The underground railroad was an informal network of aide and assistance for those who would escape the bondage of slavery and seek freedom. The following version of this book was used to create this study guide. Cora grabs him and they scuffle until cora manages to throw him down the stairs, leaving his body mangled. And i was a bit jarred by whiteheads literal interpretation of the underground railroad, and his stretching the truth to say that the railroad extended so far south. A conductor for the railroad, still was the son of a fugitive slave himself and a campaigner for social reform. The underground railroad pulitzer prize winner national book award winner oprahs book club. Michael schaub, npr far and away the most anticipated literary novel of the year, the underground railroad marks a new triumph for whiteheada book that resonates with deep emotional timbre. The underground railroad covers five primary periods in the life of cora.
New novel takes the underground railroad beyond the. It was from other field hands that she first heard about the underground railroad which she traveled by herself north to philadelphia. How did this aspect of magical realism impact your concept of how the real underground railroad worked. The underground railroad by william still, paperback. Throughout her long life she died at the age of 92 and long after the civil war brought an end to slavery, this amazing woman was proof of what just one person can do. They shoot lander and royal and drag off many others. The final chapter of the novel is preceded by a runaway ad for cora. Ridgeway is the first enemy to see the underground railroad with his own eyes. On the one hand, his depictions of slave life are thoroughly grounded in heartbreaking and hardtotake reality.
Before oprah picked his new novel, the underground railroad, as her next book club selection, hed amassed quite a. To help you find the right books for you and your young reader, weve compiled a list of the best kids books about the underground railroad. The underground railroad, the latest selection of oprah winfreys book club, chronicles the life of a teenage slave named cora, who flees the georgia plantation where she was born, risking. The scheme was assisted by abolitionists and others sympathetic to the cause of the escapees. It is an uneven book, with marvelous passages and unmarvelous ones. The book is full of every monstrous thing committed by slavers beatings, sexual assault. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the underground railroad by colson whitehead. Theres a line toward the end i cant get out of my head. Colson whiteheads underground railroad is a literal train to freedom whitehead was recently awarded the national book award for his novel about a. As someone who has read many fiction and nonfiction books and primary sources about slavery, this book leaves much to be desired. Leaving aside its selection for oprah winfreys highly influential book club, what has made the underground railroad remarkable and notable is what happens at the end of this chapter. The underground railroad is the latest novel from colson whitehead. The underground railroad national geographic society.
The alternate history novel tells the story of cora and. Its at the end of the novel, though, that the allegorical mode is felt most strongly. The people who worked for the underground railroad had a passion for justice and drive to end the practice of slaverya drive so strong that they risked their lives and jeopardized their own freedom to help enslaved people escape from bondage and keep them safe along the route. Ridgeway unshackles cora and forces her to dig, while homer snickers. Colson whiteheads riveting runaway slave story is an eyeopening, brutal, and remarkable study of tensions that pull in opposite directions. Presentation by whitehead at the miami book fair on the underground railroad, november 20, 2016, cspan honors edit the novel has received a number of awards, including the 2017 pulitzer prize for fiction and the 2016 national book award for fiction. And with a voice as magically mercurial as its plot, the underground railroad won a national book award, a pulitzer prize and, most important, oprahs blessing. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Underground railroad by whitehead, first edition abebooks. Stunned out of a gloomy kind of complacency about her. She fiercely defends the tiny plot of land she has inherited from her mother who inherited it from coras grandmother, ajarry when other slaves try to take. Separated from her family and reduced to her value on the auction block, ajarry ends up in the southern state of. But of course, if youve heard of the underground railroad, thats probably not what youve heard about it. The underground railroad audiobook colson whitehead a.
This abridged edition of the underground railroad brings to light the terrors experienced by the thousands of africanamericans who sought a better life in then orthern states of america and in canada. Just as landers speech is coming to an end, the meeting is disrupted by ridgeway and a gang of white men. Otherwise, as should be expected, very little is known about the specific individuals and families who assisted or received aid from the underground railroad. The underground railroad, published in 2016, is the sixth novel by american author colson whitehead. Colson whiteheads novel, the underground railroad, is touched with. Underground veteran levi coffin proclaims that the underground has reached its symbolic end. Colson whiteheads the underground railroad tells the story of cora, a runaway slave who travels from state to state on railroad cars physically under the ground of the american south. Does the underground railroad change the way you look at the history of america, especially in the time of slavery and abolitionism. Besides the underground railroad made famous by american history, other such systems have offered similar services.
The first time caesar approached cora about running north, she said no. The underground railroad colson whitehead, 2016 knopf doubleday 320 pp. A novel by whitehead, colson and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The novel the underground railroad opens with the story of ajarry, a young woman who is captured by slave traders on the african continent. It was also ironic that caesar was reading the book, gullivers travel prior to his escape, and the corrupt white race is what caused him to lose his life. Underground railroad civil war on the western border. By the way, the underground railroad, in the underground railroad, is not a metaphor. Coras grandmother had never seen the ocean before that bright afternoon in the port of ouidah and the water dazzled after her time in the forts dungeon. The secret history of the underground railroad the atlantic. Its to whiteheads credit that he never strikes too hard on the.
The underground railroad by colson whitehead, paperback. Their new identities make them really feel riskfree for the first time, and they start to end up being obsequious, making a decision not to go after the underground railroad even more north from south carolina. In the closing two pages, there is a suggestion of the parable of the. The underground railroad oprah s book club by colson whitehead, and read by banhi turpin. The underground railroad is an american masterpiece, as much a searing document of a cruel history as a uniquely brilliant work of fiction. In this story, cora and caesar are slaves at the randall estate in georgia. Childrens literature has many notable options when it comes to the underground railroad.
The underground railroad begins on a particularly vicious georgia plantation, where all anyone wants to do is escape. Caesar proposes an escape via the underground railroad, which cora initially refuses, but later agrees to when her situation becomes more dire. The novel the underground railroad opens with the story of ajarry, a young woman who is captured by slave traders on the african continent and sold in america. In due course, cora makes a run for it, together with a fellow slave. Bound for canaan, the underground railroad and the war for the soul of america. The book starts off describing the reader as an american who is not sure how to feel about the fugitive slave act which allows slave owners to recapture escaped slaves and free black people think ten years a slave, because you understand how important it is. The questions, discussion topics, and suggestions for further reading that follow are designed to enhance your groups discussion of the underground railroad, a triumph of a novel by colson whitehead.
The underground railroad during the civil war essay. On whiteheads the underground railroad cliffsnotes. The underground railroad quotes and analysis gradesaver. About this book cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in georgia. Colson whitehead, youd think, would be used to accolades by now. Colson whiteheads underground railroad is a problematic. The underground railroad oprahs book club audiobook. The underground railroad the underground railroad was one of the most remarkable protests against slavery in united states history. Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of anchor books. In south carolina, cora and caesar obtain new identities. The storys main narrative, set in the southern united states during the slavery era the early 1800s, is introduced and occasionally interrupted. This novel, the underground railroad, is touched with greatness. In the underground railroad, white americans are obviously corrupted because they do not view african americans as equals, deny them freedom, and use them as slaves. When coras mother, mabel, runs away, cora becomes a young outcast among the slaves of the randall plantation.
Underground railroad simulations have ignited controversy about whether they confront the countrys darkest history or trivialize its gravest traumas. On seeing the station, ridgeway reflects that while most people think the underground railroad is just a figure of speech, he always knew it was real. Civil war and underground railroad timeline and resources. The underground railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses established in the united states during the early to mid19 century, and used by enslaved africanamericans to escape into free states and canada.
Incredibly, despite all the biographies and monuments, operas and museum exhibitions and commemorative stamps, harriet is the first feature film to focus solely on the underground railroad. The novel, although with some qualities just does not do its job. The underground railroad, by contrast, was personal. Ridgeway captures cora and demands that she lead him to the railroad station. New novel takes the underground railroad beyond the metaphor nprs scott simon speaks with colson whitehead about his new book, the underground railroad, in which slaves ride a a real railroad. The underground railroad was a network of people, african american as well as white, offering shelter and aid to escaped slaves from the south.
The underground railroad essays are academic essays for citation. It was a fight for personal survival, which many slaves lost in trying to attain their freedom. Underground railroad timeline, an excerpt from fergus bordewich new book. Overall, though, i am happy to have read a popular book that so many people i know have also read. Persuaded by a fellow slave named caesar, cora escapes from the georgia plantation where she was born and travels north, riding in the boxcar of a secret.
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