Jasmine Contile

June 6th, 2017

English

Postcolonialism & Feminism in The Underground Railroad

In The Underground Railroad, the plot takes place in the midst of slavery where the

Underground Railroad is a literal running train that tries to save escapee slaves from their

masters by moving them to different states. The book took place in the midst of slavery, but even

decades after slavery ended, African Americans lived under Jim Crow laws in the United States,

laws that in todays society should have disappeared by now. However, in current times African

Americans convicted of felonies and sent to prison are, if they are released at all, are released

back into an 1870s Jim Crow south experience all over again. What African Americans are met

with, where they cant vote, find employment, or receive their full rights back is shocking and

problematic because often it is perceived that we left that all behind when we left slavery behind.

The Underground Railroad helps us understand how history has created our current structural

problems as well as this, how these ideas play out differently for men and women. Although the

main character is female, the men in the story constantly move the plot which is another one of

the authors choices to explore through the feminist lens. From being chased and saved by men,

the main character Cora still expresses her own individualism, but is one of the only female

characters discussed in the whole story. Using Postcolonial and Feminist lenses to analyze

Gyasis novel allows readers to see issues of both Postcolonialism and sexism through one

insightful novel.

1865 was the year slavery ended; The Underground Railroad takes place between
1850-1860, which was the non-fictional railroads most popular years where 100,000 slaves had

escaped through it. In the book, however, the railroad is a literal train (opposed to secret routes

and safe-houses) that transports the slaves to other states as far as possible from their masters.

The book obviously addresses racism and multiple forms of abuse slaves endured; such as

females being raped by their masters and both men and women being beaten as punishment. For

example, in (find page number/chapter), Cora takes a beating for a young boy on the plantation

shes on. Later, the narrator describes how Cora has experienced and witnessed multiple beatings

in her lifetime. Even though Jim Crow laws are not around yet, it is still part of postcolonialism

that came after the books timeline.

As previously mentioned, Jim Crow laws began in the year 1877 and ended in the

1950s. Jim Crow laws started segregation in forms of banning colored people and white people

from sharing: restaurants, schools, housing, means of transportation, hospitals and healthcare

facilities, prisons, theatres, places of recreation, and more. They also forbid interracial

relationships, marriages and/or having interracial children. While Jim Crow laws have

supposedly disintegrated, they are still very present in todays society; instead they are just

slightly altered and less obvious. Until the connections are strung together between then and

now, it is very hard to notice that laws made to design institutionalized racism still exist.

After serving time in prison, on the day of the inmates release (if they are given one),

they walk into the world hoping to be a free person. Instead, they will soon come to find that

they have been stripped of many rights that some wouldnt expect them to be stripped of. They

already served their time, and still have a permanent branding that keeps them from being able to

fully rejoin their community again. While many would agree with ex-convicts who committed
violent offenses not being granted their full civil rights, theres a gray area when it comes to

whether or not non-violent crimes, specifically drug crimes, should be so heavily effective on the

rest of your life after prison. According to the National Association for the Advancement of

Colored People, (or the NAACP), 5 times as many Whites are using drugs as African

Americans, yet African Americans are sent to prison for drug offenses at 10 times the rate of

Whites. In addition, while theres more white people in the U.S., theres more black and

hispanic people in prison. As previously stated; having certain civil rights revoked after

committing a violent offense (sexual assault, attempted murder/homicide, abduction, assault,

etc.) where you affect someone elses body or life, therefore affecting their rights, is

understandable. But when it comes to someone doing a drug, not only should there be

rehabilitation rather than jail time, but this should not be a permanent stain on someones record

that costs them their entire life when they did nothing to affect anyone elses violently. As the

statistic above proves, imprisoning black and other people of color for drug crimes is how they

are kept within Jim Crow laws; otherwise white people would be incarcerated just as often, and

face the same struggles of their rights being revoked for doing drugs.

To quote The Underground Railroad; Freedom was a thing that shifted as you looked at

it, the way a forest is dense with trees up close but from outside, the empty meadow, you see its

true limits (Whitehead, page #). The large limitations governed against ex-convicts are: losing

the right to vote, traveling abroad, the right to bear arms, employment in certain fields, public

social benefits and housing, and parental benefits (J. Hirby). Some criminals may deserve

rights being taken away from them if theyve done a violent crime; for example allowing them to

travel abroad wouldnt be a good idea, because they may cause harm in another country which
implodes into a bigger problem. But the rights taken away from the people who havent caused

that much of a societal disruption shouldnt have to suffer in this way.

Moving forward, the feminist perspective of the story is interesting and slightly complex.

While the women are easily outnumbered, the main character is female. On the other hand, all

the men in the story are the ones constantly moving the plot along. For instance, Caesar being the

one to suggest fleeing to the railroad with Cora rather than her deciding to herself or attempting

it alone; while doing so would be a risky decision, it could have further proven the point that she

is a strong individual who earned her freedom single-handedly. Another example is how when

the slave-catcher Ridgeway retains her, shes rescued by two male slaves who help her escape

again. The most influential and important scenes in the story were led by males but ultimately

affected Cora, (the one female the reader reads about), the most.

When thinking about the story as a whole, taking away the genders of every character,

Cora appears to be one of (or the most) strong characters. She kills a white male in the beginning

of the novel which becomes the primary reason for her recapture, she remains on the run and

experiences the deaths of her friends, but looking through a feminist lens, it can be questioned if

the males moving along the story weakens the power of the one female in the story. Would her

escape be more driven by feminine influence had she had the idea, or another woman addressed

her and planned out the idea? Would her rescue had been more meaningful to a feminist if just

one of them were female? Lastly, would the outcry had been the same, smaller, or larger if she

killed a white female?

Questions like these easily come to mind when reading the book; why is every main

character outside of Lovey and Mabel (Coras mother who she hates for escaping and inevitably
abandoning her), male? Why are there no other women moving along the plot or making big

decisions and memorable roles in the story outside of the main character? Was that another

social issue the author tried to address, or did he simply accidentally not create any other female

characters? It seems like thatd be hard to do, compared to so many other novels, The

Underground Railroad portrays a large gap between the number of important male and female

characters. As previously stated, a remaining question for the author would be; is this a writing

choice that was intentional, or unintentional?

In conclusion, The Underground Railroad captured many lenses, beyond even these two.

While the reader may be left with similar questions especially regarding the feminist lens, Gyasi

overall does a sufficient job in telling an important story by discussing a historical event told in a

unique way that can be related to current events. The use of teaching both feminist and

postcolonial lenses are significant lessons that should be further explored. Theres no question

why the book has had the impact and success it has, including the National Book Award for

Fiction.
 Works Cited:

Hirby, J. "What Rights Do Convicted Felons Lose?" The Law Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 06

June 2017.

Criminal Justice NAACP. Web. 06 June 2017

13th Documentary

The Underground Railroad