Paragons In Kindred

Kindred by Octavia Butler displays many controversial topics such as slavery, rape, and violence, which can bring out some of the best and worst qualities in a human being. Dana Franklin, a strong african american woman, and Kevin Franklin, an intelligent white man as well as Dana’s husband, travel back to the antebellum south where they meet some of Dana’s ancestors and encounter situations that are eye-opening, which changes their views on life and gives them a better understanding of what kind of actions were going on back then. All the characters in this book change over time, but Dana, Tom Weylin, and Rufus are all paragons because they convey multiple traits that lead to great reactions from the reader.

Dana, the main character
He is the man in charge for most of the book, and having so much power can either make you a monster or a hero. Weylin is selfish, fair, and somewhat of a businessman. When his son breaks his leg, he doesn’t care much. It is almost like he just tells Rufus to rub some dirt on it and act like a man. That’s just a sign of a bad man. There are lots of exceptions back then because of the different laws, but a man should still love his family. An attribute that balances out his selfishness is his fairness. When Rufus refuses to send Dana’s letter to Kevin, Weylin decides to put the load on his back and send the letter himself. It might have been that he was getting older or that he was scared of Dana in some way, but Weylin knows what is right and what is not. His fairness helps himself whenever he wants to negotiate when buying or selling slaves. Weylin treats his plantation almost like a business because he wants the slaves that that will work the hardest without any extra attitude. If they don’t do what they’re told or talk back to Weylin, then they can either be whipped or sold. Weylin asks Kevin if he’s scared of Dana running away because she’s so well educated. Kevin says no and Weylin explains that she could write her own pass and run away when he’s not paying attention. It’s almost like Weylin knows everything about owning a plantation and the slaves working for him. He has a lot of experience, which is why his plantation is so successful under his orders. Well, until Dana showed