Who said that?
"I lost an arm on my last trip home."
Who is Dana?
Dana is transported back in time while doing this domestic activity in her new home.
What is unpacking boxes?
Dana realizes she has traveled back in time by this many years.
What is over 100 years (approximately)?
This theme explores how Dana is forced to participate in the very system she opposes.
What is complicity or moral compromise?
Dana describes herself as practical and intelligent. This is her profession in 1976.
What is a writer?
"You're not going anywhere. You're staying here with me."
Who is Kevin?
This is the name of Dana's husband who witnesses her disappearance.
Who is Kevin?
This is Dana's first major concern when she realizes where and when she is.
What is her safety as a Black woman in the antebellum South?
Butler uses time travel to examine this historical reality that most people distance themselves from
What is slavery
Rufus demonstrates this character flaw early on when he nearly drowns and expects Dana to save him without question.
What is entitlement or selfishness?
"Get her! She's a runaway!"
Who is Rufus (or the overseer)?
Dana is pulled back in time to save the life of this person who is drowning.
Who is Rufus Weylin
Rufus's father is this profession, which gives the family status and power.
What is a plantation owner?
This theme is central to Dana's internal conflict as she must decide between her survival and her principles.
What is the corruption of power or the abuse of authority?
Kevin shows this quality by immediately believing Dana about her time travel experience, even though it seems impossible.
What is loyalty or open-mindedness?
"I don't know you. Why are you here? What do you want?"
Who is Alice?
Dana experiences this physical sensation when she is transported through time?
What is dizziness/vertigo or feeling pulled/yanked?
Dana must hide this aspect of her identity to survive in the past.
What is her knowledge/education or her modern background?
Dana's repeated returns to the past suggest this theme about the inescapability of history.
What is the cyclical nature of history or how the past haunts the present?
Alice is characterized by this emotion when she first encounters Dana, since she doesn't understand who Dana is or why she's there.
What is fear or confusion?
"You'll do as I say. You're here because I need you, and you'll stay as long as I need you."
Who is Rufus Weylin?
This is the time period to which Dana is transported in Chapter One.
What is the antebellum South (or early 1800s)?
This is the name of Rufus's mother, who represents the white Southern aristocracy.
Who is Margaret Weylin?
This theme explores how ordinary people become trapped in systems of oppression and must make impossible choices.
What is moral complexity or the gray areas of ethics?
Margaret Weylin's treatment of the enslaved people on the plantation reveals this aspect of her character.
What is cruelty or indifference?