Understanding the Mechanisms of Time Travel
In the novel Kindred time travel operates very differently than we usually see in books or movies. Where as most of the time in pop culture time travel is almost strictly a science fiction concept. In Kindred time travel does not operate in a very scientific or even fantastical way; it is just part of how the world works in the story, and characters seem to just accept it. Not only does Dana time travel, but she is also transported hundreds of miles across the United States. However, there is some clear logic to the workings of time travel in the story.
Firstly, we know Dana is taken back to antebellum Maryland sometime in the early 1800's to times where Rufus, a distant ancestor, is in a life threatening situation. In contrast, whenever Dana herself is in a life threatening situation, in the past, she is transported back to her own time of 1976 in California. There does not seem to be much relation in actual time when she actually jumps backwards in time, sometimes it takes weeks or a few hours for her to be taken back, and the time she spends in the past does not line up at all with the present time. Even when she is spending months on end in the past, it will only seem as if a few hours have passed in 1976 time.
One thing that Dana does have control over with this time travel is what she takes with when she jumps. For example she can take her bag with supplies, and even Kevin, to and from the past. However, one thing that is very difficult to explain is that she does not seem to be able to take things that were in the past away from the past. The ending of the book really makes this complicated. When Rufus is dying and holding Dana, for some reason this causes Dana's arm to be stuck in the wall when she returns home.
There are many ways we can try to explain why Dana's arm became stuck like this. Obviously this must have something to do specifically with Rufus as he has been the root of all the time travel dilemma all this time. But what specifically is Butler trying to do with this event? What does it symbolize and how does it relate to Dana's experiences? One of the first things that comes to mind is how this injury that she will carry with her for the rest of her life is a manifestation of the mental toll and emotional scars that her time in the past has left her with. Another possibility that adds on to this is that her arm specifically was taken because of her relationship with writing. Both Kevin and Rufus ask Dana to write for them, although for very different reasons. For Rufus this is one of the several ways that Rufus seems to be reliant on Dana and also how Dana shows that she cares for Rufus in hopes that he becomes a better person. After she kills Rufus its as if the hand that Rufus holds is the one that cares for him is lost as she finally has no other choice but to face how horrible he really is and let go of the part of her that cared for him.
Great post! I think your exploration Dana's arm being stuck at the end and what it symbolized for Dana and Rufus's dependent relationship was spot-on, and how Dana lost a part of herself in the end. She really was the only one who cared for him. Good work!
ReplyDeleteThat last scene with the arm and Rufus really does seem to throw a wrench in the system we seemed to have established. I agree that is does work symbolically, and the arm being taken because of her relationship to writing was a really interesting way to read it and not one that I had heard before. I also think the event itself defies convention in a way that all the other time traveling occurrences haven't. Rufus's life was in danger because of Dana the perpetrator, and Dana herself was in danger from Rufus. It seems whatever time warp we had going just could not compute the events and snapped at the connection point. Who knows though, it's such an interesting moment and there are so many excellent interpretations and consequent symbolic meanings I've heard. Great post!
ReplyDeleteGood post! I think the things that Dana takes back to the past play a significant role in Kindred. Both the fact that she brings Kevin back as well as the things like weapons and even a penny with the date of 1978. The mementos she is able to bring back give her security and tie her back to her actual life.
ReplyDeleteHello Charlie! I really like the way you dressed today, quite spectacular! Your post is also quite on the excellent end of the good to bad spectrum. I also think it is really thought provoking how in this novel, time travel is used in a historical context, to depict emotions of people who lived in the past. I like how you explain the uniqueness of the book.
ReplyDeleteAs readers discussing a very complex novel with intricate scientific tropes and significant historical imagery, we want to make sense of the whole "ordeal" and build a systematic understanding of what's happening. Inferring is part of the reader's enjoyment, and we like making predictions of what's going to happen next or later down in the timeline. Every novel and popular culture source can choose to use time travel in a different way, some just slightly different and some entirely different. In that respect, we did seem to come upon some overarching "logic", as you said, regarding how the time travel works in Kindred. However, Dana's arm being stuck in the wall makes us pause as it is something that doesn't normally happen - an error in our system. Granted, we were primed at the beginning with the whole "I loss my arm" chapter, but we were still pretty shocked and quite disturbed.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the final scene doesn't follow the time travel "rules" pattern that had been established throughout the rest of the book, even if it does provide some good symbolism in having part of Dana literally stuck in the past and also not letting her ever fully recover from her journey through time. Overall great post!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I also found it odd that there is no connection between the time that goes by in the past and the present. I also agree that the end bit with the arm can get confusing since Rufus was holding onto her arm. But at the same time, Rufus was also dead/dying so I wonder if that plays a role in the fact that she wasn't able to take him back with her.
ReplyDeleteaaghhh blogger deleted my comment draft again. regardless, this post brings up an interesting topic to think about. I wonder if this time traveling stuff has happened to other people, including dana. (considering your notion of the time travel being just "part of the world" as opposed to science or supernatural phenomenon.) i dont really get the whole "rufus doesn't get to come back to 1976" logic past plot convenience, cuz she can bring Kevin and leave Kevin in the 1800s for 5 years, she can even bring back 1800s dresses to 1976 i think,, so you'd think it would work. nah. anyways.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of the consequence for her writing when she lost an arm. In our class a few people agreed with the notion that losing an arm was devastating for her and drove home how permanently she was changed by the past, but we wished it had been more meaningful. It seemed like her arm ending up in the wall just by chance (if it really was Rufus' arm holding onto her, why wasn't her arm stuck in the ground?) so all this time we thought something dramatic would happen, like something would have a hold of her arm and she would cut it off to try and get back to the future or something, but she just teleported back into the wall.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the points you make in your blog. The concept of time travel is used to only link characters from different eras in history. Yet, it has a set of rules that it mostly follows besides the death of Rufus. I think that time travel in this novel gives it another layer of complexity and something else to wonder about.
ReplyDeleteI also thought that it was really interesting that Dana doesn't take back Rufus' body with her when she kills him. We know that she has the ability to transport people to the past and back, but when she kills Rufus it is instead a part of her that is left in the past, not his body coming to the future (if that makes sense). I think that it symbolizes the fact that their bond has been broken, so the rules of time travel are also broken at the same time. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI like that you pointed out that this time travel is very different than in many Sci Fi books. The reader isn't meant to focus on the novelty of this phenomenon, and instead is supposed to focus on the effect (so what happens to Dana because of the time travel). Still, it's interesting that throughout the book Dana and Kevin make a concerted effort to hide this situation. They both realize that no one in the modern world would be able to scientifically explain what had happened, and either no one would believe them or they would become lab rats. Great post!
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