Kindred

What is the significance of the chapter titles? Why do you think Butler chose to title them this way? What do they reveal about the novel’s message?

Consider the relationships between Dana/Rufus, Dana/Kevin, Rufus/Alice, Alice/Isaac, Nigel/Carrie, and Tom/Margaret. How does the novel depict love? How does it complicate or reinforce traditional depictions of love?

Alice says to Dana, “If you had any sense, you would have let [Rufus] die!” (160). On the very next page, Tom Weylin tells Rufus, “Dana should have been enough for you. She’s got some sense” (161). This idea of “sense” recurs several times throughout the novel. What does it mean for each character? How does it fit in with the themes of the novel?

Dana claims Alice “was like Rufus. When she hurt, she struck out to hurt others” (165). Similarly, how is Dana like Rufus? Why is this significant?

When Kevin and Dana return to 1976, Dana sees South Africa in the news and notes that South African white people “were living in the past as far as race relations went” (196). Why is this comparison important to the novel’s message? Why does Butler include this moment?

How does fear itself become a prominent character in the novel? What effect does personifying fear have on understanding the novel?

Look at Margaret Weylin’s character development. Is she a sympathetic character? Why, or why not? How does her characterization change or enhance the novel’s meaning?

When Hagar is born and named, Dana declares “it was the most beautiful name I had ever heard. I felt almost free, half-free if such a thing was possible, half-way home” (233). Consider how other characters refer to each other. How else are names and titles significant throughout the story? What do they reveal?