Lenny Eguiluz
Dr Holden
English 1B
12, April, 12 Stronger than ever In Octavia E. Butler’s novel Kindred Dana and Kevin have an interracial marriage. Throughout the novel they have their ups and downs. It was not easy form them to be together because they were looked down upon for being in an interracial marriage. In the midst of opposing relationships such as, slave and master, black and white, there is a merge, a union known as Dana and Kevin’s marriage. Dana and Kevin meet at the temp agency where she and he worked at As Kevin and Dana grow closer and spend more time together in the twentieth century. Butler’s creative approach of concealing the couple’s individual racial identities in the beginning of the navel allowed us to truly understand the authentic nature of their marriage and emphasized the humanity in Dana and Kevin’s relationship while constructing the groundwork that would eventually be tested in the twentieth century as well as the seventeenth century. Dana and Kevin had to face a lot of opposition form their family and society it was not easy for them but they managed to stick by each other. Dana and Kevin have had to face many obstacles that where put in their way. Some of the obstacles that are in their way are family, time travel, and Rufus. Dana and Kevin had a lot of obstacles that many would say would harm a marriage. One of the many obstacles that they had was their family disapproval of their marriage. Dana and Kevin where so happy that they where going to get married even though Dana was scared to tell the family because she did not know how they where going to react to the news. But naturally, Kevin’s initial excitement had led him to share the exciting news with his sister, although Dana tried her best to brace him for the worst reaction. When Kevin told his sister about him wanting to marry Dana she was not happy she did not want him to marry her because she was black and he was white. But in reality she does not really care it is Kevin’s sister husband who is telling her that is wrong for them to get married. “There’s no reason for her to react this way. She didn’t even believe the garbage she was handing me or she didn’t used to it’s as though she is quoting someone else her husband” (kindred 110) he clearly wasn’t expecting the response he received. “I thought I knew her...I mean I did know her. But I guess we’ve lost touch more than I thought” (Butler 110). Predictably, Dana’s relative’s reactions were similar in nature to Kevin’s sister. Dana’s aunt expressed slightly more approval than her husband Dana uncle did not want her to marry Kevin because he was white. Her uncle wanted her to marry one of her own race. Her uncle was a man of his generation “it’s as though I’ve rejected him” (Butler 111). He was more hurt by it than mad by the situation. Another reason why he does not want Dana to marry Kevin is because he does not want the land that he and his past generation to fall in the hands of a white man “the last thing my uncle said to me was that he’d rather will them to his church than leave them to me and see them fall into whit hand” (Butler 112) In spite of family’s disapproval, the couple remained devoted to one another. Dana looked at Kevin and announced, “I’m marrying you” (Butler 111). That in spite of everyone’s opinions or opposition they never lost sight of how they felt about one another or let their commitment deviate from the other. Thus making their marriage stronger
The second obstacle Dana and Kevin had to over come was Dana’s ability to time travel. Dana in the novel has the ability to time travel which at times would keep her and Kevin apart for years. The first time Dana travel to the past was when she needed to save a young boy named Rufus who would turn out to be her ancestor. When she came back she as well as Kevin where shocked they did know what happened want did know what to think. As Dana was telling him the story he didn’t know what to believe. He was worried about her because he did not know what happened to her. At one point he even questions her sanity. Throughout the novel Dana realizes that she only time travel when Rufus is in trouble. On one of her travel Kevin get a chance to go with Dana back in time. He and Dana managed to get separated for five years. Five years is a lot for a marriage to take but they still thought about each other. “I realized that I knew less about loneliness than I thought - and much less than I would know when he went away.”(Butler 57) While Kevin was separated he tried to free slaves. Dana would write him letters in hopes of finding him and getting back to him. After Kevin receives a letter from Tom Weylin saying that Dana is working on his plantation Kevin goes back to Dana. This shows that Kevin still love Dana and cares for her thus making there marriage stronger. Five years is a long time to be apart Kevin and Dana could have fallen out of love and found someone else. Apart of them being separated through out the time travel the racism and prejudice that couple endures in the 17th century is harsh in comparison to the 1970’s. The incidence in there time travel involved a conversation between Tom Weylin, Rufus’ father and Kevin, where Kevin explained to Dana that “Weylin was warning me that it was dangerous to keep a slave like you educated, maybe kidnapped from a free state as far north...He said I ought to sell you...before you ran away and I lost my investment” (Butler 80). Dana and Kevin make some cultural adjustments due to the era and engage in minor role playing but the couple hardly digests their roles. Dana explains “And I began to realize why Kevin and I had fit so easily into the time. We weren’t really in. We were observers watching a show...We never really got into our roles. We never forgot that we were acting” (Butler 98). The racism they faced together in 1976 was significantly mild compared to what they received in the early 17th century due to the customs and the institution of slavery; however there are some major parallels between the two eras. The final obstacle that Dana and Kevin had to over come was Kevin interferences with their marriage. The first time that Dana meets Rufus when she had to save him as a child. Since Dana has seen Rufus grow up she had a soft spot for Rufus and no matter how badly he treated her or all of the threats she always managed to forgive him. “He had already found the way to control me by threatening others.” (Butler 169) When Kevin and Dana go back home he see that she has bruises that she has on her body Kevin would assume that Kevin had hurt her but in reality it was Rufus father who would beat Dana when she would disobey. Eventually Kevin comes to question Dana and Rufus relationship. He even asked her if Rufus has tried to rape her Dana tells him no he would not dare and touch her. Kevin in a way does not want to believe her and tries to convince her to kill Rufus. He partly asks her to kill him because of the thing he has done to her and in a way Kevin is jealous of him and the relationship he and Dana have. At fist Dana thinks about killing him. During her last travel Rufus tried to rape Dana which made Dana question what would happen if he did rape would she just simply forgive him like she always does. Dana eventually kills him by Dana killing Rufus she is in a way free does not have to travel she can be normal it also proves that she is loyal to Kevin and wants to he happy with Kevin. By her action of killing Rufus she removed the biggest obstacle in their marriage making it stronger Despite the major obstacles in both eras, the couple’s dedication and commitment to each other helped them to overcome the tribulations that they endured together in both eras. Their experiences together literally cemented their bond and brought them closer to each other. At one point, the couple lost touch for eight days in 1976, which translated into five years in the 1800‘s. They were separated with little hope of seeing each other but Dana never lost hope, “I began to believe I would see him again” (Butler 140). Amid the racism and prejudice they were able to rely on their love for each other to carry them through the darkest and most despondent hours.