Character Analysis Of Rufus In 'Kindred'

Being the member of African American community, Dana maintained serious reservations for the whites. But she is astonished to find his community members praising and admiring the ways adopted by his ancestors Tom Weylin and his son Rufus. However, she is surprised to note that the black community rebukes and censures Tom and Rufus in their absence and mock at the ways adopted by the Weylins while crushing the Blacks. (The Storm, XI)

Rufus Weylin; a character first perceived as a young, curious and innocent boy, turns in to an over-obsessive and miserable tyrant. In Octavia Butler 's novel _Kindred_, the book revolves around the horrors of slavery in the United States in the early eighteen hundreds. White characters are given absolute power and control over black characters, and treat them like animals, making them live a long life of misery and unhappiness. As _Kindred_ unfolds, it becomes clear that Rufus turns in to a stereotypical slave owner and abuser. With every trip that Dana makes back to Rufus, there is a clear distinction of changes in his personality. He becomes more evil, over-obsessive and cruel as he gets older. In fact, he becomes very much like his

Multiple stereotypes about African Americans arose from slavery during the 19th century including: The Uncle, the Auntie, Sambo, the coon, and the pickaninny. However, there were other stereotypes, including the Mammy and the Jezebel, that were specifically directed at black women. These degrading stereotypes are illustrated in Octavia Butler’s novel and comic book, Kindred, by attributing female characters with various traits that typically accompany these stereotypes. Thus, this essay will discuss the ways in which each prominent female character either embodied or challenged the characteristics that coincide with those two stereotypes. Sarah is a character who most obviously typifies the Mammy stereotype.

Furthermore, a theme in this novel that recurs is the theme of power. In this novel power is seen when Dana gets transported back in time to Maryland in the 1800’s because in that time it was a white patriarchal society. Which means that white men had all of the power in society and could do as they please. As well as own slaves because slavery was accepted within that time period. At one point Dana states in her inner monologue “Someday Rufus would own the plantation. Someday, he would be the slaveholder, responsible in his own right for what happened to the people who lived in those half-hidden cabins. The boy was literally growing up as I watched—growing up because I watched and because I helped to keep him safe. I was the worst

He isn’t yet tainted by the overwhelming ideology that his skin color alone gives him authority, making all African American people inferior to him. During her third trip to the Weylin plantation Dana considers, “…I would try to keep friendship with him , maybe plant a few ideas in his mind that would help both me and the people who would be his slaves in the years to come” (68). He listens to her as a child even though her conversations about freedom for blacks, interracial marriage and coming from 1976 seem unbelievable. At that time Rufus is subjugated by his father through demoralization, whippings and lack of feelings of love from a parent. In contrast Dana shows compassion balanced with authority and she is his savior who comes to his rescue whenever he’s in danger.

Fictional writers often write about the human condition as a way to connect with readers who contain narrow knowledge. In fictional books, characters are given emotion and senses like any other actual person, which can make the reader relate quicker in detail unlike factual novels. In other words, readers gain a new perspective on a period of time by examining a fiction novel. Ironically, some argue fiction can educate us about part of our life by enabling us to relate and empathize. I am certain that many people can learn factual items in fictional stories. In Kindred, by Octavia Butler, the near death experiences of Rufus Weylin transported an African American woman named Dana from 1976, to the antebellum south to gain an unbelievable experience of what it is like to have been a slave. Through her daily life on the Weylin plantation, the reader begins to understand just how complicated slavery is and how it affects both the slaves and the plantation owners. This novel gave a new definition of reality and a new meaning of the 19th century exploitation practice.

Lastly, violence in Kindred was used to show how the treatment of slaves was used to dehumanize and put down blacks. In a society where a slave owner had absolute power over its “property”, the importance of a slave’s life was greatly disregarded. Butler used this notion and violence to show how in the eyes of whites, slaves were subhuman. Thusly, they had no rights, and received extremely unlucky treatment. When traveling to the 1800’s as a black women, Dana stated that in that time “there was no shame in raping a black woman,

     As, Rufus grows older he becomes more offensive , brutal, and vicious. To begin with Tom Weylin’s hatred for his as a little child had turned him this way . For example, when Tom hit Rufus for stealing a dollar from him and Rufus tried to get back at him by burning the draperies. Rufus "He said I took money from his desk, and I said I didn’t. He said I was calling him a liar, and he hit me. Several times" (Pg. 26). Also, Rufus started to deal with his anger by punishing other people like his slaves. Like the time when Rufus blamed Dana for his fathers death and sent her to fields, and also got her whipped. "I guess I just had to make somebody pay. And it seemed that… well, people don’t die when you’re taking care of them" (Pg. 216). Finally, Rufus had really shown his vicious side to Dana.

As Rufus became older, his arrogance worsened; therefore, violence became his primary approach when he failed to get his way. This lead to more problematic situations for Dana. For example, Rufus was greatly depending on Dana to save his father, Tom Weylin, when he was dying of a heart attack and when she failed to save him, Rufus took his anger out by shifting to violence and punishing Dana. She could not have done anything about his father’s death. Although, Rufus still had to be violent as he failed to get his way; therefore, her punishment was to work in the fields, where she constantly “fell to [her] knees and doubled over in a blaze of pain. Tears ran down [her] face.” (212). Rufus’ servant had tortured Dana by whipping her over and over again to a point where she could not bear it anymore. In summary, Rufus was unsure of how to deal situations, where he did not get what he wanted, without demonstrating some act of

Many people are not aware about the struggles slaves faced back in the day. In the 1800s slaves only knew a couple things like don’t talk back to your master, don’t run away, and don’t disobey your master. Many older slaves did know better, they kept to themselves, and they did their work. Watching beatings go on was a normal thing to some slaves. What happens when a child is not born into slavery, suddenly becomes a slave? Octavia Butler explores this question by using Dana in the novel, Kindred. Dana isn’t born into slavery, but she is sent back in time to the Antebellum South back in the 1800s where slavery was still a thing. Dana is sent back in time to many points of one of her relatives life, Rufus Weylin. Dana sees Rufus at an older age each time she is sent back to him, but each time he is in some trouble. In the novel Kindred, by Octavia Butler, Dana’s many scary explorations in the South the idea portray the idea that risky and scary decisions often must be made in order to survive.

In the novel Kindred, by Octavia Butler, the main character Dana is exposed to the brutality and exhausting existence inflicted on slaves in the 1800’s. Through intentionally suppressive measures, slave owners used a series of methods to control and manipulate an entire race of people into submission. Dana describes this process as dulling and her experiences haunt her as she is slowly broken down. “See how easily slave are made?” (Butler 177) her thoughts say; this is Butler attempting to illustrate how it was nearly impossible for the enslaved people to change their situation and fight for freedom. Contemporary people didn’t understand why the slaves didn’t rise up and revolt against the whites, so Butler puts Dana through conditions that eventually show her and the audience it wasn’t that easy. The slaves were too tired to revolt, too broken to fight back, and too connected to each other to leave; thus giving the repulsive entitled whites the ability to continue their disgraceful contempt for human decency. By means of labor and sensational punishment, family ties, surveillance that included slave hierarchy; dreams of revolutions and freedom were overpowered and even Dana becomes complacent accepting the role of slave.

The restricted access to power causes Margret and the younger Rufus to act out in any way that they can. Margret lacks the ability to have any real say in what happens in the plantation, she can’t tell her husband how to treat their son or manage the money, she feels the contempt that even the slaves hold toward her, a result of being born into a lower class. As a result, Margret zealously holds what power she does have over the house slaves. She constantly micromanages their every act, showing up and showing off the little power she holds. Her inability to punish her husband for his unfaithful ways drives her to punish the children produced by the affairs. Rufus also acts out against his father, committing arson in an attempt to punish Tom Welyn for beatings and refusals to cede to the wishes of the young boy. There is no other way to fight back against his abuse, no social serves to appeal to and his mother can’t protect him, so he used his access to fire in an attempt to gain some control. Liza lashes out against Dana by ratting on her when the attempt to run is made. Liza didn’t have the power to act against Alice (who she hated), so she used what she could to cause pain any way she could. Even Alice relishes in the little power that she holds over Dana. Alice cannot control anything else in her life, not even who she sleeps with—and so she frequently lashes out at Dana, extorting her miniscule

Douglass illustrates throughout his novel the dehumanizing effects that slavery has on its primary victims through the restriction of their human expression, bestowing upon them animal-like qualities, and creating an aversion to freedom. Additionally, not only were slaves transformed into brutes, their owners were transformed into cruel beasts through the application of double standards and the corruption of their innocence. However, Douglass’s work humanizes the enslaved population by demonstrating his ability to utilize meaningful and artistic prose through his usage of constructive parallel structure, tangible personification, expressive symbolism, and tactful diction.

Throughout history, language has always been an important way to communicate with others. But do not abuse language to manipulate, threaten or demoralize others. Many characters in the novel show the importance of knowledge and the power of language. In the novel Kindred, Octavia Butler explores this topic through Dana, a black woman, and her white ancestor, Rufus Weylin. She describes the class difference, and the amount of power the language is used in the novel. Rufus is Dana’s ancestor but also a slaveholder in the 1800’s. Each time Dana goes back into the 1800’s to save Rufus, she learns the hardships of being black, and the struggles. The readers meet Dana Franklin, the main character, in the beginning of the novel. Dana shows the readers

But Douglass wanted them to understand that slavery turns kind-hearted people cold. Mrs. Auld was once a nice person but her personality changed under the influence of slavery. Douglass writes, “ That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage, that voice, made all of sweet accord, changed to one harsh and horrid discord…” ( Chapter 6 Page 19 ) In the text it also states, “Master, however, was not a humane slaveholder.