him to save herself. The whites viewed the sexual exploitation of the female slaves as a legitimate use of a property.

Moreover, the experience between the slave owners and their children was also horrible, especially when the slaves decided to effect retribution. This could be observed in the life of a character such as Rufus, in which his parents (who were ever committed) fail to show him any attention. As such, when he is in trouble, he forgets the existence of his mother and father but instead calls out to someone he sees unpacking books in a house. The ignorance by his parents exposes him to rape attempts on Dana and his subsequent stubbing (Tseng 29).

The vulnerability of the slaveholder's children is also noted by Gilda Graff when he says, 'Slaveholders' infants were the most vulnerable targets for revenge since, as early as the age of four, slave children served as caretaker companions for the slaveholders' children.' The beating meted on slaveholders' children by their parents also orchestrated the abuse of the children by the slaves.

Most importantly, the abuse of the slaves either as adults or children resulted in the intergenerational transmission of trauma. As such, Gilda notes that such trauma has endured in most of the African American communities with slaveholders growing to be 'spoilt beings, incapable of genuine love or empathy for even their children, who lashed out and inflicted their pain on those around them...Unable to confront their enemies-their abuser parents, and slave surrogates.' (Graff 260)

In the 1800s, it is evident from the two books that African Americans were treated much differently compared to how they are treated today (Tseng 29). For instance, previously, African American slaves lived in fear of abuse, beatings, and rape, among other social ills. A character such as Alice hangs herself because of the physical and mental turmoil she undergoes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Gilda Graff's ideas about intergenerational trauma and slavery significantly explain the actions, situations, and experiences of characters such as Dana and Rufus in Octavia Butler's Kindred. For instance, the notable experiences of slaves in both books include; sexual exploitation such as rape, physical and mental turmoil exemplified by trauma, as well as social exclusion through being separated from family.

Works Cited

Graff, Gilda. "The intergenerational trauma of slavery and its aftereffects: The question of reparations." The Journal of Psychohistory 44.4 (2017): 256.

Tseng, Samantha. "A Rhetorical Approach to Octavia Butler's" Kindred." (2018).