Kindred: The Fire (Parts 4-6)

Summary:
Dana tells Alice that she is a friend. Alice introduces her to her mother, who is lying on the ground, unconscious. When asked where she came from by the mother after becoming conscious, Dana begins to fabricate a story. She says that she is a free slave from New York without any papers who is trying to get to her husband. The only truth she tells is that Rufus is the only one who knows her. Alice's mother believes her and tells Dana the man that was captured was her husband. He was not allowed a pass from Mr. Weylin because he wants her husband to be with another woman so that he can also own their babies.
Just as Dana goes outside to pick up a dropped blanket, a man takes her, believing that she is Alice's mother. She realizes the man is a patroller and tries to fight back. Dana runs back to the house, but the door is barricaded so she runs into the forest. He tries to rape her, but Dana gets away just as the dizziness sets back in.
Dana awakens and her vision is blurry. A man is standing on top of her. Thinking that it is the patroller, she fights him only to realize that it is her husband, Kevin. Kevin tells her that she was gone for three to five minutes when she knows she has been gone for hours.
She gets up the next morning to find a canvas bag next to her filled with clothes, shoes, and a switchblade. Kevin made it for her because he wants her to be prepared the next time she goes. He listens to her story and is again amazed. After, they head over to the library to find a slave's papers to prove that she is free when she returns. Kevin notes that Dana might have more control over going home. If Rufus has the ability to call her for fear of death, Dana's fear of death calls her home.
Reaction:
In the beginning, Alice's mother puts a lot of trust in Rufus, which was probably extremely uncommon in those days. Rufus must have done something worth trusting him or he is actually a really good person. He really contrasts with his father who doles out punishment most severely on slaves and animals. This actually reminds me of a story from my American Literature class. I do not remember who the author was, but I think it was Frederick Douglass who said that slavery was not only bad for the slave but for the slave owner as well. This was because slavery corrupted the slave owner. He told the story of how when he was younger, he was allowed to play with the white boys of the house, but as he grew older, he wasn't allowed to anymore. The boys did not see why they had to stop playing with him and could not understand it. It was only until they were taught that they were "higher", did they understand. I really hope this does not happen to Rufus when he grows up.