"Trained to accept slavery"

In an interview, Octavia E. Butler explains, “Kindred is not science fiction. You’ll note there’s no science in it. It’s a kind of grim fantasy.” Though we may not have cracked the code to time traveling, Butler’s story contains a lot of truth—truth we feel uncomfortable facing and accepting. She mercilessly immerses us into the culture of the antebellum South in 1819—a culture of slavery and cruel discrimination. What struck me most about this journey back in time is how easily Dana and Kevin acclimatize to life on the plantation of a slaveholder. Initially, it would never occur to me that it was even possible to grow accustomed to such a chauvinistic society, but over time the couple finds itself slowly adapting to its new environment.

Upon their arrival, they were forced to take on the roles of slave and slave owner to avoid any dangerous complications with Rufus Weylin’s family—but these actors started getting far too used to their roles. When Tom Weylin catches Dana leaving Kevin’s bedroom early one morning, Dana feels as though she were “really doing something shameful” (Butler 97), despite Kevin being her husband. The pressures of society are conditioning her to accept the restrictions and prejudice she is constantly subjected to. She even confesses, “I never realized how easily people could be trained to accept slavery” (101).

Moreover, the most Dana and Kevin complain about on the plantation is boredom. Kevin complains of the tediousness of having to be sociable with the guests who visit the Weylin plantation, while Dana complains of the boredom of doing mindless household tasks. These seem like the last things someone should be complaining about when trapped back in time on the property of a heartless slaveholder.

When Dana is brought back to the plantation after being home for eight days, she catches herself saying, “Home at last” (126). Calling the plantation where she had been forced to sleep on the floor, live in filth, and be whipped her home was more than a red flag that Dana’s role play was beginning to take over her life. A similar event takes place when Rufus forces Dana to throw her map of Maryland into the fire to avoid getting caught reading again. Rufus assures Dana she can do without the map, “You’ll be all right here. You’re home” (143).

The more Dana and Kevin become a part of the Weylin household, the more they grow accepting of the ignorant ideals of this particular segment of history. What’s worse is through Dana’s first person narrative, we feel as though we are experiencing the hardships of slavery firsthand—in turn, making it all the more believable that over time anyone could be influenced by the pressures of society no matter how unjust. If we were thrown back in time and shoved into the same situation as Dana and Kevin, would we too begin to lose track of our ideals over time?