First, I'll start by saying that I have only read up to page 178, and that from hearing today's discussion I have a little better idea of what is yet to come. Still, with what I've read so far, I can't help wondering, how are Dana and Kevin supposed to find each other in the past? And how are they supposed to make it back to the present together?
Rufus hasn't sent Dana's letters. As far as I can tell, he has no intention of sending them. After Dana's failed attempt at escape, I don't see her future and the prospects of ever finding Kevin looking very bright. We know from the epilogue that they eventually do make it back to the present together, Dana without an arm. This makes me extremely curious to know how Butler will lead Dana and Kevin back to each other. Will she run again? Will he come for her? Rufus makes a good point, however, on page 163 when he says that the two of them have been separated now longer than they had been married. And Kevin's interest in going west and experiencing firsthand that time period makes me wonder if he will come for her or if she will have to seek him out.
I know how strongly Dana appears to need and seek Kevin, but I also can see her becoming attached to the plantation and accepting her role as the mammy figure, as we talked about today in class. Especially after her failed escape attempt, and the beating she receives, and she comments to herself about how easily slaves are made. She also tries to tell Alice that she will run again, though its not clear if she really believes that herself. Like we talked about today, I think she feels needed on the plantation, and has found a sense of home through her family connections there. She has limited to no family in the present time, and I think she finds comfort and purpose in helping them on the plantation. After her will has been broken by beatings and disappointments, I can see her accepting her mammy role, which would make a reunion with her and Kevin even more unlikely, unless he returned at some later date for her. There isn't much evidence in the prologue, unless I overlooked it, to show how much older the two of them are when they finally return, but I wonder how many years they will spend in the past before they are finally returned? Will Rufus have to die in the past before Dana and Kevin can return to the future and be safe?
I'm going to keep reading and find out.
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I agree that it seems at this point that Dana may be beyond hope with finding Kevin, and that she may feel like a future "mammy." However, I feel like her act of attempting to run away, even if it was a failure, is significant. It shows that she cannot endure this life, that she refuses to take it for her reality. She may be discouraged after her beating, unsure of herself when she claims to attempt to run again, but the fact that she says it aloud hold her accountable for it. Alice now knows that Dana wants her freedom, and Dana knows she cannot give up after telling Alice.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with your final paragraph however. She does speak about how easily slaves are made, and it makes me think she has fully accepted her identity as a slave. It seems more likely that she accepts that her situation is a reality with real consequences, but she does not want to exist in it and will never accept it for long.
Please give an update when you finish reading, I'd like to see what you think of the ending!
I agree with you about this. During this part of the novel, I was also very curious to see what was going to happen. I started losing faith in Rufus holding true to his word about sending the letters. It seems like Rufus is almost trying to hold Dana hostage in his home by keeping Kevin away from her, and breaking all of her faith in him coming back to her.
ReplyDeleteWhen she talks about how easily slaves are made, it reminded me of Douglass and made me wonder if this wording was intentional by Butler. Because the second part of Douglass' statement is "you will see a slave is made man" seeming to give us the hint that Dana won't be staying in the past and that she won't ever truly accept the role of a slave.
However, I think you make some excellent points, and good observations.