English 1A Paper

I really liked this book, which I read for my college class during the summer between my Sophomore and Junior year. It was a challenging course that I passed with a B, which I was felt was a great accomplishment.

Sutter, Kaity

July 9, 2007

English 1A

Paper #3

The Essence of Life: Reading and Writing

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler is an imaginative science fiction story taking place in two different eras. Butler takes Dana, an African American woman, back into her families past. She travels back to when her great-grandpa, a Caucasian male named Rufus, was growing up in a society that enslaved African Americans on their property. Dana then finds the true history behind slavery during the early 19th century. Slaves during this time were also not allowed to learn how to read or write. The slave owners thought that by allowing slaves the basic skills of reading and writing, that it would provide them a way to freedom. Reading and writing during this time is an important endeavor and the risk that slaves had to go though to learn was a harsh road to tolerate. Slaves were treated horribly, the importance of learning to be literate was a way that could lead to freedom because of the knowledge that you could acquire about escaping to a free place for slaves.

 

The effect of knowing how to read and write can be major. Dana was the one African American person on the plantation, owned by Rufus’s family, who knew how to read. Rufus’s father, Weylin, didn’t know how to read either; he preferred to use his words and actions to speak for themselves. Dana was also looked down on because of her knowledge. In her own time she would have been looked at like she was any other person walking down the street, but the 19th century was different. At one point, Dana began to read out loud for Rufus and slowly teach him how to read. Rufus’s mother had at one point found out about Dana reading to Rufus and from then on thought that Dana was a terrible person for Rufus to know. The quote below shows how his mother viewed

Dana;

 

 

He grinned. “Not with you here. Read some more.”

“I don’t think I’d better. It’s getting late. Your mother will be home soon.”

“No she won’t. Read.”

I sighed. “Rufe, your mother doesn’t like me. I think you know that.”

pg. 88

 

 

Rufus and Dana both knew how much his mother disliked Dana, but Rufus continued to have Dana read to him when his mother was out of the house. Rufus openly defied his mother because he felt that Dana’s knowledge is more important. Her ability to read and write was a vital aspect to Rufus, even back in the early 19th century.

 

Being able to read and write could also have gotten people into trouble, especially if they were slaves. Dana was in a period of time where it was not a good thing for her to know how to read or write at times. For example, when Alice remembers that she and her husband were beaten and she can’t find him, she goes into a rage with Dana; “‘Doctor-nigger,’ she said with contempt. ‘Think you know so much. Reading-nigger. White-nigger! Why didn’t you know enough to let me die?’” pg. 160 Alice doesn’t like the fact that Dana was able to save her when she was so close to death. Alice thought that dieing was not as bad as living because she knew that she would never see her love again. Dana was blamed for taking orders from Rufus and saving Alice from death, when reality is, Alice didn’t want to be saved at that time. Alice thought that being literate meant that you always knew what people thought they wanted and in many ways she is wrong. Literate people don’t always do the right thing; Alice thought that being smart meant that you were able to think through everything, but sometimes knowledge makes your thinking hazy. Sometimes people don’t think through everything before acting because they know how to fix it, so they automatically begin to fix the problem. Dana forgot what Alice would have thought if she helped her, but immediately thought of how to help Alice.

 

Dana also has the pleasure of helping out the less fortunate. After Weylin died, Dana goes back into the past and helps Rufus go though his hard time. She learns many aspects of Rufus that she probably would have never guessed about him. By the time that Dana comes back, Alice has had a few sons and Dana is hoping that she will have a daughter named Hagar soon, so that she will be alive when she goes back to the future. Joe is one of Rufus and Alice’s bright sons and Dana is told to teach Joe how to read so that he has a head start when he goes to

school;

 

 

But unlike Rufus, Joe wasn’t bored with what he was learning. He was fastened into the lessons as though they were puzzles arranged for his entertainment--puzzles he loved solving. He could get so intense--throw screaming kicking tantrums when something seemed to be eluding him. But not all that much eluded him.

pg. 231

 

 

Dana liked teaching Joe how to read. Dana thought that it was an entertaining to teach Joe how to read and it kept her mind off of what other horrible historical events were taking place. Dana liked the way that Joe acted, she felt that it was a bright way to pass into a wonderful future for him, especially if Rufus did as he said he would and free his sons and daughters. Rufus even thought of sending him to school so that he could learn more than Dana could teach Joe in the few months that she was able to stay. Joe’s ability to learn and want to learn how to read and write was something that is forbidden during his time because he is not a Caucasian, but Rufus does his best to provide for his children.

 

Octavia E. Butler was able to pull together many historical facts that helped make her story come alive. The aspects of the story were awe-inspiring and showed the hardships that African Americans had to go though because of their skin color. Reading and writing was just one theme of the story that made it an interesting read and helped show the many ways that African Americans were treated during the early 19th century.