Reading the book, the Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead was an interesting novel that depicted the life story of certain slaves. Although the book showed the struggle of slavery and escaping in a fictional manner with a few history facts to support this novel. The short stories in this book show that something that was shown or read in any history books across the world. These short stories helped shaped my viewpoints of how the slaves. During this point in history, major things was happening to the slaves instead of them buying sold to pick cotton or tend the slave master kid. In the short story, North Carolina, the author portrays as the Underground Railroad as a real train that traveling underground. (pg. 149, paragraph 30). In history,
All people. regardless of race, religion, or gender, are human beings, they should be treated fairly and equally, although even in modern society, that is unfortunately often not the case. Peaceful resistances help shape our nation as a whole, and bring us together in a way that created a more diverse and understanding culture. While there will always be people who refuse to accept changes like this, civil disobedience leads to the betterment of society and more equality for everyone by making people more aware of the problems at hand.
In the beginning of the novel, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, Mabel is constantly represented as an awful mother when described by her daughter, Cora. Mabel spends her whole life on the Randall Plantation before one day running away, leaving Cora behind. Cora perceives this as an act of selfishness and is furious that Mabel didn’t say goodbye. Cora thought “it was incomprehensible that Mabel had abandoned her to that hell” (Whitehead 98). If the plantation was bad enough for Mabel to leave, it must be just as bad for Cora
Everyone who has taken an American History class should be familiar with the southern slaves of the nineteenth escaping to freedom in the north, but often do not realize they were not the first ones with the idea of running away. Gregory Wigmore is a doctoral candidate for Department of History at the Univerity of California. In his article, “Before the Railroad: From Slavery to Freedom in the Canadian-American Borderland,” he explained how Canadian slaves escaped to North America in the Great Lake region before the times of the Underground Railroad. During this time the gradual emancipation of slaves was in effect in Canada since 1793, meaning that child slaves were still acknowledged as human property until they were twenty-five years of
The railroad turned the city into a mining agriculture and a retail center (Doc D). This shows that the Transcontinental Railroad
Another major figure in the Underground Railroad was Thomas Garrett. Born unto a Quaker family who his runaway slaves in Delaware, Garrett was exposed to opposition at an early age. After saving the life of an African American slave who was kidnapped by slave traders, Garrett became dedicated to the abolitionist cause in 1813. He was on record saying, “Friend, I haven't a dollar in the world; but if thee knows a fugitive who needs a breakfast send him to me”. He turned his home in Wilmington, Delaware into the last stop for the Underground Railroad before slaves reached Pennsylvania where they got their freedom.
The Abolitionists were people that were against slavery, and the group was dedicated to the cause of getting rid of it. Most of abolitionists were from the North, and the Abolitionist movement started in the 1830s. The Underground Railroad is the most thought of when we think of the Abolitionist Movement. The Underground Railrod helped fugitive slaves from the south, get to the North. Most of the slaves that went through this process made it to their destination, and became free African Americans like they had wanted to be.
The Transcontinental Railroad The completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad was an important event in the United States history. There were many challenges in building it, but after it was finished, it connected the East Coast of the United States to the West Coast. The railroad took three whole years to build, with the help of two railroad companies and thousands of other hired workers.
Transcontinential Railroad had a huge impact on the Native Ameriacans, Society and the Environment. Here is one example of how the Native Americans were impacted: Some of the hardships they faced were very little food, only ate once during their working hours. They worked long hours for very little money, and they had ages 10 and up working. Transcontinential Railroad helped the society grow with the transportation it provided. It replaced wagon trains of previous decades which became usless.
Harsh treatment on individuals that do not have the right to their freedom is far from happiness. The fact that anyone believes that slaves were happy in any shape or form is sad to hear. A lot of people would disagree with the teacher that said slaves were happy to be treated as so. The slaves were punished and handled like wild animals when they should have been given the same right as white individuals. Many songs were sung amongst the Africans in code, therefore, their owners would not know of their plans to escape.
The underground railroad was something many slaves used to escape to freedom, and there were a lot of ways that they would travel around. Wickham
It is imperative to know the conditions of the time prior to the beginnings of the underground railroad and the impact it left on the country in order to understand
In Colson Whitehead’s “The Underground Railroad,” white supremacy is portrayed as a pervasive and destructive force that shaped the lives of African Americans. Through vivid depictions of brutal violence and systematic oppression portrayed through various chapters, Whitehead reveals two distinct but similar ways white supremacy perpetuated slavery. White hegemony and White fear displayed how white supremacy was used to justify the violence and exploitation against African Americans. Whitehead demonstrates how white supremacy permeates every aspect of American society.
Literature is often credited with the ability to enhance one’s understanding of history by providing a view of a former conflict. In doing so, the reader is able to gain both an emotional and logistical understanding of a historically significant event. Additionally, literature provides context that can help the reader develop a deeper understanding of the political climate of a time period. Within the text of The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead’s, the use of literary elements such as imagery, metaphor, and paradox amplifies the reader’s understanding of early 19th century slavery and its role in the South of the United States of America. Throughout the novel, Whitehead utilizes a girl named Cora to navigate the political and personal consequences of escaping slavery, the Underground Railroad, and her transition
Colson Whitehead chose to represent South Carolina ahistorically to comment on how racism and discrimination continued after the abolition of slavery, and he did this by incorporating elements of American culture and discriminatory decisions that did not appear historically until after the abolition. Whitehead uses the section of his book that takes place in South Carolina to comment on the racial segregation prevalent in America in the early-mid 20th century. In South Carolina as it appears in The Underground Railroad, slaves are owned by the state government and assigned to work in their own communities. They are given amenities such as housing and money for food in return for their services, but they are required to stay separate from the white community.
In many ways, Whitehead’s novel is a symbol of resistance. He encourages individuals to resist the attempts of the unjust, who wish to erase the diverse nation that history has worked so hard to build. Today, freedom in American is often taken for granted. Taking a look at the struggles faced by those enslaved, therefore, forces individuals to pay close attention to and learn from America’s frightful history. In doing so, modern generations have the ability to work towards building a better world, laid alternatively, on the foundation of equality and acceptance of all, regardless of sex, gender, and