After Fight

At this point I found myself conflicted between understanding and condemnation for many of the characters. Dana has caused the least conflict as she has reacted relatively rationally given the situation yet their lacks a sense of connection or empathy that usually the protagonist invokes in me.
In many ways I see her as more of a product of her environment then an individual. She reacts but as she comments on earlier in many ways she is an observer rather than a participant. At the end of the fight the issues with Alice and Rufus draw her into a more active role in ante bellum South. She shows strength threw her sense of identity but remarkably foolish idealism as well through her trust in Rufus.
Rufus is the product of his raising as the saying goes. His father desires perfection and obedience while his mother fawned obsessively over him causing an unstable environment and model for relating to people. he employs both his parents styles. His obsession with Dana and Alice which he deems love is akin to his mother's obsession with him but its hardened by his father's apathetic attitude making it a selfish all consuming obsession rather than love.
Rufus's father is a hard man but nit cruel. In his own way as Rufus says he is fair. he has an overwhelming sense of his superiority and authority but his harsh implementation and his reaction to any perceived defiance be it from slave or his son is dealt with harshly and pitilessly. In many ways he is apathetic rather than sadistic making him an enigma and therefore more dangerous which accounts for Dana's instinctive fear of him. His actions are motivated solely by societal standards and society's perception of him.
Dana seems to have reached a breaking point as has Kevin as they both exhibited highly emotional responses especially Kevin. This is a turning point for both as Dana has lost her idealism and Kevin seems to have lost his identity and his time due to his prolonged stay in the South and the acclimation to that lifestyle.
This novel shows society's profound influence on individual's behavior as it promotes and feeds upon the natural instinct to strive for superiority.