Connelly is the white overseer on Randall plantation.
Who are the characters in the Underground Railroad?
The Underground Railroad Characters
- Cora (aka Bessie) Cora is the heroine of The Underground Railroad.
- Caesar. Caesar is an enslaved man who lives on Randall and invites Cora to run away with him.
- Ajarry. Ajarry is Cora’s grandmother and Mabel’s mother.
- Mabel.
- Lovey.
- Terrance Randall.
- James Randall.
- Old Randall.
Who is Cora’s father Underground Railroad?
Cora is the heroine of The Underground Railroad. She was born on Randall plantation in Georgia to her mother Mabel, and she never knew her father, Grayson, who died before she was born. Her grandmother, Ajarry, was born in Africa before being kidnapped and brought to America.
Who is the main character in the Underground Railroad?
The novel, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, chronicles Cora Randall’s journey to escape slavery. Randall, played by Thuso Mbedu, leaves the antebellum South in search of the Underground Railroad which, in Whitehead’s alternate timeline, is an actual railroad complete with conductors and engineers.
What happened to Cora in the Underground Railroad?
Cora is a slave on a plantation in Georgia and an outcast after her mother Mabel ran off without her. She resents Mabel for escaping, although it is later revealed that her mother tried to return to Cora but died from a snake bite and never reached her. Caesar approaches Cora about a plan to flee.
How old is the little boy on the Underground Railroad?
There are cruel plantation owners, haunted slave catchers, and bigoted religious zealots making Cora’s (Thuso Mbedu) path to freedom fraught with horror and anguish, but perhaps the most terrifying person standing in the way of Cora’s freedom throughout the series is a 10-year old boy named Homer. Chase W.
Who was Cora Randall?
Cora Einterz Randall is an atmospheric scientist known for her research on particles in the atmosphere, particularly in polar regions.
What happened to Polly and the Twins Underground Railroad?
Jenkins’ show gives Mabel’s friend Polly a bigger role in Mabel’s flight. In the book, Polly dies by suicide after her baby is stillborn.
Is Caesar really dead in the Underground Railroad?
While the show doesn’t show us what happens after their encounter, Caesar comes to Cora in a dream later, confirming to viewers that he was killed. In the novel, Caesar faces a similar fate of being killed following his capture, though instead of Ridgeway and Homer, he is killed by an angry mob.
Who is Homer to Ridgeway?
Homer is a young black boy who is part of Ridgeway’s gang. Ridgeway purchased him for $5 before buying his freedom, but Homer still chooses to stay with Ridgeway and even voluntarily chains himself to Ridgeway’s wagon at night.
What happened to Grace on the Underground Railroad?
In the book, Cora is alone up there for seven months. In the show, she has a younger runaway slave named Grace to “guide” her. She doesn’t appear in the book and for three whole episodes of The Underground Railroad, we are led believe she died in the flames that consumed the Wells house.
What did Cora see in the swamp?
When she gets to a swamp—the same swamp we saw Cora and Caesar in, where Cora watched the snake capture a frog —Mabel wades in, the camera tracking her as she goes. But then suddenly, she stops in her tracks; the camera keeps moving, then tracks back to her.
The Underground Railroad Characters
Burial with military honors takes place on March 13, 1913.
The Underground Railroad Finale Recap: Mabel’s Fate (and Cora’s Hopeful Future) Revealed — Grade the Series
On The Underground Railroad, motherhood in all of its manifestations is a key issue. Cora spends the entirety of Amazon Prime’s limited series either suffering about her mother Mabel’s departure or seeking and offering the maternal love she lacked as a child, much as she did in Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. If Cora is not engaged in her struggle for self-emancipation, this is the case. This topic, as well as Mabel’s ultimate destiny, are further addressed in the conclusion of Barry Jenkins’ adaptation, which is currently streaming on Netflix.
The tale is taken a step further, however, by Jenkins, who transforms Mabel into an overworked midwife, further fleshing out her reasons.
- Despite the fact that Mabel is concerned about Polly’s mental health, Moses, her husband, and Connelly, the plantation’s overseer, encourage Polly to keep the plantation running by nursing a pair of twin twins whose mother died before childbirth.
- But then Polly begins to refer to the infants as her own, prompting Mabel to warn Moses and Connelly that Polly is not in a stable mental state.
- Polly murders the infants and then commits suicide as a result of her actions.
- In recognition of slavery as a terrible tradition, Connelly punishes Moses and holds him responsible for Polly and the infants’ deaths.
- When Mabel becomes overwhelmed by the unnecessary loss of life and the injustice that has been heaped upon Moses’ shoulders, she loses her cool and just walks off the estate.
- Mabel eventually leaves.
- However, Mabel is too late to realize what has happened, and a venomous snake strikes her, taking her life.
- Instead, Cora is portrayed as a child, sitting on the porch, waiting for a mother who would never come back to her.
- Despite the fact that Jenkins fills in the gaps left by Whitehead, Mabel experiences the same awful destiny as before, and poor Cora never receives the closure that only facts can offer.
- Despite the sorrow of not knowing what happened to Mabel, Cora is given a ray of hope when she adopts Molly, who has recently become orphaned due to a car accident.
- By the conclusion of the episode, Cora and Molly are looking for a fresh start and decide to hitch a ride with a Black guy who is driving a covered wagon west.
The song “How I Got Over,” performed by Mahalia Jackson, then plays over the end credits, tying the entire tale together from beginning to conclusion. Please rate The Underground Railroadfinale and the limited series in our poll, and then share your opinions in the comments section beneath it.
On Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad : Coles’s On Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad Chapter 6 Summary & Analysis
North Carolina is a state in the United States. Summary Despite her best efforts, Cora is unable to tell how long she will be confined beneath Sam’s house in the darkness. While she waits, she is concerned for Caesar’s well-being and wishes that the two of them had left South Carolina as soon as they got the opportunity. Finally, a train approaches, but it passes by Cora without stopping. Cora chases after it, shrieking, and it eventually comes to a halt. Despite the fact that this stop was not on his schedule (he was just meant to be inspecting the railroad lines, not picking up freight), the young engineer allows her to board the train.
- Cora is concerned that the station may have collapsed in, and she believes that she may be stuck beneath once more.
- Martin is quite concerned about her presence and believes she should not be there.
- He pulls over to show her a horrible path of dead black bodies known as the “Freedom Trail” as they’re on their way.
- In a little corner above the attic, they keep Cora hidden, warning her that if anybody overhears her, including their maid, Fiona, they would be reported and killed as a result.
- A festival in the park is held in her honor a few days after she arrives in town.
- Cora will be staying with the Wellses for a few months.
- Fearing that a large black population will put them at risk of a slave insurrection, the people of North Carolina are now attempting to remove the black population and replace it with white immigrant labor.
When Cora and Martin are having a conversation, Martin reveals how he got to be part in the underground railroad.
Martin discovered his father’s diary inside the underground railroad station, where he discovered that Donald had been an avid abolitionist and had created the sole underground railroad station in North Carolina.
Cora falls ill when a series of “bad omens” occur, including accidently tipping over a chamber pot, almost being discovered by a gang of “night riders” looking for fugitive slaves, and witnessing a white family be murdered for concealing two black boys.
Ethel begins to warm up to Cora and spends hours with her, reading aloud to her from the Bible.
Cora is still in bed downstairs.
Fiona emerges from the crowd and declares that she was aware that they were concealing someone and that the award is hers.
Despite the fact that the mob wishes to put Cora to death, Ridgeway enters and asserts that he has the legal authority to send her to Georgia.
Analysis Because of this, the story is intentionally unclear concerning the operation of the subterranean railroad system.
The real and figurative Underground Railroad, on the other hand, was characterized by this type of muddle and terrible compromise.
As historical events collide with the novel’s metaphoric structure, the fault lines within the comparison serve to draw attention to the intricacies of the fleeing slave situation.
This notion is incorrect.
They are reluctant players, pulled into the fray against their choice and more concerned with their own survival than with the well-being of their fellow citizens.
They don’t have the courage to hand Cora up to the authorities.
In his description of his and his wife’s participation in the underground railroad to Cora, Martin expresses the belief that they and their children are at the mercy of fate.
“Do you feel like you’re a slave?” she inquires.
While both Cora and the Wellses are forced to accept their fates as a result of circumstance, they do so without the ability to change the environment that forces them to make hard choices.
During her escape from Georgia, Cora was confronted with a number of difficult decisions, one of which was killing the white youngster.
She is aware, however, that her acts have elevated her to the status of “one of the angry monsters” that the people of North Carolina are so afraid of.
And, despite the fact that Cora is considerably more than a spiteful monster, she doesn’t back down from the charge.
“One day, the system would come crashing down in a pool of blood.” Racism has established a system in which violence is both the input and the unavoidable outcome, and this system is based on racism.
Cora’s disagreements with Ethel concerning the Bible add another another layer of complexity to this chapter’s discussion of ethics and values.
The slave overseer Connelly on the Randall farm, who Cora recalls reciting (misquoted) Bible passages while beating the slaves, is another fond memory of Cora.
In fact, many abolitionists, like Mr.
Fletcher, are opposed to slavery because of their Christian convictions, which is a common theme among them. “Follow the Bible,” like every other ethical system Cora discovers, turns out to be a muddled ethical aim that might lead to a variety of diverse responses.
The Underground Railroad Colson Whitehead Character Analysis – Studypool
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Cora is the protagonist of the novel The Underground Railroad. Born on Randall Plantation in Georgia to her mother Mabel, she had no knowledge of her father Grayson since he died before she was born. She never met her father, who died before she was born. ‘Ajarry,’ her grandmother, was born in Africa before being abducted and taken to the United States of America. Despite her young age, Cora is courageous and determined; the narrator argues that she received her ability to withstand hurdles and violence from Ajarry, as well as her tenacious instinct for resistance from Mabel.
- It is only after she has experienced freedom for herself, and after she has survived multiple near-escapes in which her companions such as Caesar and Lovey are imprisoned and slain, that Cora becomes fearlessly committed to the quest of a free life in the northern hemisphere.
- A love relationship with Royal develops at the conclusion of the novel while she’s in Indiana; however, the relationship is cut short when Royal is slain by Ridgeway.
- Caesar is an enslaved guy who lives on Randall and who urges Cora to join him in his escape from slavery.
- Garner’s property), before being moved south and eventually ending up on Randall.
- Nevertheless, when Ridgeway finds that Caesar and Cora are posing as a couple in the building, Caesar is arrested and subsequently slain by a crowd that bursts into the prison and cuts his body to pieces.
- The author’s character was born in Africa before being abducted and enslaved as a slave in America, where she is sold several times, leading her to feel she is “cursed.” Three spouses and five children have been born to her, with Mabel being the only one who has lived to adulthood.
- After suffering a brain hemorrhage while laboring on the field, she becomes the first owner of the garden, and she passes away on Randall.
She is the daughter of Ajarry.
Mabel, on the other hand, never mentions Grayson’s name again until he passes away from a fever before Cora is born.
Angry with her mother for what she considers to be her selfishness, Cora is enraged that Mabel failed to say goodbye to her.
She, on the other hand, barely made it a few kilometers before succumbing to a snake bite.
She is the daughter of Jeer and a friend of Cora’s who lives in the same house.
After making a covert decision to join Cora and Caesar’s escape operation, she is apprehended early in the voyage by hog hunters who bring her to Randall, where she is executed by being impaled by a metal spike and her body is set on display to prevent others from attempting to flee.
In comparison to his brother, Terrance is significantly more vicious, routinely torturing and sexually abusing those who are enslaved.
Terrance dies of heart failure in a New Orleans brothel some months after Cora manages to get away from Randall.
Terrance’s brother, James, is one of Old Randall’s two sons and the younger brother of Terrance.
The rumor mill says he prefers sexual masochism and that he employs prostitutes to whip him in New Orleans, which is where he was born.
Old Randall is the father of James and Terrance Randall and the previous owner of Randall Plantation.
The white society in which he lived saw him as more popular than either of his sons, whom Ridgeway feels were corrupted by the fact that they were born into such wealth.
Chester is a little child who lives on Randall Street with his family.
The enslaved populace is forced to dance by Terrance, and Chester accidently spills Terrance’s wine on his shirt, resulting in both Chester (and Cora, who defends him) being mercilessly beaten.
Mountain Ridgeway is the son of a blacksmith named Ridgeway Sr., who goes on to become a well-known slave collector in his later years.
He is a firm believer in the concept of “manifest destiny,” which holds that white people have a right (and even a responsibility) to conquer America and enslave black people in order to build the country.
When it comes to the truth of America, Ridgway is more honest about it than many other white characters in the novel, refusing to believe in or perpetuate popular misconceptions about the country and its past.
Sam is a station agent who also happens to be the owner of a tavern in South Carolina.
He is compassionate and loyal to his job for the underground railroad, despite the fact that he has a naive confidence in the racial progressiveness of South Carolina that proves to be deadly.
Miss Lucy works as a proctor in the state of South Carolina.
However, despite Miss Lucy’s assertions that she is dedicated to aiding black people, she is only too pleased to cooperate with Fugitive Slave Laws, which require her to give over any black dormitory occupants who are discovered to be runaways.
Field is the “Curator of Living History” at the facility.
It is because of this misinterpretation that Mr.
Cora is examined by Dr.
Prior to his job in South Carolina, he was a medical student in Boston, where he was part in the “body trade,” which involves snatching bodies for the sake of scientific study.
Despite the fact that he criticizes racism and even feels a sense of empathy with black people, he never expresses this sentiment out.
Located in North Carolina, Martin Wells works as a station agent for the subterranean train system.
He is married to Ethel and has a cat named Cora that lives in his attic.
Cora is discovered and he is stoned to death by his town’s residents after being discovered.
She was close friends with an enslaved girl named Jasmine when she was a youngster, and she had aspirations of becoming a missionary.
She first greets Cora in a nasty and antagonistic manner, but when Cora falls ill, she adopts a more compassionate demeanor, overjoyed by the opportunity to indulge her religious and romantic fantasies on the helpless and helpless Cora.
A young Irish lady named Fiona is engaged as a servant by Martin and Ethel, who are both of Irish descent.
But she appears to take extreme pleasure in the chance to snitch, yelling with ecstasy as Cora is dragged out of the house.
Homer decides to remain with Ridgeway despite the fact that he was purchased for $5 before being granted his freedom.
For some reason, Cora is perplexed by Homer, who exhibits no sense of solidarity with other black people and instead prefers to follow Ridgway around, observing him apprehend and murder runaways with brutality and abandon.
Ridgeway’s accomplice, Boseman, is a member of the organization.
He is regarded as being uneducated, as well as being more nave and romantic than Ridgway, among other things.
John Valentine is the proprietor of Valentine Farm and the spouse of Gloria Valentine.
In the aftermath of fleeing with his family from the Deep South, John dedicates his life to assisting other black people, assuring Cora, “White guy ain’t going to do it.” “We’ll have to do it on our own.” Following the destruction of his farm, John and his family go to Oklahoma to start a new life.
She is a refined lady who makes an effort to avoid using “plantation inflections” in her speech.
He is a well-educated and renowned biracial guy who travels the country making political lectures to audiences of all backgrounds.
The notion that black people should promote racial uplift by interacting with individuals whom white society considers to be the weak links of the black community, such as runaways, drunks, and “criminals,” is rejected by Lander in stark contrast to Mingo’s position.
Royal is a freeborn black guy who comes to Cora’s aid after she is kidnapped by Ridgeway.
Despite the fact that he is handsome and appealing, the narrator observes that many people are drawn to him by his “foreign” manner.
His life is taken by a deadly gunshot after the Valentine farm is destroyed, and he passes away in Cora’s arms.
He is self-centered and nasty, taking advantage of many chained women to serve as his “mistresses.” Initially, he shows preference for Nag and accords her special treatment; however, he soon rejects her and sends their children to live on the other side of the estate so that he will not have to see them again.
It is also revealed that Connelly is a violent individual when he beats Chester to death for failing to work quickly enough and when he gouges out the eyes of a slave for just glancing at words.
The Underground Railroad Character List
| CH | FIRST NAME | LAST NAME | DESCRIPTION | |||
| Ajarry | Caesar | A slaveon the Randall Plantation. | ||||
| Cora | Mabel’sdaughter. A slave. | |||||
| Ajarry | GirlSlave from Africa. Died in Georgia. | |||||
| Mabel | Cora’smother. | |||||
| Georgia | Jockey | An oldslave. | ||||
| Connelly | Slaveoverseer on Randall Plantation. | |||||
| Lovey | Cora’sfriend. | |||||
| Ava | A slavewho did not get along with Mabel. | |||||
| Moses | A slaveand a boss. | |||||
| Abraham | An oldslave. | |||||
| James | Randall | Owns 1/2of Randall Plantation. | ||||
| Terrance | Randall | Ownsother 1/2 of Randall Plantation. | ||||
| Blake | Big slavewith intentions on Cora’s plot. | |||||
| Alice | A cook. | |||||
| Chester | A slaveboy. Cora looked after him. | |||||
| Frances | Caesar’sfriend. | |||||
| Noble | Tambourine player in musical group. | |||||
| Godfrey | Jameshouseboy. | |||||
| Michael | Slave boywith a good memory. Now dead. | |||||
| Mary | Slaveprone to fits. Lost 5 children. | |||||
| Margaret | Slavewith throat problem. | |||||
| Rida | Slavewith an odor. | |||||
| Lucy | Works inthe kitchen. | |||||
| Titania | Tongueless slave. Works in the kitchen. | |||||
| Nag | Tended tocotton. One of Connelly’s favorites. | |||||
| Ridgeway | Infamousslave catcher. | |||||
| Anthony | aka: BigAnthony. Escaped and caught. | |||||
| Mr. | Fletcher | SellCaesar’s crafts. Has underground railroad contacts. | ||||
| Edward | White boywho attacked Cora. Killed. | |||||
| Pot | Anotherwhite boy who attacked Cora. | |||||
| Lumbly | Stationagent on the underground railroad. | |||||
| Ridgeway | Arnold | Ablacksmith and a patroller. | ||||
| Tom | Bird | Ridgeway’s saloon partner. A half-breed. | ||||
| Chandler | Arnold’sson. Head patroller. A bully. | |||||
| S.Carolina | Mr. | Anderson | A lawyer. | |||
| Bessie | Anderson | Wife ofMr. Anderson. | ||||
| Maisie | Anderson | TheAnderson’s daughter. | ||||
| Raymond | Anderson | TheAnderson’s son. | ||||
| Miss | Lucy | Proctorat dormitory. | ||||
| Sam | 25 yearold white man. A station agent. | |||||
| Bessie | Carpenter | aka:Cora. | ||||
| Christian | Markson | aka:Ceasar. | ||||
| Miss | Handler | Teacher. | ||||
| Howard | Aco-student with Cora and Bessie. | |||||
| Dr. | Campbell | Bessie’sDoctor. | ||||
| Mr. | Fields | Museumcurator. | ||||
| Isis | Museumco-worker. | |||||
| Betty | Museumco-worker. | |||||
| Meg | Caesar’sfriend. | |||||
| Stevens | Aloysius | Stevens | Poormedical student and grave robber. | |||
| Carpenter | Graverobber. | |||||
| N.Carolina | Manison | Leader ofthe night riders. | ||||
| Martin | Wells | NorthCarolina station agent. | ||||
| Ethel | Wells | Well’swife. | ||||
| Donald | Wells | MartinWell’s father. An abolitionist. | ||||
| Oney | Garrison | Cottongrower. | ||||
| Ethel | Jasmine | Ethel’schildhood friend. | ||||
| Felice | Jasmine’smother. | |||||
| Edgar | Delany | Hisfamily owned Jasmine and felice. | ||||
| Tennessee | Jasper | Escapedslave. | ||||
| Homer | A youngboy and wagon driver. | |||||
| Boseman | Works forRidgeway. | |||||
| Indiana | Jimmy | PitMaster. | ||||
| Georgina | SchoolTeacher | |||||
| Molly | 10 yearold who shared cab with Cora. | |||||
| Sybil | Molly’smother. A former slave. | |||||
| Lindsey | FromTennessee. | |||||
| Gloria | Valentine | Herhusband, John, purchased her freedom. | ||||
| Mingo | WestIndian with a light complection. | |||||
| Rumsey | Brooks | Negropoet. | ||||
| Royal | Cora’sman. Former conductor. Saved her from Ridgeway. | |||||
| Amelia | Head ofthe wash house. | |||||
| Eljah | Landor | Educatedman with white and black parents. | ||||
| Red | One ofRoyal’s associates. | |||||
| Justin | Anotherof Royal’s associates. | |||||
| Oliver | Valentine | Gloria’sson. | ||||
| Joan | Watson | 6 yearold, born on the farm. |
LibraryAware
Staff RecommendationsSeptember 2017Looking for something new to read? Check out one of thesegreat recommendations by our library staff members!
Want more staff picks?Ask a staff member at any of our five branchlocations!Ourwebsitealso includes book recommendations!Click the “Find A Good Book” option listed under eachage group on the library’s homepage. |
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