the underground railroad colson whitehead sparknotes

This change is the impetus Cora needs to escape. James Randall dies of kidney failure, making Terrance the new owner of James’s half of the plantation and Cora’s new master. Cora intervenes, and she, too, is beaten. Terrance begins beating Chester with his cane. Terrance commands the slaves to dance, and a young slave named Chester accidentally bumps into Terrance, causing the master to spill a drop of wine on his sleeve. They want to hear a slave named Michael recite the Declaration of Independence, but it turns out that Michael was beaten to death. Blake himself had already been captured and killed after trying to run away.ĭuring the birthday celebration feast of a slave named Jockey, the plantation co-owners James and Terrance visit the festivities. Not long afterward, when Cora reached puberty, Blake’s cronies raped her. In retaliation, Cora destroyed the doghouse with a hatchet. A massive slave named Blake uprooted her garden and built a doghouse for his dog in the space. Once the land was Cora’s responsibility, other slaves began trying to take it from her. This land was passed to Mabel, and then, when Mabel escaped, to Cora. Within the slaves’ quarters on the Randall plantation, Ajarry had claimed for herself a tiny three-square-yard patch of land to farm.

Without a mother, Cora became a misfit among the slaves and was sent to live in the Hob, a cabin for women who do not belong anywhere else, including those who are unfit to work or mentally unstable. See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.Cora’s mother ran away when Cora was 10 or 11 years old. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time.

This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:Īvailable in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you on your reading journey. The Underground Railroad is Colson Whitehead’s best-known novel, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2017.įind out everything you need to know about The Underground Railroad in a fraction of the time! In her escape, she uses a subterranean railway manned by free former slaves and sympathetic whites, making the novel an intriguing reimagining of the real system of safe houses and transport routes in the antebellum USA. This engaging summary presents an analysis of The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, which follows Cora, a teenage runaway slave, as she travels through America after escaping a cruel owner and a brutal existence on a plantation, pursued all the while by the feared slave catcher Ridgeway. Unlock the more straightforward side of The Underground Railroad with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

The underground railroad colson whitehead sparknotes