How Dana’s Influence Fails in Kindred by Octavia Butler
In Octavia Butler's Kindred, Dana introduces Rufus to her 20th century ideas of romance that causes Rufus to be a morally inferior individual. From Dana’s second trip to the past, Rufus has been influenced from witnessing Dana and Kevin’s healthy interracial relationship, and tries to morph a 19th century slave-master relationship into what he has witnessed from Dana’s "Utopia". Not only does Dana's relationship with Kevin facilitate Rufus's behavior, but Dana needs Alice to birth Rufus's child, so deep down she knows that somehow, at some point, Rufus has to get Alice pregnant for her to exist. Throughout all of Dana and Kevin's trips to the Weylin plantation, Rufus is exposed to a new dynamic that doesn't exist in 19th century America. His views on relationships begin to shift due the new presence of a interracial relationship, but also Dana's direct influence on him. This direct influence, Dana actively exposing Rufus to modern vi...