The fact that Dana killed Rufus did not surprise me. Dana herself has said several times in the novel that she believes if necessary she would have the ability to kill, and when Rufus physically threatened her, she did what she said she would. In the Readers Guide, Robert Crossley discusses how the loss of Danas arm symbolizes her return to modern society "not-whole." I liked this symbolism because I do believe something as brutal as slavery would leave someone broken. There were obviously other broken characters in the novel, Alice being a prime example, and I think Butler's use of the injury Dana sustained to convey this "brokeness" was effective.
One of the things in the last chapters I found most compelling was the discussion of the complex slave-master relationship. Dana observes that the slaves "strangely, seemed to like him, hold him in contempt, and fear him all at the same time" (referring to Rufus 229). These relationships are intriguing because they don't fit the conventional belief that if 'someone is hurting you then you will hate them.' The masters use manipulation (such as the bible verses) and other tactics to create a state of confusion so that the slaves never rebel. This is why Dana still feels some connection to the plantation even after she has returned to her own time.
Also I wanted to discuss what the novel meens for discussion on racism as a whole (atleast to myself). At several points through-out the novel Dana makes the assertion that Rufus has been influenced by his time to such a great extent that in some ways he cannot be blamed for his actions. To me this is a pretty poor excuse. Even in modern society there is still racism in almost every facet of society. If people continue to use the excuse that they were "raised that way" it will never truly end. I do believe that even someone like Rufus deep down knew that what he was doing was wrong-he just didn't care.
Finally I wanted to discuss the final discussion question at the end of the novel. I believe it is going to be very difficult for Dana and Kevin to adjust to modern life again. They have been through so much and have definately been permantly scared by their experiences. I liked how Butler ended the novel somehwat vague, and this allowed the reader to focus on the overall message and not simply get caught up in a complicated ending that explained everything. In fact I liked how we never even knew exactly how she was able to time-travel. I think if she had added in some sort of vehicle or another "plausible" explanation it would have trivialized the novel.
I enjoyed the novel very much and I look forward to discussing it with everyone further later this week~!