Essay Example on Cora's Journey for Freedom on the Underground Railroad

In his fiction novel, Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead takes the readers through a tour by Cora, a runaway slave, through the American South. In her journeys through the states of Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Indiana using the underground train, Cora undergoes and witnesses tremendous atrocious actions and activities while under her master, James Randall. Despite these nasty encounters as a slave, Cora does not lose hope for a free and better life ahead. Colson Whitehead has depicted these horrendous experiences of Cora as the social and political problems that African Americans experienced in the 20th and 21st century America. Some of the issues that Whitehead explores in his novel are the issues of slavery, race, racial relations, racial prejudice, freedom, civil liberties, gender, generation, and class.

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One of the social and political problems that Cora encounters in her journey to freedom is hostile race relations. In the book, the author rekindles the sad memories of poor and hostile racial relations in the United States history. Historically, most slave masters as is the case in the novel were whites who mistreated Blacks. In the novel, the author portrays the issue of race as one that straddles the American society, particularly the American South. The slaves who were mostly black Americans were being mistreated and racially discriminated upon by their masters. The author portrays them as less superior than whites. This differential treatment of slaves shows the hostile race relations between the Valentine farm and Whites that have also defined American history.

The other social and political problem that Cora encountered as portrayed by Colson Whitehead in his novel is the issue of American slavery. The central theme of the book is slavery which the author depicts as dominating in the antebellum South where African Americans or Blacks were being treated as slaves. In the novel, Whitehead portrays slaves working in plantations in Georgia. The cruelty exhibited towards the slaves by their masters plays out openly in the novel. For instance, there is a scene where chaos erupted in the plantation and a small boy spilled wine on Terrance, the brother to slave master Randall (Whitehead 96). Terrance immediately begins raining blows on the boy and in the process, Cora is seriously injured as she tries to shield the boy from the blows. Also, cruelty towards slaves including Cora plays out when the slaves tried to escape. One of the slaves is tortured and killed on the spot. The cruelty toward slaves was mainly perpetrated by Arnold Ridgeway, the slave catcher.

The problems that Cora encounters in Colson Whitehead's fictional novel parallel similar problems that African Americans faced in the 20th and 21st centuries in various ways. Some of the problems that African Americans experienced in the 20th and 21st centuries that are also reflected in this novel include the issues of slavery, racial discrimination or racism, restriction of civil liberties, inequalities, unemployment. For young people like Cora, they experienced problems such as poverty, lack of jobs, and parental neglect. In the novel, the author depicts the issue of slavery through Cora as the main character by detailing the nasty experiences that she underwent in the American South (Whitehead 173). Workin in the white plantations as slaves is tantamount to what African Americans encountered during the 20th century. Racial discrimination involves differential treatment of African Americans because of the color of their skins was a common historical problem that characterized the American South in the 20th century and which is also portrayed in Colson Whitehead's novel. Moreover, it is the problem of poverty and unemployment that pushed many African Americans to decide to work as slaves in 20th century America. This is the same issue that Whitehead depicts in his novel. Cora and other slaves were compelled to work in plantations as slaves because they lacked any other source of income. Cora's mother, Mabel, abandoned her when she was just 10 years old, hence she was forced into slavery where she experienced atrocious violence (Whitehead 26). In the novel, Cora is portrayed as struggling to achieve freedom and liberation from slavery, the same problems that African Americans grappled within the South in the 20th and 21 centuries.

One of the problems that Cora encounters that mirrors a contemporary issue is the issue of race and racial relations that permeate American society up to today. The contemporary issue is that of race and related issues of racial prejudice, stereotypes, and racial discrimination. In the book, Whitehead explores the issue of race that persisted in American society then, particularly the American South. Bein an African American teenager, Cora encounters mistreatment and differential treatment because of her race. She is compelled to work in the white plantations where she witnesses violence and torture of other slaves. She is also overworked and has to constantly worry about her safety and the safety of other slaves as they have to incessantly run away from Ridgeway, the slave catcher (Whitehead 68). She experiences these problems because she is black and most of the slave owners and masters are whites. Therefore, it can be safely concluded that Cora was being treated less favorably than others of different races. This mirrors a contemporary issue of race, racial relations, and racial discrimination in today's America.

On his presentation of the problem, Colson Whitehead makes various points. One of the points Whitehead makes is that despite the challenges of race and class that African Americans encountered in America and continue to experience today, there is hope at the end of the tunnel. Whitehead brings out this aspect in the novel when he portrays Cora as finally finishing her journey and eventually emerging from the tunnel. However, the author also portrays some aspect of uncertainty in Cora's future by depicting them as continuing down an uncertain road after escaping slavery. By this, Whitehead makes the point that even though African Americans have partially won the fight against racial inequalities and achieved some level of freedom and independence, they still encounter several hurdles in the American society today.

I think this is true of the contemporary manifestation of the problem since African Americans still encounter hostilities, discrimination, inequalities, stereotypes, and prejudices in various sectors including the criminal justice system, healthcare, education, and correctional systems. The issues of race, gender, freedom, and class that Whitehead depicts in his novel are live issues in today's American society where social and racial classes define how an individual is treated. The poverty that characterized African American communities during the slavery era still seems to persist in some neighborhoods occupied by Blacks. Hence, the issues that Whitehead discusses in his novel are a true reflection of what Blacks undergo in America today. However, it may not be as severe as it used to be in the last two centuries since tremendous changes and progress have been made in the United States to ensure that African Americans are treated equally with Whites.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Colson Whitehead's novel is a real train of freedom that depicts, through the character Cora, the real issues that face African Americans today. These problems that African Americans encounter as portrayed in the book are racial discrimination, racial inequalities, and racial prejudice. Issues of freedom, liberties, gender, and class define American history and remain relevant social and political problems in contemporary American society.

Work Cited

Whitehead, Colson. The Underground Railroad. Anchor Books, 2018.