Ben Does Blogging

  Octavia Butler’s Kindred utilizes time travel, a trademark of the science fiction genre, to show Dana and readers the tragedies of antebellum America simultaneously. Butler’s use of time travel works to force comparisons to the lives of America’s ancestors and remove the purely theoretical elements of questions regarding racial relations, specifically through the interactions between Rufus and Alice and Dana and Kevin The main tonal change in Kindred happens halfway through the novel where Dana observes the aftermath of Alice’s rape by Rufus, her ancestor. It is here in Kindred where it becomes apparent that the inevitable union between Alice and Rufus will not be one of of harmony and mutual reciprocation, rather rape, portrayed in the novel as the ultimate exploitation. However, terrifyingly, the novel also portrays the barbaric rape of Alice as a necessity, something that must happen for Hagar to be born, for Dana to exist. In this way, Butler uses the relationship of Alice...

  A persistent theme throughout Mumbo Jumbo is Von Hampton’s search for a “talking android,” a prominent figure capable of swaying the black population to reject Jes Grew. The search for a suitable talking android throughout the novel stands to ask the question: What are the ideals/morals that black people hold in America? and additionally, how much does Jes Grew define African American culture. In Von Hampton’s search for the android, Reed introduces numerous characters. It is here that readers can get a sense on what the criteria for the android is. The android has to be an intellectual, some sort of respectable scholar so that it can be taken seriously. Pivotally, the talking android differs in that it cannot just be an Uncle Tom figure subservient to white people. The android must be almost obnoxiously “black” in its prose; Hampton rethinks W.W. as a candidate for his boring language, the android must be subtle in its rejection of black culture. As the novel goes on, as a facto...

Throughout Ragtime , Doctorow tells the history of early 20th century America through a handful of characters. Highlighted in my blogpost are the enigmatic Coalhouse Walker; the Jewish immigrant father, Tateh; and the real-life escape artist, Harry Houdini. It is through these characters that Doctorow not only tells an allegorical narrative of the American dream, but also how to achieve it means to be a spectacle for the eyes of America. Tateh’s story is a clear model of the American Dream. A Jewish immigrant, Tateh suffers through an impoverished life. Tateh leads him and his daughter to a better life. Tateh generates his wealth through the creation of movie books, an innovation that captures the attention of America. In earning the right to show his movies to America, Tateh changes part of himself. He stops being a socialist, he changes how he pronounces his name, he gives himself some made up title of a noble (Doctorow 259). Tateh becomes the ideal successful American immigrant, put...