The Novel: Kindred by Octavia Butler - Term Paper Example

“Kindred” by Octavia Butler In Butler’s novel, the theme of family has been widely used as a force that unites the characters in the novel from those who have the intent of oppressing them. Well said, family as we all know functions to protect their members and a perfect example would be a case of a mother and a child or a father and his family. As portrayed by the Weylins, theirs is a close tie which gives them an enviable voice over slaves working for them in various sectors. This points out the inherent fear experienced within the rank and file of slaves, which pits them against their wishes by being taken away and sold to far away lands or individuals where they have to start life anew and have to start afresh in understanding the new environment and making new friends and acquaintances not to mention having also to face new and strange challenges that may require a tad extra effort in order to impress their protagonist. On the other hand, the relationship which exists between the slaves and their families is strong and also surmountable, in the sense that they try very hard as much as they can afford within the circumstances not to suffer the ignominy of having to be separated from their family members by ensuring that they obey all commands and instructions given at their disposal by the Weylins to avoid having to wrongfully be found falling into their bad books and eventually receiving the inevitable tag of having to be sold into slavery even against their wishes. However, for individuals who feel for various reasons that the Weylins have grown to become too much of a nuisance on the very fabric of their life, always ended up being unfortunately separated from those who really and genuinely care about them and that is family. A very good exemplary figure of such individuals who with clarity brings out this contentious point in the novel is Sam who is shamefully sold away into slavery by standing up and committing the sin of disobeying the Weylins rules that barred him from speaking to Dana (Butler 52). Selling him into slavery meant that he had been cut from all his relatives, thus his family and the results were pain and agony of separation of a family member by him and his family. A keen and critical examination of the Weylins reveals and points to their single-most strength invested in family ties that they used in many ways to their advantage in effectively binding the slaves to work on their plantation by putting in the slaves a sense of compulsory servitude, thereby compelling them to work in whatever circumstance for them. Through family ties we see how trust is used as tool in maintaining peace, for example, in the delegation and monitoring of task by to the slaves. The trust, shared among the Weylins enables them to advantageously assume higher grounds of superiority over the slaves because they value and cherish themselves over the slaves in terms of superiority, hence chances of them betray one another are limited and few in between, if not absolutely close to nothing. An example is that the character Nigel is not trusted by the Weylins in any way as the ties existing between them is not close to warrant such trust and therefore insists that to fully accept him as a trusted member of their inner circle, he has to marry and start a family with one of their own in order to create ties that not only bind but which under their terms can qualify to be trusted. This is a logical reason, because by insisting that Nigel marries Carrie, they know they have imprisoned him to the plantation as it is a fact that rarely do we hear of men abandoning their families to seek for refuge in other places where he lacks the comfort and security that a family offers. The aspect of family among the Weylins is based on marriage ties amongst others, as for example we see in the novel that Nigel loves his wife and shows undivided interest in wanting to support them. The character Sarah too due to her emotions towards Carrie cannot leave the plantation and the cycle goes round and round. This gives Weylin comfort because he knows his most treasured possession in the plantation is Carrie as she is the element behind the trust and security the family enjoys. All the loyalties the Weylins in one way or the other emanates from Carrie like for example loyalty displayed by Carri’s husband and Sarah who greatly adores her. A study of the novel reveals how Carrie is dedicated to her work, hence acting as an inspiration to other members like Sarah, who also is motivated to work hard with a notion of protecting Carrie herself. Carrie, serves as an icon to Sarah because it is only icons who posses positive attributes that are emulated in the society. An examination, of Alice in the novel reveals that she too is bounded to the plantation due to family ties. She has her own son living in the plantation to protect, therefore she cannot abandon the place for any other place motivating her and the other members to protect the rights and interest of the place from the outside world more so the slaves (Butler 18). Hers is the case of mothers love to a child as most mothers are always protective of their children and would not take decisions that put the existence or the lives of their children in jeopardy. However; the intricate dynamics in the family ties changes for Alice when Rufus breaks information to her that her children had been sold into slavery. What then has she to gain from the plantation? She abandons the element of family ties by committing suicide as her view that she has no reason in continuing living in the plantation. The act of Rufus selling Alice children into slavery is also enough evidence to show that a he had lost the value of family and was prepared to take the aftermath of his action. In addition, Dana’s loyalty to Rufus is analyzed to be motivated due to the close family ties they share. In spite of receiving all sorts of mistreatments from Rufus, she remains loyal because she knows Rufus bears an important aspect in terms of ancestral origins similar to her thus the irrevocable existence of family connections running between them. Rufus was mentioned to be like a grandfather to her, therefore they were same lineage hence were related by blood. Astonishingly, we see the attempts she tries in saving Rufus as she believes that her salvation is closely tied to his. To the slaves, we see how treasured and valuable family connections are to them and how it becomes a driving point convincing them to continue remaining in the plantations despite having opportunities of leaving the plantation to other locations. Moreover, it is the same family connections which promote their torments as it glues them to the plantation where life is not easy on the hands of the abusers (Butler 108). Family in “The Dust Assassin” by Ian McDonald An analysis of The Dust Assassin by Ian McDonald reveals the role of the theme of family as portrayed by the main characters. We see that as a young growing girl, the character needs direction and the only available party to give these directions is either parents or siblings. However, in her case she receives so much craving for parental care from her Ayah or nanny as put across in the author. Through the novel, we realize that the character missed the important concept of a family and through this she creates a family concept that is built and revolves around the toys she used to play with. Moreover, along the novel she mentions of family symbols and serial number to further lay emphasis at the positions in which she placed family in her life. The Ayah as explained plays a very critical role in explaining the importance and role of a family in a society as they are the foundations through which children nature the values put a cross to govern a society. Conflict as theme is also used to lay critical emphasis on the importance of the family as the character we see resides in constant fear of being attacked by rival families. The machine monkeys mentioned in the novel symbolize the protection one is assured to have when close to family members as the monkeys were the ones offering protection for the character. A reflection of the father is also exhibited by the main character, thus expounding on the theme of family in the novel. In addition, the character gives probable reflections of her mother and marvels at how her life which she thought was perfect was incomplete because of missing the love and care of close family members. The monkey which is used to symbolize the protection of family members is used in the novel to show how the character has been always at the care and concern when closed to family members (McDonald). The characters attempt to follow the symbolic monkey proves at the real attempt top know who her real family members are. This shows how family was important to the character as one cannot pursue what is considered to be of less importance. The family rituals which the character reflects are nothing more than mere reflections of what life looked like when her family was around, but due to the fact that the father considered as the head of the family is no longer there certain practices are no longer meaningful to her because she does not practice them. The steel monkeys, which are used to symbolize family members guide the character to achieve various goals which, when left would not have been possible as through them, she received the needed determination which she required in order to pursue her dreams. However, when she lost hope, she saw an army of machine monkeys frantically beckoning her to follow them. From this analogy, we see the crucial role of family members played by the monkeys in helping individuals to achieve their goals in spite of them being reluctant to achieve the said goals (McDonald). The character through the use of steel monkeys also shows how family members are always open and welcoming even when mistakes are committed. This is witnessed through the characters act or raising his hands and the steel monkey melting away. Moreover, the palace that the character resides in is used to show how protective family members can become to outsiders in an attempt to protect what is theirs. We see that that the place was covered with facades which could not be penetrated by members from the outside world, thus acting as a protective barrier to those inside. The facades symbolize the protection that an individual is assured of in the company of family members due to shared interests. The image of the father and the steel monkeys shows how the individuals uphold the elements of family in the society. The steel monkeys were able to follow the concise instructions of the character’s father because symbolically, there was a close and intimate family tie existing between the father and the monkeys. Moreover, it showed how justified and the extent that family members were ready to go, in order to correct mistakes committed by one of their members. The character is also concerned about the well being of the steel monkey making her display emotions which are seen emanating from in her struggle to not show emotions. This shows how concerned family members were when one of them was in a state of tumult as witnessed by the steel monkeys who tore everything piece by piece when cautioned by an outside party. When the steel monkey was taken away from the character, her life changed for the worse as she felt that a crucial element of her life had been taken away from her. Her father being a close family member was able to realize this and share her pains because he was in a position to understand what her daughter was experiencing and passing through (McDonald). Works Cited Butler, Octavia E. Kindred. Boston: Beacon Press, 2003. Internet resource. McDonald, Ian. Cyberabad Days. Amherst, NY: Pyr, 2009. Internet resource. Read More