Return Of Kindred Spirits By Octavia E. Butler: An Analysis

Survival becomes the most important thing to her. Butler seems to be saying the same thing regarding the slaves. What will you as a person tolerate in order to survive? Rape? Whipping? Being property? Having your children sold? How much are you willing to take, or do you choose death? These are some of the things that a reader will ponder on when reading Kindred. One key question is does a person adapt to an oppressed lifestyle, or do they rebel against the plantation owners? In the novel, and in history books, many African Americans adapted and tolerated the time because rebellion came with near death punishments, or death itself. It was a reality that adaptation was the key link to survival. The statement Butler is making is when in a particularly difficult situation, such as slavery, a person’s reaction may be totally different than one might expect, even from themselves. As Dana says, “Time passed, Kevin (pulled back in time with her) and I become more a part of the household, familiar, accepted, accepting. That disturbed me too when I thought about it. How easily we seemed to acclimatize. Not that I wanted us to have trouble, but it seemed as though we should have had a harder time adjusting to this particular segment of history” (Butler 97). …show more content…
Butler Is a Time For Reflection and Rejoicing for Fans of Speculative Fiction Butler’s explanation of Dana, “Dana is determined not to tolerate the beliefs of the time, but she eventually recognizes that the whole society is set against her and that she has to put up with it to survive” (Young 32). Even the Black slaves called her out her name and mistreated her. She was different, an alien in a foreign place, but she adapted. Being unhappy with their own circumstances and mistreatment was deflected on to Dana in many different ways by both the White people and the