Kindred“The Fall”“The Fight”

By: Sarah Cho

The Fall - Plot Butler begins the chapter by describing how Kevin

and Dana

Dana returns back to the ante bellum South when Rufus falls off a tree branch

Dana not only travels in time by herself but also brings Kevin (her husband)

This is the first long-term visit to the past for Dana

The Fall- Plot Dana and Kevin stay at the Weylin plantation

where they pretend to be slave (Dana) and slaveholder (Kevin)

Dana takes care of Rufus while his leg is broken and is treated as a real slave on the plantation

The chapter ends with Dana being whipped for reading when she wasn’t supposed to which takes her back home

The Fall- Family “My poor baby, she murmured, cradling his

head in her hands. Seems like everything happens to you, doesn’t it? A broken leg!” (page 69)

“Weylin grunted and knelt to look at Rufus’s leg. Guess it’s broken all right. Wonder how much that’ll cost me” (page 65)

White family

The Fall- Family “Sold them. First my man died— a tree

he was cutting fell on him. Then Marse Tom took my children, all but Carrie. And, bless God, Carrie isn’t worth much as the others ‘cause she can’t talk” (page 76)

Value of family to give inspiration

The Fall- Race “He was an unusual-looking white man, his face

young, almost unlined, but his hair completely gray and his eyes so pale as to be almost colorless…Maybe he had some authority…” (page 54)

“In this place, he [Kevin] was probably better protection for me [Dana] than free papers would have been…” (page 59)

White superiority

The Fall- Race “Does Dana belong to you now?

In a way, said Kevin. She’s my wife.Wife? Rufus squealedI sighed. Kevin, I think we’d better emote me. In this time…Niggers can’t marry white people! Said Rufus(page 60)

Interracial marriage

The Fall- Violence “Weylin punished a field hand for the

crime of answering back. Weylin ordered the man stripped naked and tied to the trunk of a dead tree… Suddenly, he brought the whip down across the slave’s back. The slave’s body jerked and strained against its ropes… The whipping served its purpose as far as I was concerned” (page 92)

The Fall- Violence “Weylin dragged me a few feet, then

pushed me hard. I fell, knocked myself breathless. I never saw where the whip came from, never even saw the first blow coming. But it came— like a hot iron across my back, burring into me through my light shirt, searing my skin… (page 107)

Whippings were used as a scare tactic

The Fight- Plot The chapter starts with Dana being in present day

where she is injured from her whipping.

She is at home without Kevin. Eight days pass in present time while many years pass in the past.

Dana then is called back to the past where she ends a fight between Isaac (Alice’s husband) and Rufus.

Alice and Isaac run away while Rufus is injured.

The Fight- Plot While Rufus is healing for his injury Dana writes a

letter to Kevin.

The letter Dana writes to Kevin isn’t sent because of Rufus’s doing and Alice is caught and bought by Rufus into slavery.

The chapter ends with Kevin coming back to the Weylin plantation where he finds Dana while Rufus threatens to kill them both if Dana leaves the plantation.

The Fight- Family “I don’t think Daddy relaxed until Nigel

married Carrie. Man marries, has children, he’s more likely to stay where he is” (page 139)

Family values make a slave more trustworthy

The Fight- Race “She [Alice] Remembers more every day, I said.

And she asks questions. Don’t answer her!If I don’t, someone else will. She’ll be up and around soon.He swallowed. All this time, it’s been so good…Good?She hasn’t hated me!(page 154)

The Fight- Race “You want Kevin the way I want Alice. And

you had more luck than I did because no matter what happens now, for a while he wanted you too. Maybe I can’t ever have that– both wanting, both loving. But I’m not going to give up what I can have” (page 163)

Rufus’s fear of being hated by Alice/ forbidden love/ White superiority

The Fight- Betrayal “He [Rufus] had had his father send me

back to him so that I could write my letter to Kevin” (page 138)

“I should have sent the letters. Even Daddy said I should have sent them after I promised you I would” (page 181)

Rufus betrays Dana

The Fight- Betrayal “She [Liza] heard you get up in the

night. Alice told me. She got up after you and went straight to Mister Tom. She knew better than to go to Mister Rufe. He might have let you go. Mister Tom never let a nigger go in his life. (page 178)

Betrayal from another slave

The Fight- Violence “He led me to the wagon where Alice lay bloody,

filthy and barely alive… Most of Alice’s wounds were new, and the cloth came away from them easily. Those that had dried and stuck to the cloth, I left alone. Warm water would soften them” (page 146)

“They cut him! They cut off his ears!” (page 158)

Cruel torture to runaway slaves

The Fight- Violence/Betrayal “Suddenly, I saw the gun, blurred but

seemingly only inches from my head. I hit at it and missed. It wasn’t quite where it appeared to be. Everything was distorted, blurred” (page 188)

Breaking point for Rufus where finds no other option to make Dana stay but to shoot her and Kevin