The Story of Dana Franklin

Dana’s Experiences in the Slavery Era

Gives accounts of Dana Franklin, an African American woman, which she faces both physically and emotionally in the twentieth century as she was occasionally transported to antebellum south (Robinson, 78). The book is full of experiences Dana experiences as she was readjusting to the slavery era of 1976. Some of these experiences include the dismay of the slavery and the loss of reality of life. The kindred book presents the growth of racist attitudes as well as behavior which are seen to be results of societal conditioning.

Dana’s Call to the Past

A significant chapter in the boom was when Dana was called to her past during the American Bicentennial day. Dana found that Alice had killed herself since Rufus’s had threatened to sell the children as well as force Alice to live with him. Besides, Rufus clearly showed the intention of raping Dana (Robinson, 52). As seen, the slavery era was marked with several horrific incidences. There was always cruelty among the men to women. Women were forced to comply with men as seen in the case of Rufus and Alice. Kindred majorly dwells on the past to give readers the difference between the present and the past. Most of the time, the characters have time travel experiences into the past which enables readers to identify with their pasts.

Racist Attitudes in the Slavery Era

Equally, the slavery era developed racist attitudes. Kevin, a white man, is husband to Dana (Robinson, 25). Always, there could never be courtship between blacks and whites. As the book concludes, Kevin and Dana permanently reunite in the present even with knowledge of their past lives. Their pasts, especially Dana’s, was marked with tragic events. Through societal conditioning, there were many occurrences where racist attitudes and behavior were shaped.

Work Cited

Robinson, Steve. Kindred. Seattle, Washington: Thomas & Mercer. 2016.