What Does Tennessee Represent In The Underground Railroad? (Correct answer)

How many slaves died using the Underground Railroad?

  • At its peak, nearly 1,000 slaves per year escaped from slave-holding states using the Underground Railroad – more than 5,000 court cases for escaped slaves were recorded – many fewer than the natural increase of the enslaved population.

Was the Underground Railroad in Tennessee?

The Underground Railroad Ran Through Tennessee. Tennessee is home to a number of sacred sites. Travel to these sacred places in Tennessee that commemorate and tell the stories of those who traveled the Underground Railroad in Tennessee in search of freedom.

Did the Underground Railroad go through Chattanooga?

After passing through the Chattanooga area, the path to freedom continued north to Bradley County, into Kentucky, then to Ohio, and ultimately to Ontario, Canada.

What cities did the Underground Railroad go through?

In the decades leading up to the American Civil War, settlements along the Detroit and Niagara Rivers were important terminals of the Underground Railroad. By 1861, some 30,000 freedom seekers resided in what is now Ontario, having escaped slave states like Kentucky and Virginia.

Does Nashville have an underground?

Boasting the highest, largest, and only double deck rooftop on Broadway, Nashville Underground delivers a unique and fun experience. The 40,000-square foot live music venue, restaurant, bar, and event space, owned by brothers Joey & Gavin DeGraw, showcases Nashville’s world-famous music, cuisine, and spirits.

Who was Jacob Burkle?

According to the museum’s extensive research, Burkle was an abolitionist sympathizer and member of the historic Underground Railroad. In the late 1840s, Burkle fled Germany and conscription into the army to avoid fighting in a series of revolutionary wars he saw as unjust and oppressive.

Were there slaves in Chattanooga Tennessee?

A number of these churches still are found within the city of Chattanooga to this day. Last Year of Peace By 1860, Hamilton County had a population of 13,258, which included Chattanooga’s population of 2,545.12 Within the population there were 457 black residents, 99 of whom were enslaved.

What state did the Underground Railroad start?

In the early 1800s, Quaker abolitionist Isaac T. Hopper set up a network in Philadelphia that helped enslaved people on the run. At the same time, Quakers in North Carolina established abolitionist groups that laid the groundwork for routes and shelters for escapees.

Which state has the most Underground Railroad routes?

It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. The network was assisted by abolitionists and others sympathetic to the cause of the escapees. The enslaved who risked escape and those who aided them are also collectively referred to as the “Underground Railroad”.

Were there tunnels in the Underground Railroad?

Contrary to popular belief, the Underground Railroad was not a series of underground tunnels. While some people did have secret rooms in their houses or carriages, the vast majority of the Underground Railroad involved people secretly helping people running away from slavery however they could.

Are there tunnels in Tennessee?

There are 23 Tunnels in Tennessee.

Who owns underground Nashville?

Owned by brothers Joey and Gavin DeGraw, Nashville Underground was named a Top 20 Celebrity-Owned Restaurant by The Food Network, and we’re just getting started.

What bar does Gavin DeGraw?

DeGraw’s is Nashville Underground, a 4-level venue serving food and drinks with plenty of room to watch a live band, catch a sports game or dance on the light-up floor on the building’s rooftop.

LitCharts

This chapter opens with a runaway ad for a 16-year-old biracial girl named Peggy, who is the subject of the next chapter. In the following section, the narrator recalls Cora’s voyage withRidgeway, during which another abducted slave, Jasper, refuses to shut up. The singer Jasper does not have a pleasant singing voice, his looks are twisted, and he is unfortunate, much like Cora is. People are staring at the gathering of them, which includes Cora and Jasper, Ridgeway, his accompliceBoseman (who is wearing a necklace made of withered ears), and 10-year-old Homer, among others.

Homer is also the bookkeeper for Ridgeway, in addition to driving the wagon.

Homer has been taught to read and write by Ridgeway, and Cora is perplexed as to why he hasn’t left yet.

Homer deliberately shackles himself to the cart at night and “snores like a wealthy old man” while doing so.

  1. She stays awake and defiant, interrogating Ridgeway and pointing out the holes in his logic in response to his questions.
  2. Homer’s way of being, on the other hand, is the most bizarre of all.
  3. The tragedy of his life has most certainly resulted in a type of Stockholm Syndrome in Homer, despite the fact that he does not express any desire to be enslaved.
  4. “Tell me a story,” Cora invites Boseman and Ridgeway to do so because it will give her “time to contemplate her alternatives.” As Ridgeway explains to Cora that they are on territory that was originally owned by the Cherokees, he also informs her about the Trail of Tears.
  5. As they cross the border into Tennessee, Cora realizes that this is the first time she has done so without the assistance of the underground railroad.
  6. In response to Boseman’s suggestion that the villagers must have offended God, Ridgeway responds that it was most likely simply a “spark that got away.” Cora has learnt to walk with the assistance of walking irons, despite the fact that her feet are covered in sores.
  7. It is notable because, in contrast to many of the white individuals Cora comes into contact with (especially those in South Carolina), Ridgeway gives a rather honest and truthful account of the history of America.

Unmistakably, Ridgeway adheres to a harsh, nihilistic vision of the universe, according to which whomever possesses the greatest amount of power and fortune deserves to exploit, deny, and even murder others.

Cora, who has learned to orient herself by the sun thanks to Caesar, realizes that they are traveling west rather than south.

Ridgeway goes on to say that after they get Nelson, Cora would be restored to Randall’s custody.

Cora makes an unsuccessful attempt to hold back a scream.

Given the harshness of their lord, Ridgeway believes it is no surprise that the enslaved people on Randall are in such horrible circumstances.

In addition, Ridgeway informs Cora that Lovey died over a period of several days and that Fletcher was also discovered.

She makes an attempt to question Jasper about his life, but all he does is sing in answer.

The fact that Cora was well aware that it was exceedingly doubtful that Fletcher would live and almost impossible that Lovey would survive did not prevent her from holding on to hope in order to get through the continual uncertainty, agony, and terror that had defined her existence on the run.

  • Ridgeway’s forthright, brusque demeanor when delivering the devastating news to Cora contrasts sharply with Cora’s sense of expectation.
  • Ridgeway, on the other hand, has an easy attitude to adopt, given his position of power, prosperity, and freedom.
  • Ridgeway kills Jasper without saying anything, and Jasper’s blood and bones splatter all over Cora’s clothes.
  • Homer double-checks the records and declares, “He’s correct.” It appeared as though the wildfire had raged for miles around, leaving Tennessee looking like a burned wasteland after the end of the world.

A sign warning that a nearby village has been infected with yellow fever is passed by the group, and Boseman observes that two of his brothers died as a result of the sickness, which is described as “a horrible end.” This chapter once again demonstrates the extent to which slavery has completely corrupted the moral sensibilities of the majority of the characters.

  1. Meanwhile, Boseman’s remark that yellow fever produces a “miserable death” raises the question of what constitutes a “miserable death” in a society marked by apparently perpetual sadism, torture, violence, pain, and death, among other things.
  2. Unlike slave dealers, who account for slaves based on their monetary worth, Cora accounts for individuals based on their love and compassion.
  3. However, she comes to the conclusion that the fire and the emergence of the illness cannot be considered forms of justice because Cora has done nothing to deserve her numerous tragedies.
  4. After North Carolina, it is the largest town that Cora has seen since then, and the people who live there dress in the finery of “settlers rather than the settled.” Cora receives a dark blue dress from Homer, who unlocks her chains to allow her to put it on.
  5. Along with the unpleasant wooden shoes, Cora is informed by Ridgeway that he would be bringing her out to dine that evening.
  6. She is attempting to find answers to the many unanswered issues about America and slavery.
  7. What is it about evil that causes so many decent people to suffer so greatly, while bad individuals not only escape punishment, but continue to flourish and benefit from their crimes?
  8. Many of these issues are intractable, but Cora is determined to find answers regardless of the obstacles she faces.
  9. Ridgeway directs her to a seat at a tavern and informs her that the attire she is wearing is appropriate.
  10. Ridgeway refers to Caesar as “it,” as he does with other enslaved humans, and this is consistent throughout the novel.

When Ridgeway informs her that he has received a reward for Caesar’s capture, she responds, “You scrape like an old darky for that Randall money,” which means, “You scrape like an old darky for that Randall money.” When they’re done eating lumpy stew, Cora reminds out that Ridgeway killed Jasper “in cold blood.” Ridgeway inquires as to whether Cora feels any remorse for murdering the 12-year-old kid, and Cora, despite the fact that she now recognizes she does feel some remorse, tells Ridgeway that she does not.

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A belief known as “manifest destiny,” which holds that white settlers were destined to capture control of American land, is explained by Ridgeway in detail.

Although this may have been disastrous in another context, Cora is in a precarious position in which she has nothing else to lose.

Aside from that, Cora is also capable of exacting some type of retribution merely by insulting and obstructing Ridgeway’s efforts, such as by referring to him as “an old darky.” By this point, she has gained an understanding of Ridgeway’s thought process and is able to use this knowledge against him as a means of exerting her authority over him (even as he maintains absolute power over her).

Although he continues to speak through the doorway, he informs the young lady that he is aware that Mabel is likely to be up in Canada laughing at him and that he considers this to be “personal damage.” In order to visualize Mabel “wrapped up like a present” and ready to be sent back to Randall, he purchased the outfit for Cora.

  • Every enslaved individual who successfully escapes the system instills optimism that the system may be overthrown, which is one of the reasons Ridgeway is so dedicated to his mission.
  • She considers such dance to be “genuine dialogue,” as opposed to Ridgeway’s ramblings of words.
  • It is amusing to imagine Ridgeway continuing to discuss his thoughts about race and slavery via the outhouse doorway, even if it is also unpleasant to think about.
  • Ridgeway, like Ethel, takes pleasure in the chance to treat enslaved individuals as if they were his property.
  • It appears that his animosity of Mabel is founded in the fact that he was never able to carry out his power performance in front of her.
  • Cora has been planning for this moment for some time, and Boseman is quite inebriated.
  • However, a few seconds later, Ridgeway knocks Boseman to the ground, and Cora is unable to move because she is in shock.

It is the freeman that Cora had seen earlier in town; he is armed and is joined by two other black men who are also armed, as Cora had noticed before.

Ridgeway is already well-known among the males.

In addition to shooting Boseman, Cora uses her shackles to strangle Ridgeway.

They offer to kill Ridgeway and Boseman, who is already bleeding to death, before stating that they would prefer to put them in chains instead of shooting them.

However, in actuality, they are all for Cora’s own benefit.

Indeed, Cora’s longing for independence is so inextricably linked to death that the two become two sides of the same coin in their pursuit of it.

Cora is troubled by the murders of her friends, yet she maintains her focus on the future that lies ahead of her.

That she kicks Ridgeway on her own initiative, rather than as a method of paying tribute to the deceased, demonstrates this point.

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The Underground Railroad Chapter 8: Tennessee Summary and Analysis

The eighth chapter starts with Coraen being transported back to her previous master, Randall, in the slave catcher wagon owned by Ridgeway. Jasper, a second fugitive that Ridgeway apprehends along the road, is a religious fanatic who sings religious hymns nonstop. As their wagon travels through Tennessee, his voice is a frequent companion. This new state has been completely destroyed by fire. They walk through entire villages that have been reduced to ash, and they eventually become covered in black filth themselves.

  1. Ridgeway provides his fugitives with a full amount of food to make the journey easier (for which he pays their owners when they return), but Jasper refuses to consume any of it.
  2. Ridgeway informs Cora that he purchased the youngster from a pawn shop and adopted him as a kindred soul.
  3. According to Ridgeway, Homer understands that “a black youngster has no future” in the United States (202).
  4. Boseman is well-known for sporting an ear jewelry that he obtained from an Indian wrestler called Strong during a wrestling fight.
  5. The land has now been cleared by settlers for use.
  6. Tennessee was once Cherokee territory until the president determined that white settlers need it.
  7. Thousands perished as a result of sickness, starvation, and the terrible winter conditions encountered during the march.

According to Ridgeway, what is left of the historic Cherokee territory in Tennessee has been rendered barren by a massive wildfire that was sparked by a lightning strike.

It was three million acres of land that was burned when the flames got away from them.

When she looks around, she discovers that they are moving west rather than south, in the direction of Randall’s property.

Ridgeway also informs Cora of his visit to Randall’s plantation, when he met with Terrance and discussed the reward he had placed on Cora’s head.

Cora breaks down in tears as soon as she learns the news.

Ridgeway continues his conversation with her, telling her that it was a pity to seeTerrance Randallso cruel and corrupted by money as he had become.

Fletcher a visit and discovered that he had assisted Cora and Caesar; and how a clue concerning Martin’s father led him to North Carolina.

Jasper’s hymns are still being sung by him.

Cora is covered in blood and bone as a result of Jasper’s actions.

The wagon continues its journey through the state of Tennessee.

Boseman shudders when he recalls the deaths of his brothers as a result of the yellow fever epidemic.

Slavery necessitated the keeping of lists: lists of slaves on the auction block, lists of slaves who were alive and dead, and lists of slaves who were living and dead.

Despite the promise of order via list-making, Cora comes to the conclusion that there is no justice.

They arrive at a town that has not been afflicted by yellow fever and is teeming with activity even in the evening.

She removes her old shift, which had been stained with Jasper’s blood, and puts on the new dress.

It is he who tells her what occurred in South Carolina: Ridgeway had discovered Caesar in the plant where he was employed and had arrested and jailed him overnight.

Caesar was torn apart limb from limb by the citizens of the town.

Ridgeway inquires as to if Cora had any remorse for killing the youngster back in Georgia.

As Cora rushes to the outhouse to shut him out, he continues to pontificate about Manifest Destiny and his role as a slave catcher in keeping order.

When they are about to fall asleep, Boseman awakens Cora by placing a palm over her lips and announcing his intention to rape her.

Ridgeway jumps out of bed and slams Boseman to the ground in a fit of rage before anything more can happen.

Cora had never seen a group of black males armed with firearms before.

A scuffle erupts, in which one guy kills Boseman and another wrestles with Ridgeway, who is wounded.

Cora leaps on Ridgeway and half-strangles him with her wrist chains, causing him to fall to the ground. Homer gets up and leaves. Ridgeway is chained to the wagon, and Cora kicks him three times in the face before they ride out into the distance.

Analysis

The gloomy atmosphere established in the North Carolina chapter is heightened even further when the book travels over the burnt landscape of Tennessee. The environment serves as a metaphor for Cora’s personal condition in this chapter. On their journey through California, Cora observes that everything has been ravaged by fire and there is nowhere to hide anymore. Even if she weren’t chained, she wouldn’t be able to flee the situation. A connection is therefore created between the devastation of the countryside and Cora’s confinement under the chains of slavery.

  1. Fire has ravaged the area to such an extent that it conjures up images of God’s vengeance; Jasper performs songs that reflect this period.
  2. The dramatic crimson sky at sunset adds to the sense of impending doom and gloom.
  3. In Boseman’s perspective, the white settlers “must have done something to make God furious,” which is opposed by Ridgeway, who believes that the fire was just the consequence of a spark that got away from the ignition source (206).
  4. In further in-depth contemplation, however, she comes up short as she attempts to understand the circumstances behind her personal difficulties.
  5. In this novel, the fact that her own reflections support Ridgeway—”just a spark that got away”—complicates the usual protagonist-antagonist connection between the two protagonists and their respective antagonists.
  6. As a substitute, they reach an agreement on the interpretation of a key subject in the text.
  7. Despite the fact that Ridgeway believes it is the white man’s destiny to be the lord of this continent, he also admits the arbitrary “spark” that considers all people the same.
  8. During their travel across Tennessee, Ridgeway and Cora create a weird dynamic that they must contend with.
  9. Ridgeway refers to other slaves with impersonal object pronouns (“it”), but it becomes evident that he has a tangled relationship with Cora as the story progresses.
  10. The drama of the confrontation between the two characters is greatly heightened by their perverted regard for one another.
  11. White settlers pushed into what was once Cherokee territory, regardless of treaties.

Thousands of people perished on their trek to Oklahoma, where white men had already settled to seize additional property from the Native Americans. Cora learns about this past and adds it to the list of white thefts she keeps in her thoughts.

On Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad : Coles’s On Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad Chapter 8 Summary & Analysis

Tennessee Summary After being seized by Ridgeway, Cora is forced to ride in a wagon with Ridgeway and two of his buddies, Boseman and Homer, to avoid arrest. In many ways, Boseman embodies the stereotypical slave catcher, complete with a penchant for violence. A tiny black child of ten years old, Homer was purchased as a slave by Ridgeway and released fourteen hours later by another slaver. After being released from slavery, Homer has refused to leave Ridgeway, and he continues to labor with the slave catcher, chaining himself to their wagon each night before falling asleep.

  1. Ridgeway plans to reunite the two slaves and return them to Georgia together.
  2. Cora attempts to flee twice, but is apprehended both times and is sentenced to even more chains.
  3. Despite Ridgeway’s warnings and instructions to stop, Jasper continues to sing continuously.
  4. Despite the money Ridgeway had hoped to gain by sending Jasper back to his plantation, he admits that the discomfort caused by Jasper’s singing isn’t worth it to him.
  5. The majority of the villages they pass through on their way to Nashville have been ravaged by natural calamities, including a large fire and a cholera epidemic.
  6. When Lovey was brought back to the Randall plantation, where she was hung and impaled, the situation became dire.
  7. Ridgeway takes pleasure in telling Cora these things, taking pleasure in her anguish.
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He claims that both of them are just acting on their natural survival instincts.

The following night, Boseman removes Cora’s chains in order to rape her a second time.

In the meantime, Cora is unchained, and the young black man who had observed her earlier appears, accompanied by two others armed with firearms and knives.

Cora kicks Ridgeway in the face three times before fleeing with the others in the group.

Cora gets a kick out of hearing about the terrible murders of Lovey and Caesar, and he takes great joy in doing so.

Upon shooting Jasper for no other reason than to be annoyed by the man’s singing, he replies to his friends’ shock and grief by calculating the financial damage he has caused them.

His sidekick Homer double-checks the books and verifies Ridgeway’s computation with a chilly, “He’s right,” as if it were his own calculation.

Even while it would be easier to portray Ridgeway as a psychopath who is devoid of compassion, his character is more complicated.

Terrance Randall is not a friend of his, and he despises the guy for many of the same reasons that Cora despises him.

Ridgeway makes his decisions not because he has a purposeful wish to be good or wicked, but rather because they are convenient or based on his own whim.

Cora’s travel across Tennessee provides her with a chance to ponder American ethics at the national level, ethics that are beyond of her control and the control of anybody she has come into contact with.

In this chapter, Ridgeway introduces Cora to the term “Manifest Destiny,” which refers to the belief that white people have the right to acquire what is “rightfully” theirs by relocating Native Americans and Africans to “their respective locations.” Even while none of the white people currently residing in Tennessee are individually accountable for the fact that their land was stolen from Cherokees, they are all collectively complicit in the American mission of removing the land’s indigenous occupants.

The fact that a number of the towns that they pass through have been devastated by natural disasters — a massive fire has destroyed several towns, and a cholera outbreak has killed the residents of several others — leads Cora to believe that perhaps these white people have received what they deserve.

It is Boseman and Ridgeway who get into a similar disagreement with one another.

The Underground Railroad Recap: Square in the Teeth

Image courtesy of Kyle Kaplan/Amazon Studios Burning Slowly Cora is being pursued by the flames as she flees North Carolina. We are watching a parade on an ash-covered field, with fire and smoke covering the ground: Cora is shown traveling beside Ridgeway’s wagon, her wrists and ankles bound and chained; the horses are being guided by Homer and Boseman; and the fugitive Jasper (Calvin Leon Smith) is seen in the back. Ridgeway rides around the gathering on his own horse, keeping an eye out for anyone who could be attempting to flee.

  1. Throughout the course of this episode, we learn a little bit more about each of the characters as they speak, journeying alongside them as they crawl their way through a scorching Tennessee landscape.
  2. Ridgeway intends to return Cora to Georgia, but as Cora realizes by the position of the sun, they’re traveling west rather than south as he had planned.
  3. So what is the reason for this shift in direction?
  4. It was a complete surprise when Ridgeway turned up in North Carolina and discovered Cora.
  5. “The truth is, you took me completely by surprise.” Ridgeway had overheard someone mention a “station” after an abolitionist was caught in Southern Virginia, so he decided to conduct some investigation into the matter.
  6. Ridgeway is consumed with narrativizing his experience, and he and Cora are seen as fated adversaries to one another.
  7. The cause of the fires is still up in the air, according to everyone.

They’re on Cherokee country — in fact, they’re on “The Trail of Tears — and death,” to use Boseman’s phrase — and they’re in danger.

Ridgeway, who is a genius at explaining away his mistakes, responds, “No.

“It was only a spark.” Following a fleeing guy on horseback, Ridgeway eventually catches up with him.

Boseman’s Dissatisfaction We know he’s a jerk from his very first piece of conversation – he says something to Cora that will never be forgotten by anyone.

One night, while drinking around the campfire, he pushes Ridgeway even more, upset by their inability to go forward with their ideas.

“And for what, wounded soul?” you could ask.

“It was him who freed the prisoners today.

The angry Boseman threatens Ridgeway with the prospect of just having Homer to beat on and talk to if he quits.

“The Great Spirit didn’t believe in you!” says the Great Spirit.

Ridgeway kills him by shooting him twice in the head.

And, perhaps more importantly, Cora finally asks the question I’ve been dying to know the answer to: “How long has he been with you?” “I purchased him,” Ridgeway says.

I bought him for five bucks.

I’m not sure why.

That was not a thought that appealed to me.

The following day, I began drafting emancipation documents.

Cora calls into question the notion that Homer is free or has agency in this situation.

After seeing Homer’s sleeping pattern, Cora inquires, “Do you force him to lock himself in his room at night?” He claims it’s the only way he can get himself to sleep, and Ridgeway agrees.

Cora’s Spirit is a collection of poems written by Cora.

We get to see a little piece of her personality, and even her sense of humour, come through.

“However, it appears that you are eager to inform me.” I couldn’t help but laugh a bit.

I let out a gasp!

For his part, Ridgeway describes in detail Lovey’s execution for Cora, including how Terrance Randall “hooked through the ribs with a spike” when she was hung on the gallows, where she was still alive for two days.

Cora’s talk with Jasper that night is the most memorable sequence from this episode in my opinion.

She addresses her mother, Mabel, first, saying, “Mama, are you there?

You’re having a great time up in the north.

“I make a pledge to you.” “Hey Lovey, what are you up to these days?” says the second.

I’m aware that you’re still living someplace.

Imissyou.” Third to Caesar: “Caesar (she says), if I could just go back in time.” Things would be done differently if I were in your shoes.

I’m going to meet you again one day, and I’m going to make things right.” Lastly, to Grace: “Grace, you’re a powerful woman.

You’re not tied to any kind of cart.

Cora’s elegies, on the other hand, compel him to speak to her: “Praise the Lord, you’ve run out of things to say.” But despite Jasper’s grumpiness, they chat about Florida and why he refuses to eat: “What’s the point?” “I ain’t giving up,” he declares in response to Cora’s assertion that he has given up.

  1. “Nobody is allowed to touch me.” Last Exhalations Ridgeway and Homer get sidetracked while out hunting for raccoons in the last section of the episode.
  2. She comes upon a lake – this is the same location where we last saw her in the first episode’s prologue, with the same music playing and her dressed in the same attire as before.
  3. She walks more slowly and more slowly as the water grows deeper and deeper, and the camera pans up to an aerial picture as her head slips beneath the surface of the water.
  4. When we get back to the lake, Ridgeway is “rescuing” Cora by dragging her out of the water with him.
  5. She sneezes and coughs.
  6. “Is this what you’re looking for?
  7. “It ain’t that simple,” says the author.
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Ridgeway buryes Jasper’s grey body in the soil before they leave the location.

Nathan C.

Ridgeway, the Drama King, truly shot the man in the back of the head for his bag of food!

he is a sucker for a good metaphor.

When you combine Boseman’s closing statements with Cora’s and Jasper’s, he’s taken down a lot of stairs.

If there is such a thing as justice, what am I ever supposed to do?” Thuso Mbedu’s performance in this episode is nothing short of outstanding.

Calvin Leon Smith’s performance makes his brief appearance all the more memorable.

“I used to be a picker,” Jasper explains.

The Bible text that Jasper appears to be quoting is Psalms 137:9, which reads, “Happy.

If I weren’t writing recaps, this would be the moment at which I would take a break from the program for a bit, not because I don’t want to see it through to its end, but simply because it has been such a huge loss for me after five hours.

In this episode, we gain some intriguing insight into the characters’ thoughts on death and survival.

Cora disagrees with Jasper’s assessment that her attempts to flee have been in vain, and she is determined to succeed.

As suggestions for this part and the themes explored throughout the colonial Tennessee that we witness burning, I offer two poetry books: (1)Build Yourself a Boatby Camongne Felix, who conducted a conversation with Barry Jenkins about the program; and (2)Whereasby Layli Long Soldier The Underground Railroad is a term used to describe a system of transportation that allows people to flee their homes.

a recap of what happened: square in the teeth

The Underground Railroad Tennessee Summary

The fugitive is described as a mulatto (a person of mixed African American and European heritage) who is not very bright in an advertising for the runaway “Peggy.” Her owner believes she is most likely passing herself off as a free girl. The next week, after capturing a fugitive from Florida called Jasper in Corain, North Carolina, Ridgeway and his companion, a guy named Boseman, capture yet another captive: a juvenile runaway from Florida named Corain. Jasper can’t stop singing gospel songs to himself.

  • Homer, Ridgeway’s teenage chauffeur, was formerly a slave whom Ridgeway purchased and liberated.
  • He even sleeps in shackles at night because he is afraid of being discovered.
  • When Cora inquires as to why they are traveling west rather than south, Ridgeway responds that he accidentally caught her and was already on his way to Missouri, and that he is not in a rush to return her to Terrance Randall.
  • Ridgeway notifies Cora of this.
  • Cora is in a state of disarray.
  • Fletcher, who in turn divulged the identify of Lumbly.
  • A sign on the side of the road warns of the presence of yellow fever in a town ahead.

Cora believes Tennessee has been cursed in some way.

As she goes past with Ridgeway, she receives a kind nod from an African-American man.

Cora is horrified.

Caesar had been dead for a long time, and she had known it for a long time.

Ridgeway, on the other hand, claims that he murdered Jasper for the same reason that she killed the youngster there.

and everyone else taking their.

He goes on to claim that she and her mother are the best of their kind and that they must be killed in order to prevent them from becoming “too intelligent” and outwitting whites.

They are confronted by three African-American guys who are armed and aiming their firearms at them.

They refuse to accept Ridgeway’s reiteration of the fact that Cora is not their property, calling it “white law.” The guys scuffle when Homer tosses a lamp at them.

Cora attempts to strangle Ridgeway while her wrists are still bound, and Boseman is shot. But Homer is nowhere to be found as the African American guys have the upper hand. Ridgeway is chained to the cart, and Cora kicks him in the face on a consistent basis.

Analysis

As demonstrated by the author, Ridgeway is not only physically harsh to his victims, but he is also mentally nasty to them. He appears to take pleasure in Cora’s shock upon hearing the news of Lovey’s terrible death. He demonstrates his cruel side once more when he reserves his account about Caesar’s brutal death for a meal with Cora in front of a large group of people. Cora, on the other hand, does not provide him with the gratification of a sobbing answer this time. Ridgeway is far from the professional and detached slave patroller that others may see him to be, and he takes his employment, or at the very least the arrest of Cora, personally.

  • He is concerned because ladies such as Mabel and Cora indicate that the African American race is becoming “too bright,” according to him.
  • Ridgeway believes that subjugating African Americans is a crucial part of insuring his race’s existence and prosperity in the future.
  • Jasper can’t stop himself from singing spirituals since it helps him cope with his ordeals in life.
  • Racism has been tolerated and assimilated by Homer.
  • Finally, the three men who rush to Cora’s help reflect a rejection of the reality of slavery as it exists in the world.
  • The males, on the other hand, act on their own initiative, defying white laws, arming themselves, and fighting to liberate others around them.
  • The slave owner described Peggy, his fugitive slave, as “not very clever,” yet she has managed to avoid both him and slave capturers during her journey.
  • Cora’s IQ is likewise questioned by a white male character.
  • It is meant in both scenarios that the women will be slain because of their skill to outwit a white guy.
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The Underground Railroad episode 5 recap – “Chapter 5: Tennessee – Exodus”

Summary Against the backdrop of a burnt landscape, the novel “Chapter 5: Tennessee – Exodus” depicts a gradual and horrific narrative of despair. This spoiler-filled summary of The Underground Railroad episode 5, “Chapter 5: Tennessee – Exodus,” is provided for your convenience. Throughout Tennessee, the ground has been burned and charred; smoke clogged the air, and the wiry remnants of trees burn brightly like beacons in the haze. Cora, chained, staggers up to Ridgeway’s carriage and falls down.

  1. Once the flames are started, they will only extinguish themselves when they feel like it and not earlier.
  2. In the evenings, when he prepares for bed, he chains himself to his bed.
  3. Security?
  4. In the middle of the night, Jasper (Calvin Leon Smith), another slave captured by Ridgeway and Boseman, sings softly to himself in his cell.
  5. The first time he has the chance, Boseman attempts to rape Cora, but is only prevented from doing so by a returning Ridgeway.

As Ridgeway examines the plant by the light of a campfire, he is struck by its toughness, which is a fitting characteristic for anything growing on the Trail of Tears and Death, a landscape that is so barren and ruined as to be almost post-apocalyptic, and which is clearly too harsh for a drunken Boseman.

Jasper is singing the entire time.

She is implying that she is speaking to the sky, but it is clear that she is speaking directly to us, as her gaze fixes us on her mother and then Lovey and then Caesar and then Grace.

No sign of him having touched any of it since – why would he starve himself back to health for the sole purpose of returning home to bloodshed?

In The Underground Railroadepisode 5, Ridgeway tells more of Homer’s origins to Cora as the two of them wander through the ruins of a camp that has been decimated by yellow fever.

However, the idea of having a slave did not sit well with him, and the following day he began drafting emancipation papers.

He has discovered that the only way to get to sleep at night is to chain himself up.

Instead, homesteaders set fire to the land in order to try to cleanse it of weeds.

Jasper attempts to leave using this history lecture, but Ridgeway apprehends him and brings him to justice.

After demonstrating some sympathy by entrusting Homer with greater authority (including the keys to the shackles), Ridgeway begins to unravel, enraged by Jasper’s willful insolence, which Cora is beginning to mimic.

Ridgeway is enraged with Jasper and takes his shirt away from his skeletal body, muttering to himself about how he’s going to watch the cold take him.

Ridgeway’s maniacal rambling is unsettling to listen to.

The raccoon distracts Ridgeway and Homer, which allows Cora to make a second break for it, despite the fact that she is still in shackles.

While she is trying to drown herself in a body of water, Jasper pants his last few breaths in close-up as she is lowered into the dark depths of the water.

Due to the fact that she appears to be ready to die, Ridgeway ties her to Jasper’s lifeless body, forcing her to look into his open eyes and see her own reflection.

At all hours of the night, Ridgeway mocks her cries and pleadings for help. After finishing their dinner, Ridgeway and Homer leave Jasper’s body, which has been stretched out on the ground, behind. His song is played over the credits at the end of the film.

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