Kindred

These prompts can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before or after reading the novel.

Personal Response Prompt

Traditional understanding of the slave narrative paints a clear-cut oppositional relationship between Black people that were held as slaves and their purported owners, yet Kindred tells a much messier story of power dynamics, compromise, and love. How did you feel about that messiness and its impact on Dana’s thought process?

Teaching Suggestion: The most difficult part of Kindred for many audiences will be Dana’s Stockholm-like relationship with Rufus, and many may read her as passive—even complacent—about the goings-on of the Weylin household. This question is intended to help students work through the difficult situation Dana was in; the lack of utter brutality on the part of Rufus creates a power dynamic based on his need for love, highlighting The Complicated Power Dynamics of Slavery.

Post-Reading Analysis

Octavia E. Butler was a groundbreaking Black science fiction writer, yet this book uses a science fiction premise to present a work of speculative historical fiction, making Dana’s present in the 1970s the future of the novel’s main plot. How does this impact the plot of the novel? Does Dana’s present “matter” in the context of Black life under slavery?

Teaching Suggestion: The most complicated problem Dana faces is a philosophical one: does preserving her own future existence mean that she is locked into the role of collaborating with a slave owner? And if so, is that action justified? Getting students to think about this problem will help them consider the themes of The Postmodern Blending of History and Science Fiction, The Persistent Connection of Family, and The Complicated Power Dynamics of Slavery.