The Underground Railroad Analysis

The novel of The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead takes place in the early 1800’s during the slavery era, in the southern state of Georgia. This realistic- fiction novel expresses themes of freedom, violence, the classification “good” and “bad”, influential pasts, racial hardship. Whitehead portrays a magnificent story of a young slave named Cora, who travels across the southern states on a railroad cars that are physically underground. Cora is persuaded by a another slave named Caesar to escape her home of the Georgia plantation. However, hot on their trail is slave catcher Ridgeway, who has a personal axe to grind with Cora.
The Underground Railroad is composed of three main important features that shape the entire book. The first

When Cora was a small child, her mother Mabel ran away from the plantation, effecting Cora’s status as an outcast on the Randall plantation. Throughout her years of adolescents, Cora defends a small area of land that has been in her family since her grandmother, Ajarry, passed it down to Mabel. When another slave in Cora’s plantation is receiving a punishment beaten from the Terrance Randall, she protest and ends up getting beat alongside the slave for being outspoken. A transfer slave, named Caesar, sees Cora’s silent need for freedom and asks her to flee with him; after weeks declining his request, Cora finally says yes and they leave in the middle of the night. As they are leaving the primacies of the plantation, another slave named Lovey accompanies them. When walking the three of them are seen by group of white hog hunters. The white hog hunters capture Lovey and try to get Cora, but she manages to escape by killing one of the boys. Cora helps Caesar and tries help Lovey, but it was too late for her. After that encounter Cora and Caesar head to Mr. Fletcher’s house, their contact to the underground railroad. Then they journey to the home of a station agent, where Cora and Caesar discover an underground tunnel, where go on a locomotive and head

That is until days later, a train comes and takes Cora to North Carolina. A another station agent, named Martin comes and finds Cora to tell her she shouldn’t have come to North Carolina, because the state has been cracking down on runaway slaves and those who aid them. Yet, Martin still helps Cora by providing her with a small room in his attic. Cora stays in North Carolina for few months, and every Friday watches the town throw a gathering for executing slaves, all from a tiny window in the attic. During her time spent in North Carolina, Cora falls ill due to the dust and mold in the attic. As a result Martin and his wife, Ethel, move Cora downstairs so she can recover. Martin and Ethel’s maid becomes skeptical of them and reports them to the local authorities. Slave catcher Ridgeway comes and takes Cora, all while she sees Martin and Ethel being executed for helping