User:US:Mayday/sandbox

Summary 1:Prolog, River and Fire
The novel "Kindred" by Octavia Butler, unveil a very unusual story, which begins with the narrator, Dana, who begins her story by saying that, on her last trip home, she lost left arm, and about a year of her life. Most importantly, she lost the sense of comfort and security, which she did not value until it was gone. Dana was in the hospital when she, open her eyes and there was the police waiting to question here about her injury. They kept trying to blame Kevin, Dana's husband. Although, Dana had to repeat many times that he is not at fault, that her so called injury was an accident and her fault. So Kevin was released through lack of proof that he was able to come to the hospital to see Dana. So when Dana saw him, he told her what happened at home. How she was screaming since her left arm was stuck in the wall and she could not pull her arm out that doctors had to amputate it. It seemed that they were both confused by these events.

Dana is a young Black American woman, and just turned twenty-six on June 9, 1976. This day was a very special day for her, since all the events leading to her amputated arm started from this day. Moreover, Dana and her husband just moved into their new house in LA, a few miles in Altadena. Since Kevin was fixing his office and trying to work on his writing, Dana was the one unpacking everything. However, when Kevin fails to write, Dana offers him to arrange their books. At that moment, Dana gets dizzy, and her surroundings fade away. When she comes to her senses, she found herself in the early 19th century, Maryland, where a little white boy named Rufus, age of four or five was struggling in the river. Dana jumps in the water and pulls him out. The boy was unconscious when his mother snatched him from Dana's hands. The mother was so lost and full of hysteria that Dana sees that the boy was not breathing. So she had to grab him from the mother's hands and try to save him. The boy's name was Rufus. When Dana was performing the resuscitation, a woman starts heating her, accusing of killing her baby. Then the boy's father shows up with a gun pointing straight to Dana. She was so scared that she instantly falls into the dizziness. So she transfers back to her home where Kevin was waiting, apparently shocked seeing his wife disappear and appear during the few seconds that they both don't know what to think. Dana narrates every detail of her experience to Kevin. At that moment, she knows that to her it was all real. A couple of hours later, Kevin offers to go somewhere to celebrate Dana's birthday, but she refused, thinking that dizziness might come back and it does. She was transferred again, but at this time in 1815, when Rufus was a couple of years older. She was in his room when she notices the burning draperies and apparently he was the one setting them on fire. He did that because his father punished him for stealing a dollar from his desk. Dana throws the draperies out of the window and makes sure that the fire is extinguished. Then she talks to Rufus, and finds out that this plantation belonged to Weylins, realizing that she is time traveled to antebellum, Maryland. At that point, she becomes so worried that Tom Weylin, Rufus's father will wake up and finds her. As Rufus suggested, she leaves to find Alice Greenwood and her mother, whom Dana believes are her ancestors. Four white patrols who came to catch the runaway slave were breaking down the Greenwoods door. This slave was the husband of Alice's mother. Alice's mother was a free woman, but her husband was not. So they beat him up and then took him with them and they heat Alice’s mother several times too until she fell unconscious. Only after the patrols left, Dana decides to come out of her hiding place to help Alice’s mother. However later, when Dana steps outside to get a forgotten blanket, one of the returning Patroller finds her, beats her, and tries to rape her. Dana fears for her life so much that she instantly feels dizzy and comes back to her own home in LA.US:Mayday (talk) 01:44, 7 April 2014 (UTC)

US:Mayday (talk) 01:56, 7 April 2014 (UTC)

Summary 2:Fall
Summary: The Fall Furthermore, in the “Kindred,” Dana remembers how Kevin and she met. She was working with Kevin in the auto-parts warehouse, where Kevin was a regular worker while Dana was sent through the labor agency as a temporary worker. Since Kevin sold his book, he was working his last week there, when he gets interested in Dana. He offers her to have lunch together and when he noticed that she did not have money, he buys her lunch. During their conversations, Dana recognizes both of them as a “kindred spirit,” who are crazy enough to keep writing despite the difficulties involving the writing career and their relative’s supports. Throughout the week, they continue having lunches together. Then on Kevin’s last day at the warehouse, he invites Dana to the hit play and she agrees. Coming back to the reality, Dana gets dizzy again, but this time Kevin holds on to her, which makes it possible for him to travel to the South with her. This time Rufus fell out of the tree and broken his leg. He is with a young boy named Nigel, who leaves them to get help. So while they are waiting, Rufus asks who is Kevin is and when he finds out that Kevin is Dana’s husband, he gets shocked. During their conversation, he calls Dana “nigger” several times and says that white people do not marry blacks that finally they had to explain him few of the histories. Then Dana asks Rufus to tell no one about them and to pretend that she is Kevin’s slave. Later on Tom Weylin arrives to get Rufus. He checks his son’s leg, wondering aloud how much will it cost him instead of worrying about Rufus’s condition. Then Waylen talks privately with Kevin and after their conversation, he was trying to leave without inviting Dana and Kevin to his house. At that moment, Rufus begs his father to let Dana and Kevin come with them. He agrees, he allows Rufus and Dana come along. Once they reach the house Luke, the Weylin’s slave and the father of Nigel warn Dana about the father and son’s cruelness. Furthermore, Dana goes up to Rufus’s bedroom and just started fixing Rufus’s pillows when Margaret Weylin, Rufus’s mother arrives. Seeing Dana, she gets angry and despite the objections of her son sent her to the cook-house to have supper. While Dana was looking for a cook-house, she meets the Carrie, who, the mute daughter of Sarah, the cook. In the kitchen, Luke and Sarah ask her why she is dressed and talks in a strange way? Moreover, Nigel warns her too, that Weylin does not like educated slaves, especially from New York, free state. Dana nodded, hoping that they are all wrong. Latest on Sarah tells Dana that she is a widow and her three boys were sold and only Carrie was left to her. To that Dana wonders in her mind, how Sarah did not poison Weylens yet. When Dana was finally able to talk to Kevin, she finds out that Weylin hires him as a tutor for Rufus. Moreover, Kevin told the Weylin that he is a writer from New York who had no money and Dana is his slave, who supposed help him with his writing. To Waylen’s suggestion about educated slaves running away, Kevin responded that Dana is intimate with him that educated or not, she would not run away from him. So she receives another warning about Waylen’s dislike about her being educated. Since that conversation, Dana and Kevin try to teach Rufus as much as possible to make sure that he would not grow up as his father, as a slave owner and as the days goes by Dana treats Rufus with more tendency. Dana believes that it is still not too late to mold him into a better person, so she treats him almost as a mother would. Although, Margaret gives her much a hard time by making her sleep in the attic and even spills a hot coffee on her. Kevin demands her to move back to his room and she agrees. Moreover, Dana decides to teach Nigel to read and write. However, despite her being very careful not to be caught, Weylin find her in the cook-house with the book and drags her out to be viciously whipped. Unfortunately, Kevin wasn’t able to reach her in time that Dana passes out reaching her hands to him.

Summary 3:The Fight
The Fight Dana keeps remembering more about her and Kevin’s life before marriage. She remembers fondly about that time when they have been leaving each in their separate apartments not far from each other. At that time, they did not move in together, since she was still working through an agency and he was working on another book. Kevin knew that Dana does not like the agency that he offers her to quit so he can support her when the better job comes along. She was so amazed by his generosity that she thought that, after these words, she would fall in love with him even if she wasn't by now. Of course, they had some arguments too. For example, Kevin wanted her to type for him and Dana said no that her response made him angry. Moreover, she told him how much she hates typing that is why she was working through the manual jobs. Although, they made up fast that only after four months together, Kevin proposed her to get married and Dana agreed. Their both families objected, Kevins sister was married to the racist dentist and despite the fact that, throughout the college, she had black girlfriend, now changed her view to her husbands. Also, Dana’s aunt took it much lightly suggesting that at least her children will be a lighter color, while her uncle was disappointed and completely against by saying he will change his will, that his houses won't belong to white hands. In the end they just went to Vegas to marry so when they came back, Dana received a payment for one of her stories were published in the Atlantic Monthly. After some time, Dana comes to her senses in their home but without Kevin. Also, she feels terrible pain in her back caused from whipping that she barely stands the pain while soaking in the tub. Her shirt was ripped to pieces and stuck to her back and only pain forced her to keep her sanity. Later she packs her bag with some clothing and medication. Then she put the radio to find out the date, looks like she was gone for almost two months and in reality she was back home in the same day. Everything was strange and unreal to her by looking around, she sees only modern staff in comparison to old South. So eventually she felt hungry that she called her cousin asking her to do the shopping for her and she does. Dana was scared to go out that she starts educating herself by reading the history books related to the south. However, when she found Gone with Wind, she felt disgusted with the false image of happy blacks living in a tender, care of slavery that instead the Kevin’s World War II the book of torture and starvation in camps were more connected to slavery. She was home for eight days when start the familiar dizziness washed over her that she was fully prepared this time with her bag. When Dana came back to her senses, she was in the woods and heard the fighting of Rufus with a black slave whose name is Issac Jackson, Alices’s husband. Rufus is older now, maybe nineteen and the black slave was hitting him hard that Dana was  worried about him. Looks like Rufus raped Alice and now he was unconscious and Dana had the hardest time to pursuing Isaac to stop hitting him. Dana finds out from Alice that Kevin left for the North. Then Alice and Isaac run away. Even though, Dana tries to give them more time to run away, Rufus comes to his senses and right away asks about Alice and he tells Dana that he loves Alice and if he were in 1979 he would marry her. At that moment, Dana told him to conceal what happened and instead to tell everybody that he beaten up by white people. He agrees, but that was the least he can do for raping Alice. So Dana leaves him in order to get somebody for help. Once she reaches the house, she meets the new overseer, Jake and looks like Tom Weylin was much older now and he does not know what make or think of Dana, he only knows that she seems to save his son's life. When Dana asks him about Kevin, she finds out that he came back last year looking for her. She also meets the Nigel, who is already grown up and married to Carrie and very soon they will have their first child. After some time when they brought Rufus back home, he had broken ribs and very high fever that Dana gives him her aspirin. After some time, Rufus is better and he promises to send Dana’ letter to Kevin. At the same time Alice an Icaak were caught, they were viciously beaten. Since Alice runs away with the slave, she became a slave too. But first she will be whipped, then sold. So Alice was barely alive when Rufus bought her that when he reaches his home, he tells Dana to take care of her. It takes awhile to Alice to recover that, in the beginning, she does not remember everything that she does not hate Rufus and sleeps in his bedroom. However, when she starts remembering, she forced Dana to tell her everything. Then she moves into the attic. This is the moment when Dana realizes what kind of person Rufus is when he tells her to go and speak to Alice and make her agree to sleep with him willingly or she will be whipped and raped. So Dana did not have a choice other that talking to Alice and making her see the new reality and her choices: to be with Rufus willingly, or face the whipping and rape or run away and be caught by dogs ripped to pieces. Since Alice complied, Rufus has been happy. Although Dana still didn’t receive any news from Kevin that she write another letter and still nothing. Then one day Alice discovered those letters in Rufus’s room and decided to show them to Dana. Of course, at that moment, Dana understood that Rufus did not have any intentions of sending them that she had to run away. Unfortunately, she was caught right after a couple of hours by father and son because somebody told Rufus that she left. At this time, Tom Weyling whipped her so badly that Alice had to take care of her the same way as Dana did. When Dana finally recovers, she finds out that Tome Weylin sends the letter to Colen only because his son promised Dana to do so. So one day, when Dana was forced to do the laundry by the overseer despite her sore back and recent beatings, Alice came to take help her, when they heard somebody galloping toward them and it was Kevin. For Kevin, it was whole five years and for a Dana couple of months of not seeing each other so Kevin barely recognizes her. They instantly decide to leave the plantation and were galloping away when they encounter Rufus, who points his gun toward them saying that he won't let Dana go. Then Dana steps in front of the Kevin start provoking Rufus more that, at this moment, she sees clearly that he would fire. She was so affected by all this that she starts feeling dizzy and loosing conscience when Kevin jumps on her back and they both got transferred to their time.

Summary 4:The Storm, The Rope and Epilogue
Kevin and Dana were finally home, at first they were so happy to escape the plantation that they make love. Dana was especially happy to bring Kevin home. However, Kevin was not feeling like at home anymore, he was even angry for feeling lost. It was strange, but they both felt at home on a Weylin’s plantation rather than in LA. Also, Dana finds out that Kevin was helping the slaves to escape. Most importantly, Kevin is so distracted and lost that he cannot write anymore and Dana feels the same way. Although, she starts preparing her bag again, knowing soon she will be going back again. So a few hours later when they both were eating, Dana started swaying and was transferring back to Maryland. Once there, Dana finds Rufus in the puddle, and his face was in the water that if not for Dana, he would die. So she goes to the house to fetch someone. Then Nigel carries the Rufus home. After that, Dana had conversation with Weylin, knowing that Weylin loves his son Dana threatens him by saying if he will raise his hands on her again, and she will stop helping Rufus. Tom Weylin gets furious and sends her to tend to the Rufus. Looks like Rufus is seriously sick that he was trembling. At the beginning Nigel suggest that Rufus has malaria, but when Rufus complains about his whole body's pain, Dana assumes that his illness is something else. Also, Dana finds out that Alice had lost two babies and only one is living, which is a boy by the name Joe, which makes Dana upset. She was hoping that Hagar, her ancestor, was already born. Nevertheless, a week later, when Rufus got better, Dana was sleeping when Alice calls her to say that Tom Weylin is sick. Dana tries hard to save him, but Tom Weylin still dies from a heart attack that Rufus got infuriated at her and decides to punish her by forcing her to work in the fields. On the fields, Dana falls unconsciously from whipping and hard work. When Dana opens her eye, hoping to be back at home instead, she sees Rufuse’s face. He accompanies her home and then tells her that from now on she supposed to help his mother. Margaret Weylin became a different woman, much nicer and looks like she got addicted to opium. She even tries to teach Dana how to sew. The days were passing quietly when one day Dana sees slaves in chain and Tess was among them that she realizes that Rufus was selling them. Another thing is, most of the slaves start speaking behind Dana and Alice’s back by saying unfavorable remarks about both of being in favor with the master. All these make Dana upset that only Carrie makes her understand that if Dana did not save Rufus, then they all would be sold. After that Rufus arranges the harvest party for slaves and even gives them a whiskey that is where a slave by the name Sam invites Dana to dance. Rufus gets jealous. Alice was pregnant again that Dana had to work more with Rufus, writing his letters. A baby girl born in February and Alice names her Hagar, symbolizing free blacks in the bible. Sam came to see Dana again just to ask her to teach his brother and sister to read. However, a few days later Dana sees him in chains to be sold. Sam’s family blames Dana for getting them separated. When Dana starts asking Rufus not to sell him, he slaps her across her face that Dana runs to the cook-house and cuts her wrists hoping to go back home. When she opens her eyes, she was home with Kevin, he called his friend who was a doctor to fix her wound. Then she finds out from Kevin that she was gone only for three hours, when for her it was whole eight months. Also, Kevin was telling her his suspicions about Rufus’s feeling toward Dana and she assured him that nothing happened between them. So after some time when Kevin’s friends came over and were leaving when Dana starts feeling dizzy again. At this time, she was transferred not far from the Weylins house and Rufus stumbles over her. Then he leads her toward the barn where Alice was dead, apparently committed suicide by hanging herself. Rufus told Alice that he sold their kids and Alice believed him. Since her children were the only reason for her to live that she could not bare the life without them. However, he lied to her to punish Alice for running away. In reality their children were with his aunt in Maryland. After this conversation, Dana makes him free his children by saying that he owes it to Alice. Then Rufus asks Dana to be their mother, but she refuses. Moreover, one evening Rufus was dressed nicely and invited Dana for dinner and starts saying how much she reminds him Alice. Then Dana leaves to the attic refusing to listen to him but he follows her there and tries to force her that Dana had to pull her knife and kill him. She understands that slave will always be a slave and she cannot accept him as a lover and master. So while she was transferring, Rufus was still holding her arm that she transfers with her arm being stuck in the wall. At the end of the story, Dana and Kevin travel to Maryland looking for Rufuse’s grave and also to find out what happened to other slaves. Apparently, all the slaves were sold after his death except Nigel and Carrie and his own children. They both needed to know that all these people were real and they both were sane.

Butler's Biography Assignment
The beginning of the article about Octavia Butler from Wikipedia is too short that it provides not enough information and starts with her achievements in a very short format. In contrast to the other article about Octavia Butler from the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction starts the leading part with a long introduction with listing some of her books, including their summaries and descriptions. As the result, the leading part is too long and at the end of the leading part the article mentions the Patternist books and continues mentioning them in the next paragraph by adding a little information from the Octavia Butlers biography and immediately after continuing the summary on Kindred. So this article lacks content and organization. In the content part of the Octavia E. Butler article from Wikipedia, the interview part was included twice, which doesn't make sense. Since those interview sections are not the same because the first interview under the section three describes the Octavia Butlers interview, which is short and it would be better to include more information from Butler's interviews. The other interview section is under part 10, which provides lists of Butler’s actual interviews that I suggest renaming this part as an "Interview listings."

Another thing is the article on Octavia E. Butler from Wikipedia misses her last award, which was a 2012 Solstice Award. Moreover, the career section includes very little information regarding Octavia Butler’s career experiences instead there is a part of an interview added.