Since I was sick on Tuesday and missed the workshop group discussions on the Kindred reading guide, I figured I would use the blog to voice some ideas I had on a particular question I found intriguing.
Question #17, “Why does Butler give Tom Weylin a redeeming characteristic instead of letting him be a stereotypical slave owner,” reminded me of our discussions of ambiguity in Cat’s Cradle. Vonnegut showed that one thing, in particular religion and science, are not wholly evil or good. But rather, everything has shades of gray. A similar concept can be applied to Tom Weylin. Stereotypes tend to oversimplify situations and definitions. They take dominant traits and apply them to everything, leaving no space to not be a stereotype. However, there are always exceptions to the rule on a general and personal level. In Kindred, Butler explores this idea with respect to slavery. Yes, slave owners maltreated their slaves, as we explicitly read about, and lived by a very different moral standard (one that is immoral today). But, I’m sure that there were also moments of humility as noted in the question. Although these small gestures fall in comparison to the evil that has been done, they are there. By not having Tom and Rufus completely be a stereotype, Butler humanizes them and makes the novel feel more real because in reality no one is a complete stereotype. In fact, I found it hard to relate and sympathize with Kevin because he seemed somewhat stereotypically “a good guy.” The moments where he slips are the ones that catch our attention, but Butler never goes farther in developing this darker side of him.
I actually wrote this question, so I am glad you find it intriguing. This is the kind of answer I was looking for, that Butler was trying to break the stereotype. To go even further, I think that Butler wanted us to be able to relate to Tom Weylin and recognize him as being human.
ReplyDeleteTo prevent history from repeating itself, we need to understand why it happened. We need to recognize that slave owners, as horrible as their actions were, were humans like us. They were not acting out of the evil they were born with, but the attitudes and practices of the day. They learned from the society they were brought up in, and many did not even realize that what they were doing was wrong.
I think that Butler wants us to recognize the power that our society has over our beliefs and be wary of it. As we can see from Dana and Kevin’s relationship, and their families’ reactions to their intended marriage, race and gender equality is still an issue in our society today. We cannot blindly accept the beliefs of our family and community without questioning them.
I like your connection to Cat's Cradle. I had not really thought about it until now, but the two novels have a lot of similar themes. The shades of gray of religion, science, and racial inequality are something we all struggle with in some way and I think both Vonnegut and Butler do a good job in showing several different perspectives of those problems. Making Tom Weylin someone we can feel for and connect with paints a friendlier face on a dark part of history--something most people would refuse to ever consider--thus, teaching us the lesson that the line between good and evil is nonexistent. Everyone and everything has a little bit of both.
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