The Big S-Word

Well, we did it again. During class Tuesday we managed to avoid talking about the big s-word (it rhymes with the non-existent word flavory) despite the fact that we weren't talking about it was brought up specifically. After noticing this, I began to pay attention to the novel and the use of slavery in it. I wondered why Butler didn't just write a slave novel and decided to write a science fiction novel instead (looking for a larger reason than her simply being a science fiction writer). Then I picked up on how over and over again Dana says that she is not a slave. She says it to Rufus, herself, and even Kevin. She tells herself that she is merely acting the part in order to survive, but that’s not exactly true. Her time travelling makes her a slave. Some larger force orders her around and telling her where to go and when. She is kept in line through the fear of not knowing what will happen if the connection is severed. I believe that Butler uses the time travel as a parallel for actual slavery. Much like we want to avoid talking about it because it makes us uncomfortable to think that something so terrible could have actually happened, Butler approaches slavery from not-so bracing angles as well as head on. By using a parallel she eases her reader in.