Kindred by Octavia Butler by Tabitha Cooper https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e "Complexity can be found and made" (Buehler 29). en-us 2018-05-14 23:25:42 UTC 2025-10-25 23:29:27 UTC hello@padlet.com Kindred by Octavia Butler tabithacooper06 https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/260664549 Essential Question: 
  • What is the main purpose of Octavia Butler's "literary experiment", Kindred?
]]> 2018-05-14 23:26:16 UTC https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/260664549 Pre-reading activity tabithacooper06 https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/260667696 NPR Essay: The UN Racism Conference
**Fishbowl discussion topics: 
1. Peck-order bullying
2. Hierarchical tendencies 
3. Unavoidable empathy 

]]> 2018-05-14 23:48:39 UTC https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/260667696 Complexity of Structure tabithacooper06 https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/260668258 *Architecture--En Medias Res--Latin for "into the middle of things." Kindred is written using en medias res. The narrative begins somewhere in the middle.
*Organizational device--Butler always begins her chapters with the protagonist going back in time (1800s) whenever her ancestor (a great great grandfather) is in danger. The chapters consistently end with the protagonist being pulled back to present-time (1970s)

]]> 2018-05-14 23:53:34 UTC https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/260668258 Complexity of Language tabithacooper06 https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/260670152 *In his critical essay, Robert Crossley describes "the route [Butler] pursues to her readers' heads is through their guts and nerves, and that requires good storytelling, not just a good set of issues."

*Dialect: Butler uses dialect to distinguish between characters as well as time periods.
*No frills: Butler uses short and tight language. The pages are not soaked with adjectives and adverbs.
*First-person point of view: Butler uses first person with many flashback moments. Because of the reader's connection to Dana, we do not see slavery as we do in a history book, but we are forced in the midst of a slave system.  ]]> 2018-05-15 00:06:48 UTC https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/260670152 Other Stylistic Elements tabithacooper06 https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/260673192 *Other stylistic elements--A graphic novel of Kindred was created by Damian Duffy. I pair this with the text and use it during heightened moments in the novel to show physical representations. ]]> 2018-05-15 00:29:47 UTC https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/260673192 Complexity of Substance--Character tabithacooper06 https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/260673545 *"I lost an arm on my last trip. My left arm.  And I lost about a year of my life and much of the comfort and security I had not valued until it was gone" (Butler 9).
A changed character--Butler shows Dana's metamorphosis from a complacent woman of the 1970s filled with security and safety, to beaten-down and awaken young woman in the prologue.
A character's shame--Butler thrusts a modern-day black woman into the Antebellum South to demonstrate the constant shame Dana feels by easily giving in to the culture in which she currently lives. Unfortunately, even with over 150 years of education on her side, Dana fails to stand up for herself throughout most of the book--leading to one of Butler's major themes--the natural instinct to fit in deters people from standing up against what is right.
A character's contradictions--Other characters throughout the novel shame Dana for being an "Uncle Tom" and "mammy" archetype throughout the story, uncovering deep seeded issues in African America history.  Dana is even called "white trash" by Sarah, another slave, because she has an education and thus reminds Sarah that her education was taken from her before it even began (Butler 95).

]]> 2018-05-15 00:33:03 UTC https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/260673545 Complexity of Substance--Topics and themes tabithacooper06 https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/260676012 *ENSLAVEMENT is not only a physical limitation, but also a mental struggle. There are many different types of slavery, including mental and physical. The physical slavery is obvious in this book. Individuals such as Nigel, Luke, Sarah, and Carrie are physically enslaved. But what about those characters who are mentally/emotionally enslaved?
VIOLENCE breeds violence. Dana sees violence first hand during her visits to the 1800s, leading Dana to take matters into her own hands after sitting idly by for too long.
*FUTURE generations are doomed if present generations do not learn from the past. Dana is quoted as saying, “People don’t learn everything about the times that came before them,” I said. “Why should they” (Butler 63). This quote shows Butler's ability to demonstrate harsh lessons using irony.
*POWER can cloud the judgement of individuals who believe they are doing what is best. Power is seen throughout Kindred. From power struggles between Dana and her great great grandfather, to struggles between slaves (both field and house), power clouds the judgement of all characters involved. 
*THE COMFORT OF STATUS QUO keeps individuals from rebellion. It is not the threat of emotional or physical violence that keeps slavery going. Instead, it is an individual's "disquieting disposition to accept the status quo" that allows for these atrocities (Butler). 


]]> 2018-05-15 00:49:15 UTC https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/260676012 The Complexity of Substance tabithacooper06 https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/261235460 Things are NOT black and white ]]> 2018-05-16 14:32:22 UTC https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/261235460 Complexity of Language-- First-person point of view: tabithacooper06 https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/261550320 Is our narrator reliable? ]]> 2018-05-17 12:31:06 UTC https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/261550320 https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/1068042530 2021-01-08 17:44:00 UTC https://padlet.com/tabithacooper06/9d1aonlxxt5e/wish/1068042530