The Past Is Not Dead Essay - 1407 Words

The Past is NOT Dead Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred is a novel that perfectly channels the mean of William Faulkner s claim that the past is not dead; it s not even past.† To me this quote basically means that the past cannot become the past because events keep repeating throughout history. This quote is shown to us through Butler drawing upon the history of transatlantic slavery to illustrate certain ideas and behaviors that are seen throughout time. These ideas and behaviors are specifically seen through the main character Dana. Over the course of the novel Dana experiences these ideas which are shown to us through things like racism and stereotyping. Dana is a figure that in some ways is timeless, her experiences in the past and her experiences in the present time are similar and show us the timelessness of these ideas such as racism. In the past Dana experiences what it was like to be a slave and how these ideas formed. While in the present day Dana is experiencing the after effects of slavery and the racism and stereotypes that come with it. Through Dana’s experiences in both the past and present we see exactly how racism deriving from transatlantic slavery effects the world with no regards to the time period. Butlers Kindred is a novel that explores the timeless nature of racism through its different time periods and characters. Dana a black woman in the late 1900s is sent back in time to the 1800s and becomes a slave. In her present time civil rights for AfricanShow MoreRelatedThe Past Is Never Dead By William Faulkner1755 Words   |  8 Pageswe are viewed as lazy if we stop to truly dwell on the past. It’s all about moving forward into the future: the concept of bigger, better, faster, stronger. Some people view time in a different matter though. William Faulkner once wrote â€Å"the past is never dead. 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