Middle

-The novel has been good at times and very predictable at other times. It has been basically the same throughout. Rufus finds himself in life threatening situation and Dana has to bail him out.
-Well to start out, Dana’s goal is to try and change Rufus from the type of person he is. However, these time changes interfere with her purpose. She is unable to reach Rufus because he is maturing too fast for her. She may not be aging but Rufus is. Everytime she goes back to 1976 and then returns to Rufus’ time, he has aged so many years. Also, it is unlikely that Dana, an African American in the time of slaves, can change the type of person Rufus grows up to be. Rufus lives in the antebellum south. A region known for its cruelty to slaves and conservative nature. If being African American is not difficult enough, Dana is also a woman. Women, or better yet African American women, had no rights. Look at the case of Alice. She was a free woman that turned into a slave simply because a white man wanted to do as he pleased with her. It is impossible to believe that Dana will be able to change Rufus. However, I do respect Dana in her will to do what she can for the slaves around her. Even after being beaten, she is able to maintain her dignity as a modern African American woman from 1976. The fact that she has the courage to teach slaves to read makes her a heroin whether she successfully or not accomplishes her purpose of maintaining order while Hagard is born.
-I am shocked by the detail and insight that Butler gives regarding slavery. Dana accurately depicts the treatment of these slaves in comparison to how Nazis treated their victims. The fact that people persecuted each other because of the color of their skin and continue even until today sickens me.