Katy Koch, Mrs. Gelhousan, AP Literature and Composition, March 5, 2024.
Kindred by Octavia Butler explores several complex relationships that show love that goes beyond traditional romantic standards. People are allowed to marry or form relationships with anybody they choose in today's society, and no one can stop them from doing so. That was not the case in the past, though. Interracial marriages were exceedingly uncommon in the 1800s when men used physical force to coerce women in slavery into sexual relationships because they believed they were superior to women. The novel emphasizes the flexibility, resilience, and vulnerability of love and relationships in the face of historical and societal problems through the relationships of Dana/Rufus, …show more content…
Rufus and Alice are unable to escape the tyranny of Alice as a slave and the power disparity of Rufus as a master due to the social frameworks and inequality regarding people of color and white relations in the Antebellum South. Dana stated, “I was beginning to realize that he loved the woman- to her misfortune. There was no shame in raping a black woman, but there could be shame in loving one” (pg. 124. The nlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnl Due to Alice's refusal to love Rufus, he takes advantage of her sexually and calls it his "act of love"—all the while disregarding her humanity and forcing her to give up her freedom and consent. He also subjects her to the hatred of the other slaves by abusing the comforts that come with sleeping with the plantation owner. Throughout the book, Alice is gradually torn apart by Rufus and other plantation workers, which finally drives her to commit suicide to preserve her dignity by not becoming Rufus's faithful mistress. Additionally, Alice believes she could not survive without their two children, whom Rufus sent away. Her death devastated Rufus because he was unable to see that people of color should be treated as equals rather than objectified. Love and
Kindred by Octavia Butler explores several complex relationships that show love that goes beyond traditional romantic standards. People are allowed to marry or form relationships with anybody they choose in today's society, and no one can stop them from doing so. That was not the case in the past, though. Interracial marriages were exceedingly uncommon in the 1800s when men used physical force to coerce women in slavery into sexual relationships because they believed they were superior to women. The novel emphasizes the flexibility, resilience, and vulnerability of love and relationships in the face of historical and societal problems through the relationships of Dana/Rufus, …show more content…
Rufus and Alice are unable to escape the tyranny of Alice as a slave and the power disparity of Rufus as a master due to the social frameworks and inequality regarding people of color and white relations in the Antebellum South. Dana stated, “I was beginning to realize that he loved the woman- to her misfortune. There was no shame in raping a black woman, but there could be shame in loving one” (pg. 124. The nlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnlnl Due to Alice's refusal to love Rufus, he takes advantage of her sexually and calls it his "act of love"—all the while disregarding her humanity and forcing her to give up her freedom and consent. He also subjects her to the hatred of the other slaves by abusing the comforts that come with sleeping with the plantation owner. Throughout the book, Alice is gradually torn apart by Rufus and other plantation workers, which finally drives her to commit suicide to preserve her dignity by not becoming Rufus's faithful mistress. Additionally, Alice believes she could not survive without their two children, whom Rufus sent away. Her death devastated Rufus because he was unable to see that people of color should be treated as equals rather than objectified. Love and