In Kindred, both Kevin and Dana know that they can't change history. They say: "We're in the middle of history. We surely can't change it" (100) and...

Let me
start by answering the final question in a more concrete way. The reason that the reader is
experiencing Dana's journey in lockstep with her is because the narrative point of view is first
person. What Dana experiences, we experience. What she feels and thinks is what we experience,
and what she learns, hopefully we learn. I believe that is the larger question here. Why is it
important that Dana and the reader experience what we experience? The answer to that question is
much more subjective and best left up to individual readers.

What Dana
experiences back in time is horrible, and it is tough for her and us to know that she can't do
anything about it. I think that is an important message for readers. You
can't change the past, but that doesn't make it any less important. It's
important to know your past and where you came from in order to better understand where you are
now. That is a valuable lesson that Dana learns from her experiences, and
readers hopefully learn it too.