Violence Makes It Real

            While discussing Kindred during class we spoke about the role of violence in the narrative. We brought up the point that violence makes things real. As I sat in class this point made more and more sense as the discussion progressed. I noticed that violence towards characters solidified status, power, hatred, pain, and things of that nature. It also explains why Dana was unable to return to the present as easily as she did in the beginning of the novel.

            Dana as a character was introduced as a strong and righteous woman during the 1960’s but as she spent more time in the past she began to really own the role she was forced to play. Because of the times, she had no other choice than to pretend she was an enslaved African American and this grew on Dana. Of course, it can be deduced that a character like Dana would never believe herself to be an actual slave. Dana began falling for her role once she began to be physically abused. Violence towards her made the experience of time travel a reality because the possibility of it all being a dream is defeated. One cannot dream of going back in time and wake up with the authentic pain of the whip. It is when she is hurt that her position of a strong woman is diminished into a slave.

            The same goes for the man who whips Dana. Dana is merely an outsider coming into a world long before her time. She isn’t truly a part of the society, therefore the laws should be void. The men of this society should not have power over Dana, and they don’t until she is violated. The whipping symbolizes the validation of power this man has over Dana. The whipping transforms Dana into the slave she appears to be in the eyes of the society. This ties into why Dana has trouble returning to her life as the story proceeds.

            As mentioned, violence makes the experience genuine for Dana. During her first visit to the past she returns to her home after having a shotgun pointed at her face. In an instant of the gun appearing in front of her the physics of time travel kick in and she is safe once again. But the next time she visits she is abused substantially until these physics apply again. Each consecutive visit lasts longer until it seems as if though she can’t return. The more the experience became real the less of the true Dana existed. It was violence and exposure that was converting Dana into a woman of the era and slowly it consumed her. This is why it was harder for her to return. The physics were applying less and less to Dana.

            I really enjoyed Kindred. It was refreshing from what was read prior, but still very similar at the same time. The idea of time travel was certainly different, yet the theme of identity was a common one as earlier reads. I find it interested to interpret how vital violence is for not only character development, but also development of the entire plot.

Time Travel through Centuries

     Kindred is the story of a young woman named Dana that is able to time-travel through centuries to help a young man named Rufus, who she soon discovers is a distanced grandfather (either great- great or great).  Whenever Dana begins to time-travel, she becomes very nauseous and experiences dizziness.  When she arrives in the 1800s, Rufus seems to be in some kind of trouble.  The first time Dana arrived, Rufus was drowning.  The second time he had caught his drapes on fire in his room and broken his leg in the third instance.  The concept of time-travel absolutely drives me insane because it can be very mind blowing at times!  It can go two ways: Dana can help form the family they are during a difficult time or she can try and help and do something incredibly wrong and doom her family’s history, leading to her disappearance. 

     If the time-travel was not enough, I could not help but notice that in the first chapter, Kevin brings up the possibility of hallucinations.  I cannot help but wonder if that is where the story is leading to, Dana developing some kind of mental illness that causes hallucinations.  The rest of the stories we have read this semester have all led us to use the dreaded word, “crazy”.  I hope that the story is actually about time-traveling and not another story where we all question everything we just read!

     The first sentence of the first chapter says, “The trouble began long before June 9, 1976, when I became aware of it, but June 9 is the day I remember” (Butler, p. 12).  At least up to the third chapter, there is no description of any time-travel that occurred before meeting Rufus.  This was something I did not catch the first time reading it, but now it is a questionable statement.  What kind of trouble was Dana talking about? If she had experienced time-travel before meeting Rufus, then she would not have been so surprised when it happened.  Another interesting part of Dana’s time-travel experiences is that she is never aware of how long she is out.  What feels like hours to her might be only a few minutes for Kevin as he waits for her return.  Obviously time-travel is a questionable concept, but the effect it comes with is also very interesting.  The fact that Kevin was able to travel back in time by just holding on to her makes time traveling sound so easy! But he did not feel any nausea or dizziness, so maybe that is a side effect to whatever has happened to Dana that has given her the ability to travel through time.

     Aside from the question of if Dana is “crazy” and the idea of time-travel as a whole, the story has powerful imagery that makes it that more interesting.  I made the mistake of reading the story before I went to bed and I actually felt uneasy throughout the night and woke up at one time wondering if I was in the right time period.  Now that can just be me losing my mind over a lack of sleep, but it goes to show how easy Butler makes it to imagine what is going on with Dana and the people she encounters in her travels.  The scene where Dana is getting beat by the patroller who was at Alice’s house was extremely difficult to get through because of the imagery used.  Dana describes the attack from the patroller: “Having him catch and hold me was bad enough.  Now he meant to turn me in as a runaway… I dug the nails of my free hand into his arm and tore the flesh from elbow to wrist” (Butler, p. 41).  The scenes described in the story show what it was like even for “free slaves” during that brutal time in US history.  You cannot help but wonder why Dana travels back to a time that is so detrimental to her well-being and quite honestly, her chance of survival.   

     To say that Dana’s travel to the 1800’s is unfortunate would be an understatement.  There could not have been a worse time to travel to, but it could be that she has to travel back to this time to ensure that her family line continues.  I hope at the end of this book, we have more answers about Dana’s mental stability and why this is all happening to her.   

Sympathy is Hard to Find

In A Good Man is Hard to Find it is hard to find sympathy for the family at the end of the story. It is hard to admit that I had no feelings of compassion for some kids, a grandma, and parents dying at the hands of an escaped convict when I read this story for the first time. The way O’Connor builds these characters to be unlikable makes it hard to feel sympathy for the family. I just couldn't connect with them on a level where I liked or enjoyed their characters choices and well being. Between the grandma, children, and parents I had to try to look past their bad qualities in order to find (or not find) sympathy for the family.

            The grandma is a racist untrustworthy woman who believes that the present times are not as good as her younger days. The grandma shows her very colorful vocabulary by using the “N” word when telling stories. She even gets excited when spotting a young black kid in raggedy clothing and calls him a “pickaninny”. The grandma grew up using this language and also surrounded by plantations that have slaves working on them so this type of racism is normal to her, but is no excuse to continue to be racist. Also when facing the Misfit I feel she is only trying to defend her own life and does not try to bargain or show any compassion for her family members’ life. She proves to be selfish in this situation and is not like your typical loving grandma in other stories.

            The children in this story are horrendous brats. The first example of boy being bratty is when we see John disrespect Georgia and Tennessee. John says, “Tennessee is just a hillbilly dumping ground and Georgia is a lousy state too,” (O’Connor 119). At as a young kid I don’t remember having so much dislike for states or for the people that live in them. It is peculiar to me that John does not like them so passionately. The other child June is by far more of a brat than her brother John. The scene when they are in Red Sammy’s restaurant is a great example of how bad June is. Red Sam’s wife gives her a compliment and asks a rhetorical question and is friendly when doing so. In response June says, “I wouldn't live in a broken down place like this for a million bucks!” (O’Connor 121). June is disrespecting the woman’s home and life choice to live there. It was only meant to be a compliment and not to be answered with such a bratty answer. Both kids are terrible and by O’Connor creating these types of characters it is hard to find compassion for them.

            The parents I feel some bad for, but it is because they have to deal with the grandma and the children. While there is nothing they can do to the grandma for punishment, they can discipline their children. Especially when the kids are annoying them to go to the mysterious house, I believe they should not have caved in so easily. This is where I lose sympathy for the parents because they should control where they go for their trip and not give into the horrible children’s demands.

            Even though I say I do not feel sympathy for the family I actually do feel bad for them because no family deserves that kind of fate especially the baby (who defiantly did not deserve to die). Sure they have some major flaws, but that could have been anybody’s family taking the wrong turn and winding up in a convicted felon’s path.