On Cora’s Identity In Afro-American Writer Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad

The vigorous development of African American literature has a profound impact on American literature.As one of the most famous Afro-American writers in the United States currently,Colson Whitehead has an increasing reputation and influence on contemporary American literature.For its consummate narrative techniques and in-depth themes,his novel The Underground Railroad,published in 2016,won the National Book Award in 2016 and the Pulitzer Prize in 2017.The novel focuses on Cora’s escape by railroad and exhibits a panoramic view of the American society under the shadow of slavery in the 19 th century.While foreign scholars’ research on Colson Whitehead has made some achievements,Chinese scholars began to publish their research on him in 2017.Concerning The Underground Railroad,the results of domestic and foreign scholars’ research consist of a small number of journal articles and theses,but so far the scholars have ignored the protagonist’s identity.Identity is closely related to society.From the perspective of Cora’s identity,the damage of slavery to the individuals,the races and the nation can be systematically presented.Therefore,adopting identity theory,this thesis attempts to explore the identity of Cora through the close textual study,and analyzes the identity characteristics,the dilemmas Cora encountered during each period and the reasons in order to unveil and criticize slavery in the United States and its harm to the African American people.The thesis consists of five chapters.The first chapter introduces Colson Whitehead and his works,summarizes the previous studies at home and abroad,explains the theoretical framework,and points out the significance of this research and the layout of the thesis.The second chapter is divided into three sections which expound on the status and causes of Cora’s identities as an abandoned girl,an outcast from the black community and a slave of a white man respectively in order to reveal the cruel truth in the plantation.The third chapter falls into three sections to explore the efforts and difficulties that Cora made and encountered during the pursuit of family,returning to the black community and attaining true freedom,which exposes the crimes committed by the whites in slave state.The fourth chapter comprises two sections which analyze how Cora became a beloved woman and mature freeman and thus indicate the reality that freedom is hard to gain even in free state.The fifth chapter makes the conclusion of the thesis and restates the book’s theme that is to reveal the cruelty of slavery in the United States,to condemn the atrocities of the whites and to express the author’s hope of a great future for his black people.Finally,the thesis also proposes the possibilities of further research on The Underground Railroad.