Rohand Nair
Ms. Borelli
Contemporary Literature
16th December 2014
The novel Kindred by Octavia Butler is written in the era of slavery and revolves around the lives of Dana who comes from the future to the home of her ancestors in the deep south and Rufus who apart from being her ancestor, is also a violent slave master. .Rufus grows up emulating the characters of the people around him, thus making him prone to being violent when the occasion suits him. “ . . . Most of the people around Rufus know more about real violence than the screenwriters of today ever will” (Butler, 48) , Rufus grows up behaving like his father especially in his treatment of slaves. The environment he grows up in teaches him that the color of his skin makes him superior …show more content…
Social conditioning generally refers to the process where a person behaves in a way that is approved by the society he is connected to. Rufus lives in an era where white men are deemed to be the superior person and could do no wrong. Rufus behaves in the same way that he sees his father and society of that era behave especially in their attitude towards women and the slaves and he is conditioned to believe that it is the correct way to act, especially for a white person. His father ill -treats the slaves and does not think twice about whipping them and Rufus end up behaving like his father in his treatment of the slaves. He has been conditioned to believe that his skin color makes him superior and that he has been given immense power and rights especially over the colored people. “I thought of Rufus and his father, of Rufus becoming his father. It would happen some day in at least one way (Butler, 68). Dana knew that Rufus would behave like his father as that was the way white men of that era behaved and he ends up behaving exactly like his father when he inherits the slaves. Her influence is not enough to over come social conditioning that dictates the way Rufus is supposed to act towards those who are considered inferior. His father and the environment he lives in taught him to take what he wanted without caring for the consequences for others and this factor causes him to rape Alice as a way to get her since she would not go to him willingly. It even causes him to try and rape Dana in the end, despite his relationship with her as she is a colored person and he does not need to respect them. His disrespect for his mother is also a result of the environment he grows up in where his father also treats his mother with contempt and disrespect. The environment that he lives in makes it impossible to be more morally compassionate as Dana hoped it would
Ms. Borelli
Contemporary Literature
16th December 2014
The novel Kindred by Octavia Butler is written in the era of slavery and revolves around the lives of Dana who comes from the future to the home of her ancestors in the deep south and Rufus who apart from being her ancestor, is also a violent slave master. .Rufus grows up emulating the characters of the people around him, thus making him prone to being violent when the occasion suits him. “ . . . Most of the people around Rufus know more about real violence than the screenwriters of today ever will” (Butler, 48) , Rufus grows up behaving like his father especially in his treatment of slaves. The environment he grows up in teaches him that the color of his skin makes him superior …show more content…
Social conditioning generally refers to the process where a person behaves in a way that is approved by the society he is connected to. Rufus lives in an era where white men are deemed to be the superior person and could do no wrong. Rufus behaves in the same way that he sees his father and society of that era behave especially in their attitude towards women and the slaves and he is conditioned to believe that it is the correct way to act, especially for a white person. His father ill -treats the slaves and does not think twice about whipping them and Rufus end up behaving like his father in his treatment of the slaves. He has been conditioned to believe that his skin color makes him superior and that he has been given immense power and rights especially over the colored people. “I thought of Rufus and his father, of Rufus becoming his father. It would happen some day in at least one way (Butler, 68). Dana knew that Rufus would behave like his father as that was the way white men of that era behaved and he ends up behaving exactly like his father when he inherits the slaves. Her influence is not enough to over come social conditioning that dictates the way Rufus is supposed to act towards those who are considered inferior. His father and the environment he lives in taught him to take what he wanted without caring for the consequences for others and this factor causes him to rape Alice as a way to get her since she would not go to him willingly. It even causes him to try and rape Dana in the end, despite his relationship with her as she is a colored person and he does not need to respect them. His disrespect for his mother is also a result of the environment he grows up in where his father also treats his mother with contempt and disrespect. The environment that he lives in makes it impossible to be more morally compassionate as Dana hoped it would