As of right now, I still cannot bring myself to get past the irrationality of the method of time travel presented in this book. For everything that happens, there must be some sort of force acting behind it. Although time travel is an incredibly ambiguous thing, we must assume that the same basic rules apply to it as they do to other actions. I realize the novel is one of fiction, however, if we are to take it seriously should there not be a better way of juxtaposing two different times than by sending the novel's characters back and forth through time on a whim with no explanation? It is important to note that writing gives the one with the pen the ultimate ability to play God, but it seems as if Ms. Butler is abusing her powers in this particular novel. I was more content with the presentation of time travel in Chuck Palahniuk's newest novel Rant, simply because there is a means of achieving the ridiculous feat of traveling through time. Of course, any method of traveling across time may seem a bit absurd, but at least Palahniuk gives his characters a method; Butler does not. This is all rather insignificant though. I am no literary critic, nor am I even close to being on the same level as Octavia Butler mentally. This is just a small issue I have with the novel.
On a different note, I am really interested in the evolution of the relationship between Rufus and Dana. It seems as if their desire to help each other is now based not on an authentic feeling of compassion, but on the necessity of fulfilling the other's wishes to stay alive. It's like they are holding each other at gunpoint and are trying to agree on things to avoid getting shot. I think it's also really interesting that Rufus has aged quite a bit more than Dana during the book so far, yet they both seem to have gone through drastic changes in character. A few days for Dana have been a few years for Rufus, but it doesn't seem as if Rufus has changed his view of Dana more than Dana has changed her view of Rufus.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to pass out and wake up in 1988 so that I can murder my parents prior to my conception as a means of achieving immortality.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Micah, you bring up a good point about Butler not explaining how the time travel works. Why do you think she leaves this out? Since she's mostly a science fiction writer, it seems safe to say that she's familiar enough with time travel fiction to know that usually there's some "transport device" or some other explanation related to the time travel. Why leave it out, then? Could the absence of an explanation serve any purpose?
Any others have ideas?
Perhaps she does this to metaphorically show that though Dana and her ancestors are worlds apart, they are still strongly connected. They are separated by time, yet their connection is so strong they can step across this gap. This could be supported by the comment Rufus makes about Dana and Alice being two halves of the same person, or by Dana's inability to kill Rufus until she is forced to act on natural instinct. Of course, she verbally explains to Kevin her reasoning behind not killing Rufus, but I want to believe that there is a lot more to it than the simplicity of what she tells him.
Also, by simultaneously living in two different realities, or two different time periods, Dana is symbolic of the immortality of "Yesterday." The past is a living thing that shapes the present and the future. Yesterday gives birth to Today, which gives birth to Tomorrow and they all share similar traits. In short, the past and present co-exist through the way they shape each other.
You seem to have really compelling explanations for why Butler wouldn't have explained the time travel too thoroughly. (Personally, I also find most time travel explanations ludicrous, as they're almost always disproved or become impossible just a few decades later.)
Yet it still definitely seems to bother you that she doesn't explain it. I'm kind of intrigued by the idea that there is no way for Butler the author to explain it unless Dana too can understand it. In other words, because the novel is written in first person, we can only know what Dana knows. So for us to know how the time travel actually works, Dana has to understand it too. I think I appreciate the kinds of limitations that places on our knowledge. And I would find it rather unconvincing if Dana could suddenly understand time travel; I like it that she just barely pieces together certain parts of it.
Post a Comment