When Dana and Kevin time travel together, they quickly take up their new roles in this alien society. Although we have recently learned that Kevin helped slaves escape, in the earlier parts of the book Butler dropped some hints at Kevin becoming racist. On page 109, the reader sees how Kevin wants Dana to essentially become his secretary and type his manuscripts for him. He repeatedly asks Dana to do this for him, even though it clearly makes her uncomfortable, showing Kevin’s ignorance. Another example of Kevin’s ignorance is when he was living on the Weylin plantation, where he says that slavery is not that bad and how he would love to experience the building of the American West. He is not aware of the brutal whippings, beatings, and punishments slaves get because he is a white man so nobody is telling him to come outside and see what happens to slaves. Fortunately, Kevin does not turn racist, but it does make the reader wonder about the possibility of somebody turning into a far worse person. As we discussed in class, at what point do roles turn into reality?
Dana was not a violent person, rather she was squeamish about violence, but when the patroller attacked her, she realized that her squeamishness was for another age. She could have jabbed out the patroller’s eyes but could not bring herself to, which is when she realizes that was a fatal mistake. She goes back to the past but tries to jab out Kevin’s eyes, as she mistakes him for the patroller. This shows how quickly one can change when thrust into the circumstances of the past. Dana now had no hesitation trying to jab one’s eyes out in self-defense. This comes full circle at the end of the book, when Dana kills Rufus. She was in the same exact circumstance as she was in the beginning of the book but now the person who committed this horrible act was somebody related to her, somebody who Dana had been ambivalent towards the entire book. She kills Rufus in self-defense, and this leads to another example of how she changed: losing her arm. This is mentioned in the first few pages and Butler spends the entire book explaining everything that happened for that to occur. Obviously, Dana losing her arm is a physical and permanent representation of her experiences in the 1800s. She had gotten scars from whippings in the past but losing an entire arm for the rest of her life serves to show how a part of Dana will forever be stuck in the 1800s.
Considering that time travel is a work of fiction, it's intriguing to consider how different people would be affected by it. But you also give Dana and Rufus an informative analysis of how their personalities changed both before and after they started their time-traveling travels. You particularly noted how Dana's voyage back to the 1800s made her less innocent and defensive and how Kevin started to exhibit certain "racist" traits, which prove to be significant changes to both characters. Overall, nice post!
ReplyDeleteInteresting blog post. Dana's loss of arm is definitely the first example most people would think about when referring to change due to time travel, but the mental aspect is also important and must be considered. It greatly affected both Dana's and Kevin's mindset, and one might even argue Rufus' as he was exposed to new ideas from the 1970's (even if it did not stop him from committing terrible crimes). Good job!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post Rohail. I completely agree with you, and Dana's change in personality is a great example. Going from a peaceful person to someone that is always on edge, Dana is constantly worried of if she will need to kill someone in order to defend herself; something she never needed to worry about when she was in the present. Rufus' ignorance throughout the novel is also a great example. Good job Rohail!
ReplyDeleteI really think this is a crucial set of hypothetical questions for anyone to contemplate--and it's maybe fortunate for us that we're in no danger of actually being tested anytime soon. But I'm always reminded, when I read this novel, how EASY it is for any of us to assume that WE would be the exception, WE would be on the "right side of history," WE have some deep, inner core of identity that could never be racist or exploitative no matter what system we are living under. And we do truly wish and desire for this to be the case. And it's sure convenient that our presumptions won't be tested.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of Kevin, it maybe is a good thing that he only has to occupy the "slave-owner" role for a short time. If he and Dana had to continue role-playing as slave and master for FIVE YEARS, is it possible that even relatively chill Kev could become more racist? Is it a matter of power corrupting? The role becoming the reality? In the text, once he's left alone, he DOES seem to summon his 20th-century concept of self, and these values inform his actions--he agitates for abolition and participates in the Underground Railroad.
But the reader is aware that these are merely his 20th century values coming out--he hasn't been shaped as fully by the 19th century environment yet. Kevin isn't "inherently" racist or anti-racist; his culturally sanctioned 1976 anti-racism is intact, and he acts on those culturally constructed values. The novel strongly suggests that, under different circumstances, he might have turned out differently.
What would Rufus be like if Dana could transport him, as a five-year-old, to 1976 to be raised in her environment? Is Rufus inherently racist, or do we see a neutral individual who is raised to take on all the privileges and responsibilities that his social context affords him? And would any of us do any differently, all things being equal?
I agree that there are definitely a lot of scars, both physical and mental, that Dana takes back with her to the present from the past and it is very clear how she changes through experiencing this time. I think it would be interesting thinking about how significant this is to the sort of symbolic role she has of a historian exploring and studying the past. To play with your title, how does historical study change people?
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see how, while Butler seems to hint at Kevin becoming negatively influenced by the values of the 19th century, and even including Dana's narrative with her worries of Kevin changing, Kevin doesn't fall victim to a character change like Rufus. In fact, throughout his 5 years apart, he actually helps slaves escape and participates in the Underground Railroad. I think it's interesting to question why Butler would go into the trouble of hinting at evident warning signs of Kevin turning corrupt, yet he remains relatively "normal" by the end of the novel.
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