General Questions:
What are the most important motifs of the novel? Where do they occur and recur? You have to provide some direct quotations for this one. Name the motif and then provide a few examples.
A motif is almost always used to convey a major or minor theme. Based on this fact, what theme or idea is conveyed through your motif? What does it say about life? What does it say about America? What is Whitehead criticizing or commenting on? Etc.
Interview Quotes:
1. In his interview with NPR (link to the right), Whitehead says, "All the things that the people in The Underground Railroad are struggling with, have parallels, echoes today."
2. Later in the NPR interview, he says, "When I saw "Night Of The Living Dead," I saw it when I was very young and I was struck by the fact that there was a black protagonist. He's the one sane person in a story, and I hadn't seen a lot of movies with black heroes at that point. And so I think that stayed with me over the years. There seemed to be a way in which a black person trying to navigate the world as white mobs are trying to tear him limb from limb was a compelling story and also a way of commenting on America. And so that's in "Zone One," And I think it's definitely in a more overt way in The Underground Railroad."
What are the most important motifs of the novel? Where do they occur and recur? You have to provide some direct quotations for this one. Name the motif and then provide a few examples.
A motif is almost always used to convey a major or minor theme. Based on this fact, what theme or idea is conveyed through your motif? What does it say about life? What does it say about America? What is Whitehead criticizing or commenting on? Etc.
Interview Quotes:
1. In his interview with NPR (link to the right), Whitehead says, "All the things that the people in The Underground Railroad are struggling with, have parallels, echoes today."
2. Later in the NPR interview, he says, "When I saw "Night Of The Living Dead," I saw it when I was very young and I was struck by the fact that there was a black protagonist. He's the one sane person in a story, and I hadn't seen a lot of movies with black heroes at that point. And so I think that stayed with me over the years. There seemed to be a way in which a black person trying to navigate the world as white mobs are trying to tear him limb from limb was a compelling story and also a way of commenting on America. And so that's in "Zone One," And I think it's definitely in a more overt way in The Underground Railroad."
5 comments:
One important motif in this novel is perseverance. Cora remains determined the entire novel to do what is right. She does whatever it takes to help others and fights for what she believes in. For instance, she refuses to give up her garden despite the consequences she was bound to face after. Similarly, she takes a beating for Chester against her slave owner and faces her repercussions. Most importantly, she does not stop running and fighting for her freedom despite losing several of her loved ones along the way. Even though the motif of perseverance occurs all throughout the novel as Cora never gives up, I think it is most prevalent at the end of the novel. Mingo gives a speech to the group on the Valentine farm and says, “There are realities we have to face… White people aren't going to change overnight. The farm’s dreams are worthy and true, but require a gradual approach”(289). This shows true perseverance for the African race because even with all of the racism and hardships they face, they accept they must be patient for their justice and are willing to face harsh struggles for freedom and equality in the end. With this, Whitehead is commenting on the values of America. He clarifies that no American should be denied their freedom or equality, especially after the harsh history during the antebellum era. African Americans fought hard and long for their rights and it should not be questioned or taken from them, especially in our society today. Through this motif, Whitehead conveys one of his themes which is to never give up fighting for justice.
Another recurring motif is brutality. Whitehead uses several vivid descriptions to describe the brutal and violent ways African American were treated during slavery times. After Chester spilled a drop of wine on Terrance Randall, he beat both him and Cora until, “the silver teeth ripped across her eyes and her blood splattered in the dirt”(34). Ridgeway inconsiderately tells Cora how her friend Lovey was, “hooked through her ribs by a large metal spike and dangling”(212). The amount of instances where whites treated slaves with such extreme brutality is endless. In the novel, Cora dealt with so much violence that she almost became accustomed to it. Also, patrollers were known to be, “white, crooked, and merciless” and they, “required no reason to stop a person apart from color”(165). In this example, I think Whitehead is criticizing our society today with all of the controversy regarding police brutality and discrimination by color. He is proving that this behavior was extremely brutal in historic times, and therefore is certainly not acceptable today. Overall, this motif occurs throughout the entire novel as it depicts what America was like during the antebellum era. Whitehead uses this motif of brutality to convey the theme that inequality toward colored races is extremely unjust, but that it is essential to learn and accept these wrongdoings to ensure they never happen again.
Throughout the novel two primary motives are present, being those of sacrifice and imprisonment. Sacrifice is present throughout the novel, with the vast majority of the characters, specifically African American ones, sacrificing something. Every slave has to choose whether to sacrifice their rights or their small semblance of safety on the plantation. On their escape, Cora and Caesar had to sacrifice Lovey in order to ensure their own survival. When they were attacked by the hunters, Lovey was grabbed and taken, but Cora could do nothing to help if she wanted to survive, thus sacrificing one of her best friends. After Cora and Caesar were safe, “they had lost Lovey,” (Whitehead 60). Therefore some sacrifices must be made in order for a runaway to ensure their own safety. However some characters choose to sacrifice their personal safety in order to help others reach a better life. The numerous members of the underground railroad are putting themselves at risk for every person they help, and are never truly safe even after they retire. The white aids will be killed simply for harboring slaves, such as the Wells who were stoned to death for hiding Cora. Even African Americans born free decide to help, such as Royal, who “was raised in Connecticut,” (Whitehead 265), a free state, but decided to risk his life to help runaways. The second important motif is that of imprisonment. From birth, slaves are imprisoned. Most go through their entire life imprisoned and die imprisoned on a plantation. Those that are free are imprisoned by an oppressive society looming over them, although they do have more freedom than those literally imprisoned. Cora is born in bondage, but manages to escape and seeks freedom, but along the way she feels the weight of society’s cruel abuses. Once she reaches Martin, “he and his wife kept Cora imprisoned in their attic,” (Whitehead 164). Although Cora isn’t being held captive by the Wells, she is forced to endure a confined space for months just to survive. Although she is free from slavery at that moment, Cora is trapped by her circumstances. After Ridgeway finds her, she returns to literal imprisonment. The slave catchers “shackled Cora’s ankles, and then ran the chains through a ring in the floor of the wagon,” (Whitehead 192). Cora is trapped, no matter her circumstances and can only truly be free if she escapes those circumstances by reaching the north.
Both of these motifs relate to the theme of bettering one’s circumstances, because sacrifices must be made by the slaves in order run away. Those aiding the escapees must sacrifice their safety, and in many cases their lives, just to attempt to free the victims of society. Of course the escape requires leaving the imprisonment of the plantation, but also an escape from the circumstances society has given someone based solely on characteristics out of one’s control, but that's unfortunately how society was. These ideas can be seen in modern society as people born in poverty are given an unfair disadvantage in life and as such must work harder than those higher up just to achieve what they can. Moreover media is dominated by white people, so some minorities may be discouraged or feel outcast by society simply because of their skin color. While the circumstances today are nowhere near as cruel as in the past, some injustices still do remain, so some people are forced to overcome their circumstances to become who they want to be, which may involve sacrifice and an escape from a metaphorical, or sometimes literal, prison.
One of the most important motifs in Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad is family. No matter where Cora is, the people around her, whether they are close enough to be considered family or not, have a big impact on how she thinks and acts. For instance, when Cora first arrives to South Carolina with Caesar, Cora is able to override her fear and paranoia of an ensuing chase from Georgia due to how caring and loving everyone is to her, like a real family. She had a paying job as a maid for the Andersons, she was learning how to read and write from Miss Handler, and was steadily growing closer to Caesar as a possible lover. So even when red flags started appearing, like how she started working as an actor in the museum, or when the crazed woman ran into the green screaming, “My babies, they’re taking my babies!” (Whitehead 108), Cora continued to try and work things out in South Carolina until she was forced to leave and flee the pursuing Ridgeway. The allure of a good family was strong enough to make Caesar and Cora decide to settle in South Carolina mere days after their arrival in the state. And that’s not to say that that is a bad thing, for a good, supportive family can do great things. Like on Valentine’s Farm, the family that emerged between all of the various residents was tight-knit and special, even though people were constantly flowing in and out. Cora had a love interest in Royal, a supportive mother-type in Sybil, and a young child in which to play and guide in Molly, so she always had someone to support her if she ever needed it. And this especially helped whenever she thought of her life back in Georgia and needed someone to confide in, or felt a migraine, and could count on Sybil for helping with her carpet, “which Cora laid on when she got one of her headaches” (Whitehead 247). Whenever she was surrounded by good people, Cora felt comforted and safe, for better or for worse, as a good family should do. These good people, from Sam the Underground Railroad worker to the little girl Molly, all provide Cora with comfort and peace of mind in times of trouble for the runaway, providing direct evidence for the theme of the importance of family. As long as Cora had a group of people close enough to call family behind her, she was able to ignore her past and start trying to live a new life, like during the beginning of her stay in South Carolina, or at the Valentine’s farm. There is even when she was staying in North Carolina. When Martin and Ethel didn’t want her and were just putting up with her in the attic, Cora was especially miserable and depressed about her situation. But when Ethel started warming up to her, Martin started calming down, and they even both let her sleep in the guest bed for a night, Cora began to relax about her situation and enjoy the little things, like getting, “one last stretch in the bed” (Whitehead 188) before Fiona came back and she had to go back into the attic after her sick spell. This theme also connects to real life as, just as Whitehead said in an interview, "All the things that the people in The Underground Railroad are struggling with, have parallels, echoes today". Today, people are having issues with their personal family lives, which in turn make their entire lives more difficult. But when those people can find a family in their friends or their community, then they can really begin to enjoy their lives, just as Cora did at Valentine’s farm.
The first motif that I noticed in the story is that of endurance. Endurance is seen many times such as near the beginning when Cora stated that she was raped by a group of men. After that occurrence, Cora was scarred mentally and most likely physically as well but she endured what happened to her and chose to later go with Caesar to the underground railroad and run away from the Randall plantation to pursue a better life. This motif is seen again after Cora decides to protect Chester and then after that Cora and Chester were both whipped for at least 3 days straight. Cora was able to endure her punishment but then on top of that. like previously mentioned, Cora decided after this to escape from the Randall plantation by means of the underground railroad. The second motif is predestination. This is seen in the beginning of the story because of the fact that Cora was predestined to be a strong woman like her grandmother Ajarry. This is seen when she inherits her grandmother's small garden and then Blake's dog ruins Cora's cabbage. Ajarry was well respected and even feared on the Randall plantation and so Cora was predestined to be respected and feared and she was after she decided to destroy Blake's doghouse and cut off half of Blake's dog's tail. Predestination also plays a part due to the fact that Cora's mother Mabel had escaped from the Randall plantation and that means that Cora was predestined to attempt or even fully escape from the Randall plantation. This proved true when Cora and Caesar both escaped from the Randall plantation and Georgia as a whole using the help of the underground railroad.
The theme that these motifs relate to is being true to your family. Cora had to endure many things and even endure what she was predestined to deal with. Cora was born a slave on the Randall plantation and with her heritage, she was predestined to be a slave and that means she must endure the life of a slave. That means that she would have to endure any abuses that were brought onto her for being a slave or any temper or actions that she was predestined to do such as escaping or when she got abused and had to endure the beatings.
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