Kindred Stuppy Test Prep

Metafiction

Literature emphasizing its own fictional nature (e.g., modern Dana writing/experiencing history).

Classic structure

A traditional plot arc (exposition to resolution) combined with time-travel sci-fi mechanics.

Fragmentation

A non-linear, broken narrative jumping between 1976 California and antebellum Maryland.

Pastiche

Blending multiple genres: historical fiction, slave narrative, sci-fi, and drama.

Intertextuality

Referencing other historical documents and real slave narratives (like Frederick Douglass's).

Moments of genuine emotion

Raw human grief, fear, and love breaking through historical distance.

Dana

Traits: Brave, resourceful, modern Black woman. Themes: Psychological toll of history, survival, resilience under extreme trauma.

Kevin

Traits: Loving husband, naive about history/racism. Themes: White privilege, strains on relationships, modern vs. historical race dynamics.

Rufus

Traits: Abusive, conflicted, entitled slave owner. Themes: Corrupting nature of power, hypocrisy of slaveholders, systemic cruelty.

Alice

Traits: Proud, traumatized, fiercely independent. Themes: Loss of bodily autonomy, psychological destruction, tragic survival.

Tom Weylin

Rufus's father; a cold, pragmatic, and violent plantation owner.

Margaret Weylin

Rufus's mother; a fragile, cruel, and neurotic woman.

Miss Hannah

Tom Weylins first wife now deceased, frame mogs Margret

Sarah

The plantation cook who copes with losing her children by focusing on survival.

Carrie

Sarah’s mute daughter; a loyal friend to Dana.

Nigel

Lukes son, Rufuses servant, marries carrie, set house on fire

Luke

A proud, strong enslaved man sold away by Tom Weylin for defying orders, was an overseer.

Issac

Alice's husband; attempt to escape ends in severe punishment and enslavement. Fights Rufus, dawgs him.

Jake Edwards

The cruel overseer at the Weylin plantation.

Tess

A slave girl whom Dana befriends. She is the mistress first of Weylin, then Fowler. Rufus sells her.

Hagar

Alice and Rufus's 2nd kid; Dana’s grandma

Joe

Alice and Rufus's young son.

Prologue

Dana wakes up in a 1976 hospital missing her arm, framing the story as a flashback.

First Jump

Dana is pulled from 1976 to 1815 Maryland to save a young Rufus from drowning.

The Connection

Dana learns she is summoned whenever Rufus's life is in mortal danger.

Kevin's Travel

Kevin is dragged into the past with Dana, posing as her owner.

Weylin Plantation

Dana and Kevin experience the daily terror and cruelty of slavery.

Separation

Dana is pulled back to 1976 alone, leaving Kevin stranded in the past for years.

Rufus's Growth

Dana watches Rufus grow into a cruel, entitled slave owner like his father.

Alice's Fate

Alice attempts escape with Isaac, gets captured, and is forced into a relationship with Rufus.

Climax

Dana stabs and kills Rufus to protect herself from being permanently enslaved and abused.

Epilogue

Dana returns to 1976, but her arm gets fused into a wall and must be amputated.