Kindred Discussion Questions (p.8-143)
Discussion questions for January 29th
*We will use these questions as starting points for our discussion on TikTok Live, Wednesday, January 28th.*
Loss: Butler opens the narrative with Dana losing her left arm, a shocking and visceral image. How does this opening frame the reader’s expectations for the story? What might the loss of her limb symbolize in terms of identity, agency, and her relationship with history?
Writing: In an interview, Butler mentioned her goal of making readers “feel” the experience of slavery through Kindred. How effectively does the novel achieve this? Can you identify specific moments or scenes where you were immersed in the narrative?
Memory: Consider the concept of memory as a portal in the text. How does Butler use memory to transcend temporal and spatial boundaries? How does this function enhance our understanding of Dana’s journey and the novel’s exploration of history?
Time travel: While Kindred presents Dana’s journey as traveling back into the past, imagine if her travels were into the future instead. How would this change the narrative’s impact, especially if Dana were depicted as a slave moving forward in time? What might this alternate framing reveal about societal progress or continuity?
Ancestry: Dana has the rare opportunity to come face-to-face with her ancestors. Considering the forced dislocation of Black bodies during the Middle Passage, how might this encounter serve as a means of healing or reconnection for her? What significance does this hold within the broader context of the African American experience?
Power: On page 26, Dana observes that Rufus is the one calling her to the past and keeping her there. Why is it significant that this role belongs to a white man in the antebellum South? How does this dynamic reflect larger themes of power, control, and dependency in the novel?
Race: Butler delays revealing Kevin’s race until 50 pages into the story. Why do you think she chose this narrative strategy? How does this delayed revelation impact the reader’s understanding of Dana’s marriage and their dynamic? Were you surprised by this detail, and why might Butler have wanted to provoke this reaction?
Slave Making: The field workers’ children play a ‘game’ that reenacts the events of a slave auction. What does this reveal about the normalization of slavery within the plantation system? How does this scene reflect the ways systemic oppression can be internalized and perpetuated, even by those it harms?
Black Savior?: On p. 68, Dana silently thinks, “The boy was literally growing up as I watched—growing up because I watched and because I helped to keep him safe. I was the worst possible guardian for him—a black to watch over him in a society that considered blacks subhuman, a woman to watch over him in a society that considered women perennial children.” How does her attention to race and gender, here, critique historical beliefs about Black people and women? How might such an admission challenge misguided beliefs?
Interracial Marriage: Dana and Kevin’s marriage takes on a new dynamic in the past, where Dana must assume the role of Kevin’s slave. How does this complicate the portrayal of interracial relationships in the book’s present and their historical context? What does Butler seem to be saying about the lasting impact of history on personal relationships?
Sexual Danger: Dana’s near-r*pe in the antebellum South is a harrowing moment in the narrative. Why does Butler include this scene, especially considering Dana is a woman from a more “progressive” future? How does this moment force readers to confront the intersections of gender, race, and power?
Education: Throughout the novel, Dana often has to educate Kevin about the realities and horrors of slavery, despite his being an adult and her husband. Why do you think Butler gives Dana this role? What does this dynamic reveal about historical ignorance, privilege, and the burden of education in interracial relationships?
I am not sure I will be able to make the live on Wednesday so wanted to contribute some quick thoughts here, in regard to the discussion questions.
Memory
Butler uses memory like a bridge, connecting the present and the past. It’s a way for Dana—and us—to experience history firsthand. This idea of memory as a portal makes history feel alive and personal, showing how the past shapes Dana’s present and deepens the novel’s exploration of generational trauma.
Time Travel
If Dana traveled to the future as a slave, it would shift the focus to how the legacy of slavery impacts modern or futuristic societies.
Power
Rufus calling Dana to the past is a big deal because it shows how power and control are tied to privilege and dominance. A white man in the antebellum South having that power reflects the larger theme of how Black lives were dependent on and controlled by white authority in that time—and, in some ways, echoes realities that still exist.
Race
By waiting to reveal Kevin’s race, Butler cleverly makes the reader confront their own assumptions. It’s a twist that forces you to rethink Dana and Kevin’s relationship.
Slave Making
The children’s “slave auction” game shows how deeply slavery was ingrained in daily life, even for kids. It’s heartbreaking because it normalizes dehumanization at such a young age, reflecting how systemic oppression perpetuates itself when it becomes an accepted part of the culture—even among those suffering under it.
Sexual Danger
The near-rape scene is there to make readers face the brutal reality of slavery, especially for women. It underscores how gender, race, and power intersect violently in this context. For Dana, it’s a reminder that no amount of “progressive” thinking in the future can erase the horrors women endured in the past.
Education
Dana teaching Kevin about slavery shows the gap in understanding between them and highlights Kevin’s privilege, even as someone who loves her. It reflects how the burden of educating others often falls on marginalized people, exposing the emotional labor and frustration of bridging historical ignorance in interracial relationships.
Loss:
In my perspective, I feel that the loss of Dana's left arm signified a loss of herself, of all the things she didn't appreciate until it was gone. Like the popular saying; "You don't know what you got 'til it's gone". Additionally a sense of normalcy, and quite frankly her sanity. This preapres the reader to get an experience on how brutal slavery actually was, and how much of a toll it took on the black body.
Writing: Butler does an exceptional job in making readers "feel" the experience of slavery. She does this by using imagery. For example, in "The Fire" chapter, when Dana is watching the enslaved man get beat by the patroller. "I could literally smell his sweat, hear every ragged breath, every cry, every cut of the whip I could see his body jerking, convulsing, straining against the rope as his screaming went on and on." This one line showcases the brutal physical abuse slaves endured.
Memory
As Michael stated, Dana uses her memory as a bridge in a sort. It showcases just how much black people still are connected to their generational trauma, and how a lot of our present realities stemmed from the generations before us.
Time Travel
If Dana were to travel to the future, it would show that slavery was never "abolished", just modernized. Examples being DEI (even though it impacts white women more), modernized racism, the prison system (which in my eyes is a continued form of slavery), how black women are the most educated, and the most influential, but the least respected. I feel a personal connection to this, as a black man. I try to avoid walking on the same side of the street, let alone be in a space, where it's me and a white woman only (I think of Emmitt Till). When I see a police officer, I pretend I'm on the phone (but I am secretly recording),
etc.
Ancestry:
Even given the forced dislocation of Black bodies due to the Middle Passage, it shows just how connect black people really are with one another. How I could share the same challenges being in New York City, with another black man in the rural south.
Power:
This question confused me a little, but to answer to the best of my ability. I personally think it reveals how much white people, and white supremacy has a hold on the black mind, body, and life.
Race:
Kevin being white, even surprised me when I first found out. However there was a certain line on page 51 that stood out to me. When Kevin is helping Dana prepare for her next "trip". Dana says "Strength. Endurance. To survive, my ancestors had to put up with more than I ever could. Much more. You know what I mean." "No, I don't," he (Kevin) said with annoyance. It shows that no matter how hard white people try to "sympathize" or "support", they will never relate to the black experience. Another quote being when Kevin asks "Do I really look like that patroller?", showcases how trauma can transcend time and generations
Slave Making:
The children's "slave auction" shows how imbedded slavery was to a child's life. How chaos, and violence were deemed normal. A child's mind is feeble, and is easily suspectible to beliefs, even those that do not serve their highest good. Systems designed to imprison the black mind to think the conditions they faced, and the realities they lived was how it was supposed to be. So in a way, it would make them not fight against it.
Black Savior
Dana's attention to race and gender feeds into the archetype for black women, that they had to be maternal, caregiving, protecting, strong, but challenges the "jezebel" stereotype of black women. Black women during these times were always seen as promiscuous, hookers, over-sexual beings. their features characterized, and treated as circus acts, etc.
Interracial Marriage
Dana and Kevin's marriage complicates the portrayal of interracial relationships because no matter the love they share, Kevin, due to his whiteness will always be seen as "superior." When Dana and Kevin talk in the woods on page 77, she worries that the longer Kevin stayed in the Antebellum South, the more it would rub off on him. When Kevin is telling Dana their "story", of how Kevin planned on "selling" her to Louisiana on page 80, Dana states "You make yourself sound disgusting".
Sexual Danger:
The near-r@pe scene showcases the brutal reality black women faced, and how their bodies as a whole was (still is), overly sexualized. How the stuggles of black women then and now are still interconnected.