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“Kindred” by Octavia Butler is a timeless story, considering the race issue that still exists in America. This book also deals in detail with the topic of slavery, and explains what slavery was like for black as well as white people, how they suffered and the relationship between black and white people. Although slavery in the United States came to and end in 1865 patterns of it still exist even today. In the south and even in New York city we see new school district lines being made that are explained away as income lines but the only real effect we are seeing is segregation based on skin color. It is being noticed by the citizens but their voices are not being heard. The elected officials of the senate and house are supposed to be the voice of the people. The big discussion in the last few election year has been registering and being able to vote. The officials say that it is for added security and to avoid voter fraud but it is plain to see that the voter regulations are affecting african american citizens the most in the southern states especially. In order to have their voices heard effectively they need representation but without a vote it’s hard for a change to be made. In this regard they are still in a state of slavery in their communities, states and country. The other side of the race coin lies the white citizens who do seemingly hold the power to make the change. By seeing they have more power for voting and to have their voice heard in many cases. They need to realize even though they have had their rights for so long does not mean they need to stop fighting for others rights because there may come a time when they need help again and need another group to be their voice. In the summer of 1976, Dana is celebrating her 26th Birthday with her white husband, Kevin Franklin in southern California. While unpacking, Dana suddenly gets lightheaded and faints. She doesn’t wake up to Kevin, however. Dana wakes up to a chaotic scene as she sees a young, red headed white boy drowning. Although she is summoned to save the boy, Dana is almost shot to death by Rufus’ father, Tom. After this time travel, she’s sent to the year 1815, where Rufus is much older. He’s burning his bedroom drape because his dad to buy him Nero-a horse that Rufus liked. Rufus tells Dana that when his mom saw Dana she wished she would stop breathing into her son’s mouth. Rufus says, “Mama said she tried to stop you when he saw you doing that to me because you were just some nigger she had never seen before. Then she remembered the Second Book of Kings” (24).

Throughout Kindred, the first chapters of the book, Dana is showering and washes what is described as brackish water off of herself. It is interesting that the water would be described in such a way. The author could have simply said she had washed the mud and water from the river from herself. When you look into what brackish water is however you start to see Butler giving us a little nudge and wink to the larger story. Brackish water can be described a few ways but the one definition of a mixture of salt and fresh water play into the narrative of this story well. Dana is experiencing jumps between her home time period of a relatively safe Los Angeles in the 1970’s to a plantation in Maryland where she is a slave among other unpleasing things. Los Angeles can be proposed to be the fresh water, it supports her life fully and is safe for her survival in essence you can drink fresh water and live. On the plantation however it is more comparable to salt water because it sees Dana and others struggling to adapt to the salt water and the more she stays and ingests the salt water the more complicated her life becomes due to salt water making you thirstier without ever beginning to hydrate you. Eventually through the course of the story Dana is faced with choices about her return to the past and if she can help the people there. In the ending pieces of the book when the children have been sent away and Alice has taken her own life in the grief Dana struggles to find a way home for good. When she wants to kill herself she is stopped by Rufus and nearly sexually assaulted by him before she eventually kills him and is returned home at the price of her arm. When all of this is happening you can draw a parallel to salt water and how it can overcome someone who is drinking it causing a state of madness and irrational thoughts. At a price you may be able to escape the toxic environment of salt water. Her life becomes a mixture of these two places and in essence becomes the brackish water that in the end is still salt water and can cause untold damage and does cause it to Dana.