The author of Kindred uses “the parable of the sower” to explain how the slavery of the Africans-Americans came about in the plantations during the colonial period, and how slavery has impacted the relationship between the native Americans and the African-American in the modern lifestyles. There is still racial discrimination in America, where the black communities have fewer privileges compared to the whites and are subject to social, cultural and political insubordinations (Hampton 99). Dana and Rufus bring out the theme of violence and collective history is in the novel ‘Kindred’ by Octavia Butler. Dana is a black lady who marries a white man and they face contempt from the whites. She struggles against violence of the white community and the tight relationship she has with the Rufus’ family. She perceives herself as being lesser than the whites, and a victim of blame under the ruling class. In one of the encounters with Rufus, she is an object of pleasure as Rufus attempts to sleep with her. Luckily, she escapes. In addition, the collective history of slavery still lives among the black community at the present time. Rufus perpetrates violence to his slaves and even to Dana. He portrays collective dominance of the white community through beating up slaves, selling them and referring them as “niggers” (Butler, 36). Racism is a label for individuals who view the white color to be superior to the black color in mental innovation and creativity, but does not apply to the whole group (Scheurich, 121). The paper discusses the theme of violence and collective history in reference to characters Dana and Rufus.

Violence refers to the intentional use of extreme insults or provocations, against another person and is intended to gain control (Ray, 6). The quote ‘nigger’ has been widely used by the white men when punishing and giving authority to the black community. Dana is a protagonist in the novel and she faces a lot of violence that emanates from the white community since she is African-American. The theme of violence is evident among the white rulers who oppress the black slaves working on their farms. For example, in an attempt to save a small red-haired boy drowning near a river- Rufus, his mother screams at Dana and when the father arrives, he points a gun to terrify her. Rufus points the blame to Dana since she is black (Butler 14). The river is symbolic of the beginning of the predicament that befalls Dana. The river introduces to the reader the first act of violence that is waged on Dana by the white man after she saves Rufus, after drowning in the river. The author uses the technique of tone variation among the white community to express the contempt they had for the black community. In an angry tone, the man refers to Dana as the ‘devil’ as he points the long barrel gun at her (Butler 6). The author advances the plot in the novel by use of the style of flashback. Dana flashbacks to 1815 in Maryland, where the white men try to rape her when she comes out of her hiding place to help Alice’s mother. The white oppressors called the black slaves as ‘niggers,’ identified by Butler, (41), when one of the white men comes to their house and calls Dana as a maiden nigger, to symbolize her being color and as a slave to her master’s- the whites. Rufus admits that his mother calls black people niggers and he is compliant to the term for the whites perceived that the blacks should be the oppressed (Butler, 25). In another flashback when Dana recounts how she met with her husband Kelvin, who is white, the coworkers view the relationship to be awkward for a black woman was not to marry to the colonial masters. They perceived Dana’s relationship with Kelvin to be provoking the order of the power relationship between the servants and the masters. However, Dana’s marriage is successful since they endure slavery as part of their life from the menial paying job they were doing (Butler 52). Rufus portrays an act of violence when he attempts to rape a black woman-Alice; a culture that was encouraged by the white community to manifest their power of oppression (Butler, 117). Rufus, when defending himself, uses a command tone that he ‘wants’ Alice and her husband to be sold way to avoid further confrontations.

Rufus supports senior white men to be usinga condescending word against the blacks when he says, ‘why not call black people niggers’ (Butler, 25). The white master of the plantation raises Rufus showing no appreciation for the black people. Rufus sells Sam, a slave working in the plantation as a punishment for flirting with Dana and hits Dana when she tries to intervene. Rufus oppresses Dana and the other workers by making sure they did not interact. Despite having a black concubine, and bearing four children with her and Rufus forcefully wants to sleep with Dana (Butler, 236). The author uses the style of flashback to teleport Dana back to her home with her husband after spending eight months in the plantation. The flashback to the plantation represents the end of oppression and prejudice against the blacks. Dana uses the guilt in Rufus to free Alice children after she hangs herself with a rope. The rope symbolizes freedom from oppression and Rufus dies in his house after it catches fire (Butler, 239).

Collective history is used in the Kindred novel to refer a pool of information shared held by members of a certain group.The white men used derogative terms such as ‘the devil’ to refer to the black community and the culture originated from the white community during the colonial period. African-Americans share the concept through the ancestral generations in America from the slavery period, and the memory has acquired through historical consciousness and education (Fulton, Minor, 2). In spite of the social discrimination of the whites against the black community, Dana suspects Rufus share the same collective history when he mentions Weylin. As a result, she assisted in freeing black slaves at Alice Greenwood home (Butler, 28). The whites perceived Dana and the black community as not human, but slaves. Furthermore, the blacks collectively saw themselves as being lesser than their superior and the theme manifests itself when Dana surprises them by marrying a white man (Butler, 50). Rufus and the white community identified themselves as having superior qualities compared to the blacks’ skin, which they perceived it symbolized the dirt. For instance, even after Dana had put out the fire, Rufus persistently called her by the name nigger because of her black skin (Butler, 25). The white masters collectively used command tones to oppress the black and make them do whatever they wanted. As cited by Butler, (36), one of the white men riding horses raped a black woman in the bush with disregard for their violent tones he was using words as ‘shut your mouth.’ In addition, they viciously whipped a black man who found in the cabin slaves. The whipping of a slave was a collective behavior of the white colonials to intimidate and pass command to the slaves. Those slaves who disobeyed their masters, they were mauled and fed to the dogs. They worked for long hours in the plantation farms, and their meal was only food scraps. The whites propagated collective behavior of colonialism in a number of ways. Rufus, for example, mistreated his servant, and he could sell those who disappointed them. Rufus and the other white man practiced a culture of buying and selling slaves; however they wanted, and whenever they wished. Rufus sold some of his slaves, including his concubine just because he admired Dana, who was taking care of his ailing mother (Butler, 263). The author uses the flashback style to travel Dana back in time after the brutal experience in the plantation. Dana brings out the theme of collective history in the present American lifestyle on a newspaper that explains what happened to the slaves and the Rufus death. She endures pain that traces back to the collective history of Africa- American slavery from the colonial period (Butler, 264).

In sum, racial discrimination is evident through the use of violence. Dana calls out her name and says, ‘I am free woman’, to symbolizethe liberation of the black people from the chains of colonial discrimination. The American culture continues to struggle with racial discrimination, which is a huge social problem. Butler’s novel has captured the social, racial discrimination of the blacks by the whites very well. The themes of violence and collective history are evident throughout the novel. The characters Rufus and Dana have been used very well by the author to bring out these themes. The author has succeeded in portraying the dark side of the then American society.

Works cited

Butler, Octavia. Kindred. Boston: Beacon Press. 2004. Print.

Fulton, DoVeanna S and DoVeanna S. Fulton Minor.Speaking Power: Black Feminist Orality in

Women’s Narratives of Slavery. New York, NY: SUNY Press, 2012. Print.

Hampton, Gregory Jerome. Changing Bodies in the Fiction of Octavia Butler: Slaves, Aliens,

and Vampires. Forbes Boulevard: Lexington Books, 2010. Print.

Ray, Larry. Violence and Society. Oliver’s Yard:Sage. 2011. Print.

Scheurich, James.Research Method in the Postmodern. Abingdon: Routledge, 2014. Print.

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