The book emphasizes how slaves were treated as property and reduced to objects. About this author colson whitehead is the new york times bestselling author of the noble hustle, zone one, sag harbor, the intuitionist, john henry days, apex hides the hurt, and one collection of essays, the colossus of new york. Underground railroad by whitehead, first edition abebooks. In whiteheads ingenious conception, the underground railroad is no mere metaphor engineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the southern soil. The protagonist coras grandmother, ajarry, is kidnapped from africa as a child and brought to america, where she is sold many times before ending up on randall plantation. The book whitehead ended up writing was the underground railroad, the story of cora, a 15yearold slave who escapes from a plantation in georgia. When caesar, a recent arrival from virginia, tells her about the underground railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. This novel by colson whitehead follows the path of cora, a thirdgeneration slave, as she uses a literal in this world underground railroad to escape slavery in georgia. I loved the strength and story of the underground railroad. How did this aspect of magical realism impact your concept of how the real underground railroad worked.
Praised by barack obama and an oprah book club pick, the underground railroad by colson whitehead won the national book award 2016 and the pulitzer prize for fiction 2017. Leave me some comments below letting me know your thoughts, and subscribe if. Cora embarks on a harrowing flight from one state to the next, encountering, like gulliver, strange yet familiar iterations of her own world at each stop. When oprah visited auschwitz with elie wiesel, he described the concentration camp as a factory of death. Here, whitehead turns the metaphor into reality or, rather, alternative.
This novel by colson whitehead follows the path of cora, a thirdgeneration slave, as she uses a literal in this world underground railroad to. How does the depiction of slavery in the underground. The perilous lure of the underground railroad the new yorker. In 2016, the underground railroad won the national book award and the pulitzer price for fiction and was named. As much as any literary classic, whiteheads novel poses beautifully shaped questions that speak not just to history, or to the present day, but to eternity itself. Well, this has been a really fun discussion, kyle and steve. In a surprise announcement tuesday morning, winfrey chose the underground railroad as. This year alone has seen the publication of two major railroad novels, including oprahs first bookclub selection in more than a year, colson whiteheads the underground railroad. It made me feel, and it kept me interested and on edge. The underground railroad by colson whitehead arlenes. Reading guide for the underground railroad by colson whitehead.
Colson whiteheads underground railroad is a literal train to freedom whitehead was recently awarded the national book award for his novel about a young slave who has escaped a. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. The term is also applied to the abolitionists, both black and white, free and enslaved, who aided the. A panel discusses the true story of fugitive slaves. The underground railroad by colson whitehead summer book club 2019 book 1 the.
Colson whiteheads novel the underground railroad won the pulitzer prize for fiction on monday. When colson whitehead came up with the premise for the underground railroad 15 years ago, he unearthed one of the several misunderstandings that many of us have had, if. The underground railroad pulitzer prize winner national book award winner oprahs book club. Download an excerpt of the book, and print a copy of oprahs the underground railroad reading guide and book club questions. In whiteheads ingenious conception, the underground railroad is no mere metaphorengineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the southern soil. Do you feel that you now have a better understanding of what slavery was like. Nprs scott simon speaks with colson whitehead about his new book, the underground railroad, in which slaves ride a a real railroad through time to see racism in different eras. Order your copy of the underground railroad online or pick it up at your local bookstore or library. She was born on randall plantation in georgia to her mother mabel, and she never knew her father, grayson, who died before she was read full character analysis caesar is an enslaved man who lives on randall and invites cora to run away with him.
Gail martin and guest irene eskridge discuss the journey and. My latest book, the underground railroad, is an oprahs book club pick. Well be meeting on tuesday, june 27th at madhatter and will be discussing the critically praised national book award winner, andrew carnegie medal for excellence. Oprah interviews underground railroad author colson whitehead.
Please put your comments for the underground railroad book club discussion questions in the comment area below discussion questions. The underground railroad novel quiz colson whitehead this study guide consists of approximately 65 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the underground railroad. Colson whiteheads underground railroad is a problematic. The event is organized by the charleston library society as part of their annual speaker series. The underground railroad by colson whitehead summer book. Congratulations, oprah says, because this book took my breath away. Our book club page for the underground railroad by colson whitehead includes book club discussion questions, author website, book. Every now and then a book comes along that reaches the marrow of your bones, settles in, and stays forever. Im your host, steve meredith, and joining me in the studio, as he always does.
Discuss the underground railroad by colson whitehead. In colson whiteheads ingenious conception, the underground railroad is no mere metaphor. Dive into the latest pick for oprahs book club with these questions about colson whiteheads breathtaking novel. Buy a cheap copy of the underground railroad book by colson whitehead. Discuss the underground railroad by colson whitehead in an online book club. Colson whitehead reimagines the underground railroad wunc. Whitehead ismore this is a work of fiction, not historical fiction. Nobody could wait for colson whiteheads new book including oprah, so here it is, a month early. Pulitzer prizewinning author colson whitehead to discuss.
On monday, march 19 th, pulitzer prize winning author colson whitehead will speak at the charleston music hall as part of the paperback tour for the underground railroad. Watch the clip above to see colson whitehead, author of oprahs book club selection the underground railroad explain where the novels premise came from, and how the story evolved over the last 16 years. The underground railroad by colson whitehead about this guide the questions, discussion topics, and suggestions for further reading that follow are designed to enhance your. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. The underground railroad character analysis litcharts. He read through slave narratives from the 18th and 19th centuries to get a feel for what life might have been like for cora, a 15yearold slave who had escaped from a georgia plantation. Colson whitehead, author of the underground railroad time.
A recording by the national archives of a panel discussion about the underground railroad. It came out july 16, 2019, and there is information about it here. The underground railroad by colson whitehead book club. Colson whiteheads underground railroad is a literal. See why oprah thought of those words while she read the underground railroad, an oprahs book club selection, and what they mean to author colson whitehead. Read our interview with colson whitehead on the underground railroad. Why do you think the author chose to portray a literal railroad.
North and south carolina didnt have the political structure described in the book. Resources colson whitehead used to research his book incidents in the life of a slave girl. Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of anchor books. The underground railroad by colson whitehead plot summary. Colson whiteheads the underground railroad in his ambitious new novel, now an oprah book club pick, the author takes on the topic of slaveryand its tangled legacy. When colson whitehead was a child he imagined the underground railroad as a subway beneath the earth that escaped slaves could ride to freedom. We see that freedom is a perspective that changes with the person and the time. The underground railroad was originally the network of secret escape routes from the slave states of preabolition america. Ajarry has three husbands and five children, and the only one of the children that survives is mabel, coras mother. In his new novel, the underground railroad doubleday2016, colson whitehead creates a literal network of underground tracks and trains for an enslaved woman to escape life on a georgia plantation. A novel whitehead, colson published by doubleday, new york 2016. The author of the underground railroad, oprahs new bookclub pick.
What was colson whiteheads message or underlying premise in the underground railroad. The underground railroad pulitzer prize winner by colson. All the slaves lead a hellish existence, but cora has it worse than most. Cora and caesars first stop is south carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven. The underground railroad, published in 2016, is the sixth novel by american author colson whitehead the alternate history novel tells the story of cora and caesar, two slaves in the southeastern united states during the 19th century, who make a bid for freedom from their georgia plantations by following the underground railroad, which the novel depicts as primarily a rail transport system in. Life is hell for all the slaves, but especially bad for cora. The underground railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses established in the united states during the earlytomid 19th century, and used by africanamerican slaves to escape into free states and canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. 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. Colson whitehead won the national book award for fiction on wednesday night for the underground railroad, a hallucinatory novel about the horrors of american slavery and the sinister. The underground railroad book club discussion questions.
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