The Symbolism of Dana’s Arm Being Stuck in a Wall
One of the most, if not the most, interesting aspects of Kindred is Dana’s time travel phenomenon, a central element of the storyline throughout the book. This element remains largely unexplained by Butler, adding to its fictionality; although we understand Dana is summoned by Rufus when he’s on the brink of death and she goes back to her time when she feels life threatened, we don’t truly understand how or why these things happen. One scene I found particularly intriguing was when Dana puts this time travel phenomenon to an end by killing Rufus. The moment Rufus dies after Dana stabs him in the side and the back, she finds herself back in the 20th century, but her arm is merged with the wall, right where Rufus left his hand clamped to her arm. In order to free herself, she has to deliberately pull her arm out of the wall, rendering it broken and lost. Out of all the confusingly unexplained elements within this book, this...