In Octavia Butler’s novel, Kindred, the main character Dana Franklin lives in the 1970s, is sent time and time again into the past to a plantation tended to by slaves in 1815 in Maryland. She gets to see slavery first hand and the brutality that the slaves went through in the hands of the slave owners. Through the experience, she learns the meaning of survival as she is forced to experience the harsh world while at the same time fighting to survive. She has to take numerous risks to survive and go back to her world, which proves to be a much more comfortable existence. Survival is a major theme throughout the novel as it is the only option not only for Dana but also for other characters in the story.
In the 1970s, Dana lived a life of freedom, and it is only natural that she would want to return to it. In her world, she is educated, and slavery no longer exists. She travels back in time where people with the same color of skin as hers are treated in a degrading manner in a society dominated by the white. The entire novel is based on what a black woman who grew up with rights and education has to do to survive. The story begins with Dana saving Rufus from drowning, but when Rufus’s parents appear, they accuse her of trying to kill the boy. The father shoots at her, and that is when Dana is transported back to her world (14). This is the first time that Dana comes face to face with death and survives.
“I turned, startled, and found myself looking down the barrel of the longest rifle I had ever seen, I heard a metallic click, and I froze, thinking I was going to be short for saving the boy’s life. I was going to die” (14).
Violence is recurrent throughout the story where any act of disobedience; however, small is met with acts of violence. Dana, the main character, seems to accept the acts of violence as this is the norm at the time. For her to survive and serve her purpose, she has to take violence being inflicted on her. She witnesses other slaves being whipped, and this encourages her to follow the rules and avoid mistakes from fear of being beaten. “The whipping served its purpose as far as I was concerned. It scared me, made me wonder how long it would be before I made a mistake and give someone a reason to whip me” (92). The violence has harsh mental effects on Dana and also on the victims marking it as a symbol of the life of a slave. The fear of the whipping was a powerful tool as it prevented any rebellion, even in Dana, who had not grown up in such an environment.
The fear in the slaves mostly brought about by the violence inflicted makes it hard for the slaves to commit any actions though beneficial to them would cause any conflict and lead to violence. This becomes their way of survival whereby, for instance, Nigel explains that his Aunt Sarah won’t let Carrie learn reading or writing out of fear.
“Aunt Sarah’s afraid for her to learn…. Afraid if she learns she might get caught at it, then be whipped or sold” (104). Fear is a common theme throughout the story, and while one may think it as weak, it is also a means of survival. The slaves have learned what makes them get sold or whipped. They know what the masters deem to be mistaken, and through their fear, they avoid engaging in such actions to prevent any violence and ensure that they survive. In this case, Carrie is deaf and dumb, and this makes her undesirable for sale. However, if she learned to read or write, then it means that she could be sold thus separated from her family.
Dana has to live as a slave to survive, but also her interactions with the other slaves help her survive. Since she lives as a slave, she eats and sleeps in close proximity to them, and therefore she can talk ad pick up on various ways in which they survive. “I liked to listen to them sometimes talk and fight my way through their accents to fund out more about how they survived lives of slavery. Without knowing it, they prepared me to survive” (94). This is crucial because Dana had ever been a slave and the information she had was mainly learnt and not experienced. Through interactions with other slaves, and listening to their stories, she learnt what was required for her to survive.
Throughout the story, it is evident that Dana has to find ways to survive so that she can eventually get back to her life. Her survival entails living her life as a slave, ensuring she follows the rules expected of slaves. The slaves themselves live a similar life avoiding education for their children as this would be seen as a betrayal by the slave owner and warrant infliction of violence. The book depicts graphic scenes of violence, which give the reader a great depiction of the life of the slaves and what they had to undergo to survive.