Introduction
Octavia Butler’s Kindred novel reveals the deepest ramifications of slavery on United States society, stating that the sounding echoes were felt even in the seventies. One important area through which Butler links the era of slavery with the current times is the treatment meted out to the African Americans in the two scenarios. Therefore, there is a need to examine the struggles of African Americans during the antebellum era and the seventies to understand why Butler selected this as a point of connection. This link is crucial because the author sought to show the continuous impacts of slavery on the African-American communities to readers with a view of making them confront the current problems emanating from it.
Similarities in Systemic Oppression
Kindred clearly illustrates that the oppression system was applied against black people during the antebellum South as well as the 1970s. The institution of slavery embedded in the system deprived the slaves of their human rights and took away their liberty. Owners often had slaves treated like property as they would treat other objects that served only their desires. A reflection of this was the extreme brutalities and inhumanity that enslaved people had to endure.
Differences in Legal Frameworks
Though systemic oppression was consistent, legal frameworks for African Americans were very distinct during the antebellum era and from the 1970s. The legal system was specifically instituted to ensure and sustain slavery during the antebellum. The laws made it illegal for them to move, educate themselves, or form families. This includes the Fugitive Slave Act that required the free states to return escaped enslaved people to owners, implying that the system of law participated in the preservation of slavery.
The legal landscape had grown immensely in the 1970s with legislation that was intended to break down some of the blatant apartheid elements. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were huge milestones that prohibited racial discrimination and enhanced the political participation of African Americans (Nougrech, 2021). Nevertheless, Kindred argues that it took more than just legal changes to eliminate the mental attitudes and prejudices that had been ingrained for generations, suggesting the complex nature and long-lasting effect that slavery has had on the American soul.
In addition, there were undertones of systemic racism that existed even in the 1970s legal system. The Civil Rights Movement managed to score some legal wins, but it did not completely end injustices against Black people. It portrayed deeply rooted racial bias from cops through judges in the legal system, which proved that laws could not easily remove slavery’s legacy. This sophisticated analysis contradicts the myth that if one wins a lawsuit, all the systemic problems caused by the historical trauma of slavery will be resolved.
Butler’s Choice and Significance
Butler’s decision to link the time of slavery to the 1970s is both vital for literary as well as for sociopolitical reasons. Butler encourages readers to acknowledge the painful fact by highlighting the continuities between the past and the present, which indicates that slavery’s legacy extends to the present day. It is through this lens that readers will examine the long-standing inequalities and injustices that African-American people continue to face. The importance of this link is based on closing the historical distance, which shows that what African Americans experienced in the 1970s was not a single issue resulting from earlier injustice of slavery. Through her work, Butler forces readers to acknowledge how slavery continues to shape social aspects, beliefs, and psychological matters in Black life up to this day.
Conclusion
Kindred expertly traces the intricate links between slavery and the legal systems that perpetuate racial inequality from the pre-Civil War period in American history down to the 1970s. Through this approach, Butler encourages readers to reflect on today’s effects of historical traumas. Equal but not equal in law; this highlights the struggle that goes beyond systemic oppression and the complexity of attaining genuine equality as different legal structures prevail. The deliberate link between the past and present works as a potent lens, forcing readers to think critically about the perennial history of racial oppression. Kindred ultimately challenges us to recognize the remnant sounds of slavery and demolish the foundations that sustain inequalities in today’s world.
References
Butler, O. E. (2003). Kindred. Beacon Press.
Nougrech, A. (2021). Neo-Slave Narrative in Octavia Butler’s Kindred through the Perspectives of Gender and Race.
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