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Kindred Suicide Quotes

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In Kindred by Octavia Butler, Alice is a strong minded and sharp tongued individual, who doesn’t let being a slave stop her from striving for what she wants. She fights for her freedom throughout the book, not caring that her position as a slave requires that she be compliant and invisible. Alice is an intense character who only acts submissive when it is necessary for her survival, but she mostly sticks to her beliefs and is stubborn. She runs away numerous times, the first time, losing her husband, Isaac. She is never the same after this and gains the desire to run away more after he is gone. Her final act of rebellion is her suicide when she believes her children are sold and wants to take revenge on Rufus, her owner. Her suicide, counter …show more content…

Leading up to her suicide she continues her unruly antics against the Weylins including: talking back, running away, refusing to eat, and looking through Rufus’s belongings. She attempts to run away numerous times and is always caught. The first time she runs away Isaac is sold, her soul is broken, and it takes her a long time to recover. After he’s sold she is less content with her life on the plantation and lashes out at Dana and others. Dana spends lots of time with Alice and grows to understand Alice’s emotions towards Rufus, “She forgave him nothing, forgot nothing, hated him as deeply as she had loved Isaac (180).” This explains why Alice acts the way she does and is so determined to get away from Rufus because all that he and his family has done to her. Rufus desires her and her love. He has authority over her so he is able to threaten and manipulate her to be his lover.. When Dana summons Alice for Rufus, Alice acts like she is unafraid of the consequences that come with refusing him,“‘I ought to take a knife in there with me and cut his damn throat.’ She glared at me. ‘Now go tell him that! Tell him I’m talking ’bout killing him!(167)’” When she says this, she seems to not care about being a slave and wants her voice to be heard by Rufus and for him to know she isn’t a toy for him. At times she may mask these opinions to survive, but they are always there towards Rufus. Throughout the book Alice speaks her mind and goes against slave norms to find her path away from Rufus and the

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