Kevin

     It's one thing to learn about slavery in history class, it's another thing to read about slavery in a book, and it's a completely different thing to go back in time and live in slavery. Could you actually imagine living in America during the 1800s as a black person? The novel Kindred by Octavia E. Butler has an interesting take on this thought. Through the eyes of Dana, the reader gets an idea of what it would be like to have their world flipped upside down. 

     Despite Dana being the main character of the novel, her husband, Kevin, intrigues me most. Kevin is a 'progressive' white guy married to a black woman despite the objection of his family. Kevin is pulled in with Dana and is trapped in the era of slavery for five years. The reason why Kevin comes off as a unique character to me is because -- he's white. Why didn't Butler make the Dana's husband a black guy? Does he really understand Dana?

     The concept of a 'progressive' white person is just something that I don't understand. What does 'progressive' even mean? How are black people as a whole positively impacted just because white people have made progress? Black people are still poor, enslaved through prison, and a damaged group of people. Kevin, who represents a 'progressive' white person stands out to me because he reminds me of people who think they're doing good, when they're really not.

     In short, Kevin comes off to me as a person who thinks he's better than what he really is; he thinks that he understands black people because he's with a black woman. When Kevin and Dana are trapped in the era of American Slavery, there discrepancies between the way that they view the slaves. Dana gets to have an deep and intimate relationship with the slaves on the plantation. While Kevin is looking at the bigger picture, he doesn't make any connection with the slaves and just plays his 'role'. Another thing is that he's always trying to get Dana to be his secretary. For a person who is 'liberal', he is controlling and gets upset whenever Dana doesn't do what he wants.

Comments

  1. Tracy LiApril 20, 2022 at 2:20 PM

    Great work! I agree that Kevin's real intentions are revealed when he's sent back in time and really tested, and it turns out he's not as genuinely 'politically correct' as we expected, and I never thought that he thought he was better for marrying a black woman, but it does kinda match -- like the "I can't be racist, I have a black friend' narrative we hear so often

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  2. MitchellApril 21, 2022 at 8:55 AM

    Kevin is definitely a "work in progress" in this novel, and Butler (I think) specifically makes him white (and ensures that he has to spend signficant time confronting this past as well) in order to explore some of the disparities in how the two of them relate to this history. I definitely agree with all of the ways that Kevin is an imperfect character, and how he tends to dismiss or simplify Dana's experiences (which seems to reflect both racial and gender dynamics, as with the "secretary" stuff). He does indeed "play his role" on the plantation, and Dana is worried about what that might mean for him (and her). But I do want to stick up for Kevin and how he handles his time in the past to some extent: from what we hear, he takes real risks in order to try to undermine the slavery system in whatever way he can, and he aids in specific escapes and teaches freed people in the North to read. There's no indication that he seeks any particular glory or gratitude for doing so--he doesn't boast about his exploits to Dana, but instead seems quite shaken and traumatized by what he's seen and done. But when faced with "taking sides"--when he would have the privilege to just move to the North and "stay out of it"--he does do the right thing, at some risk to his own health and safety.

    But then, after a few weeks back in 1976, we also see him cramming his foot in his mouth once again when he's talking about his willingness to "forgive" Dana if she'd been raped by Rufus in the past. Kevin is a complicated character!

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  3. EliApril 22, 2022 at 8:06 AM

    A lot of times it feels like Kevin is actively cramming his foot in his mouth but I do think he is "well meaning" for whatever that is worth. Despite this, some of the things he says seem really off and it is clear that he is uneducated in some important ways. I also think that in 1976 the amount of education on the histories and struggles of black people is very limited compared to the access we have now.

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  4. Charlie HechlerApril 23, 2022 at 1:07 PM

    Nice post Titus! Kevin is definitely an odd character. Its hard to be sure at any point that he's really a good person, especially when he continuously makes awful statements and gets upset over Dana not wanting to do things for him. At times he seems to be pretty similar at heart to Rufus, but he obviously does good things in the past whether his intentions are pure, or just to fill his role as a good person. I think it is more likely that he has pure intentions, however there is still a part of me that thinks that he still could have wanted to be seen by Dana as good person because of what he had done, but what he had seen scarred him to the point that he couldn't bring himself to brag about it.

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  5. Aakash V.April 23, 2022 at 6:43 PM

    Kevin is a complicated, odd character. Agreed. Confused by his love for and relationship with Dana, ignorant and not socially aware of the true nature of their situation, disconnected from the environment and desperately trying to see Dana's outlook on life in the 1800s - it all shows his relation to the story. He can never truly connect and "fit in" with this time period and understanding because that's how his character was supposed to be written. He was meant to provide contrast to show how powerful Dana's own perspective is and much the things Dana witnesses resonates with her soul.

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  6. LiliApril 24, 2022 at 7:09 PM

    This is a really well written post, and I agree. I think the fact that Butler didn't make Dana's husband black plays a role in the novel for multiple reasons. It makes way for the scenes where Kevin doesn't really get Dana and looks at the bigger picture like you said. But it also makes way for those more uncomfortable scenes such as the ones where Kevin reminds Dana of Rufus, Tom, and even her attackers. I think the most disturbing part is where Kevin basically "forgives" Dana for being raped by Rufus. And I think in that moment more than any of the others, is where you can see that Kevin doesn't truly understand but also his complete ignorance, even after being there.

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  7. LaraApril 27, 2022 at 12:19 PM

    Kevin was certainly a difficult character to decipher. He's definitely insensitive at times and totally unaware of the details of Dana's situation, but I think he has some good characteristics to him. He is trying to understand Dana's point and many times figured out when to shut up and let Dana speak. Plus, during his five years, he took a lot of risks to try and help slaves escape as much as he could. He's certainly flawed and questionable at times, but I'd like to give Kevin the benefit of the doubt.

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