10/23/08 Kindred Round 2

For the first time in my life I have finished a book that made "think outside the box" and consider anything a possibility. As odd as it sounds and as odd it is for you to read this, I felt somewhat of a connection between Dana and myself. I could literally put myself in her shoes during each and every moment in the story. There were of course times at which I wish she would have been more aggressive, mainly because that's what I would have done if I were in her shoes. To be honest, before I read this novel I thought that my knowledge of slavery and how slaves were treated was accurate, when I remember my high school history classes I remember vivid pictures of slaves that were beaten and whipped but soon after those classes ended I forgot about the hardship that these people were forced to endure, some for most of there lives. Kindred made me wonder about my own family history, it made me wonder how many times my great great grandfather was beaten and whipped for having a baby with a white female. Throughout my time reading Kindred I found myself connecting ties within my own life to that of Dana's. In the end I give my credit to Octavia Butler, for providing me and others in the class with a strong picture, and an even stronger story that I am sure none of us will ever forget.