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Kindred

...... In the 1970s, with the Black Power and African roots movements promoting the collective adoption of a strong, independent and proud black identity, Danas life had been contextualized by a setting in which those who had been enslaved were often harshly judged by their descendents. For their concession to the untenable conditions of human ownership, slaves were seen frequently as the victims of their own weakness. But when a contemporary woman is thrust into this circumstance, she earns a troubling realization regarding the maintenance of the slave system. The deep-seeded psychological conditioning which remanded slaves to their owners made it such that resistance or escape were not just very difficult but also undesirable. Danas own complex relationship with Rufus illustrates the obfuscating web of dependency that renders the slave beholden to the master. She observes of the slaves that "strangely, they seemed to like him, hold him in contempt, and fear him at the same time." (229) Countering a modern assumption of the stereotypical slave as consenting pitiably to his captivity, Dana is presented with a surprisingly sophisticated psychological conditioning. The role which the slavemaster plays in doling out reward, punishment, favor and contempt makes him a powerful broker