Blog 2 Assignment -- Analysis Of Unjust Treatment Of Blacks In Kindred: The Fall

Good day.

In this essay, we will analyze instances of the unjust treatment of blacks in the book Kindred, chapter "The Fall". The first case of discrimination against blacks in "The Fall" was implied when Edana talked about how Kevin was likely better protection for her than freedom papers would have been when she said, "[...] He was probably better protection for me than free papers would have been [...]". This is quite sinister because it implies that Edana might have been seized, or worse, regardless of whether or not she was holding freedom papers. Such an act of reckless discrimination, marginalization, and oppression against blacks was far from inconceivable, given the cultural context.

The next case of unjust discrimination was when Rufus first saw Kevin and asked him, “Does Dana belong to you now?”, to which Kevin explained Edana was his wife. When Rufus learned of that, Rufus exclaimed, “Niggers can’t marry white people!” This clearly demonstrates another way black people were marginalized and discriminated against in society. It creates the impression that white people are the norm, and black people belong to a sub-class under society in which they are restricted from assimilating with whites because white people are necessarily better.

In the same scene, another act of unjust treatment of black folk is observed when Rufus says, “What’s the use of saying all that?", after Edana politely told Rufus not to call her "nigger", but instead call her, "black or Negro or even colored.” If I recall, Edana actually already had this same conversation with Rufus before. However, to be fair, that must have been years ago from the perspective of Rufus, and he may have forgotten about it and fallen back into the loop of referring to black people as "niggers". He seemed to have had a frustration about black people, evidenced when he muttered, “You damn black …”, at Edana, despite the fact that they used to be on fine terms.

For the next while, Edana was living in a position of unfair treatment, as she was forced by societal pressure to act like she and Kevin weren't married, lest they incur skeptical looks and confused reactions. The whole time Edana was around other people, specifically around Tom Weylin, there was an oppressive feeling against her and other black folk, as though Edana was not allowed to talk or do anything, let alone associate with Kevin on account of her race & status. We did not explore the entirety of the chapter, as this is all we have time for for now, but we did get a very good picture of the way black people were marginalized and mistreated in the slave south.