I really liked Rufus when we were first introduced to him in Kindred. Yes, he had his flaws but in general, he was a humane, compassionate person. Despite being surrounded by the idea that his skin makes him superior to all African American people, his moral sense told him the Alice, Nigel, and Dana were worthy of his respect and friendship. But when he comes into his inheritance and becomes a slave owner, Rufus begins to believe that he has a right to control the lives of others, command punishments and have all of his demands satisfied. He turns on his friends, abusing Alice and treating Nigel as a subordinate, and seeking out to rape Dana.
He often asks others to do his dirty work for him in order to separate himself from the violence of his actions. He sees the pain he inflicts, but rather than changing his behavior, he continues to do harm and then expresses genuine regret after the damage has been done. Despite his occasional flashes of warmth and his tenuous understanding of morality, Rufus is, in the end, MEAN. He's also just selfish and brutal and I've stopped defending him in my mind. He thinks nothing of beating and continually raping women, selling slaves while breaking up families.
Another possible theme that we didn’t touch on class could be that the obtainment of power can cause people to become corrupt and well, just mean. With power comes the desire for more power and the assurance that one deserves all the power one accrues.
No comments:
Post a Comment