Being inspired by the two blogs I have just commented on, I have come to the conclusion that the aspect of time travel in the novel Kindred just becomes sort of useless, and may even take away from the novel. I understand that in order to create this story, the author had to come up with some method to get the main character from one point in time to a later point in history in order to save Rufus and insure her exsistence, but thats my problem. SHE ALREADY EXSIST. I used the quote as my title because it shows how the past has obviously already worked out to Dana's favor.
I am not saying time travel is all together a useless aspect, but to the logical reader like myself, things don't add up in Kindred. She is born with two, but leads the past with one? Wouldn't you say somethings missing?
I think I might be the only person that enjoys pondering over things like the thought experiment of time travel, but then again, I've always had a thing for paradoxes.
ReplyDeleteSo Dana already exists, and we know that she "ensures" her existance by this fact. Who cares? We may already know point B, but we don't know what the road looked like to get there.
I'm sure you've read a historical fiction novel before, and you learned in history class how it was going to end, but it was still a fun read. Kindred is kind of bitter sweet in that we know Dana's efforts are both successful and futile and completely determined.
And now, because we know Dana's "past" we are able to see how she became the person she is in the present (future?). For instance, she wrote for Rufus in the 1800's and in her present time, she is a writer. Before she was ever concieved, she was writing, so it's natural she would become a writer.
On the subject of the missing arm, in her own time, because the event was innetiated in the past, at the moment she reimmerged from the 1800's her arm would have become trapped in the wall. How would this be explained if not for time travel?
I too did not particularly appreciate the time travel in Kindred. I think it was really a reach. There could have been other ways to relay the story. I feel that the author brought in a sci-fi aspect to a historical fiction novel for no point at all. I think a flash back or a story-telling plot would have been much more affective in that it would not have dis-credited the actuality of the story right off the bat.
ReplyDeleteI honestly wouldn't say anything is missing. I like how the story didn't really add up - it leaves you wondering about the novel even after you close the book. The story sticks with you, even pisses you off, but that's what makes it a good story.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm not saying you can just write anything without any sense to it and call it great literature. I just think Octavia Butler took the science fiction aspect to a concept we could understand, yet still question. The idea of time travel is nothing new to us, yet finding its purpose raises questions and concerns. I just think Butler left the right amount out of the story to leave us with the questions we should be asking.
To the Shoeless Bro, I feel like you pointed out what annoys me the most about Kindred, which was the combining of what seems to historical fiction with sci-fi...Thanks!
ReplyDeleteTo others, it may be a who cares kind of aspect. I am not saying the novel wasn't successful at all. For me as the reader however, it just didn't add up.