Kindred: The River-Response
I found "The River" an intriguing tale, full of mystery and unexplained phenomenon. If someone if unaware of the whole book, Kindred, or even of the writer's actual purpose for penning it, he cannot put The River in the perspective of slave narrative. Rather he could enjoy the chapter like a short story that is intriguing and leaves the reader with a lot with many questions in his mind. That was how I felt about Dana's transportation to another time in history where she saves a child's life and comes back covered with sand and water. T
Dana sees it in a certain manner but she feels this intense fear that comes to anyone who is suddenly put into a situation he cannot control. So her attempts to save him are connected with her desire to understand her family tree. She knows she won't be able to control it if it happened again and she might be putting herself in danger if she goes to save to the child again and yet despite this fear, she cannot do anything to stop it from happening. It is because of him that she is certain she wasn't hallucinating. However to actually understand the purpose of this transportation, it is important to understand where Dana is coming from and that background of the novel itself. Kevin has been placed in the scene to make the experience real for both the reader and Dana herself. For example if a person suddenly starts sleep walking and wakes up to find himself in a place he doesn't recognize, the can cause intense fear. And the readers also know for sure that she had been physically moved to another time in history. The most intriguing thing about the whole episode of transportation is the fear associated with it. Same is the case with Dana and her experience of physical transportation. The young boy she saves is actually a white master called Rufus who is a great grandfather of Dana's. his physical transportation is left unexplained and I find that even more interesting because it gives the story that element of mystery that keeps the reader glued to the novel.
Common topics in this essay:
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intense fear,
physical transportation,
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Acceptance Essays
