The Underground Railroad Flashcards
Ajarry,
Kidnapped from Africa as a child, Mabel’s mother. The rest of her children died. She dies of a brain hemorrhage while working in the field
Cora’s adolescence
Living on Randall, takes care of the garden her mom (Mabel) left her. Lives in Hob because her mom ran away. GOt into a fight with a man, destroyed his dog house and cut off his dog’s tail, was gang raped by 4 men after
Jockey’s birthday-
During the birthday feast, Caesar pulls Cora aside and asks her to run away with him, and Cora says heck no. The slaves dance and play music after the feast, but the brothers who own the plantation force slaves to dance for their entertainment. A young boy accidentally knocks wine onto one of the brothers’ shirts, and Cora defends him. They’re both brutally whipped
Cora’s escape
James Randall dies of kidney failure, so Terrance (the crueler brother) takes over the plantation. Big Anthony runs away, though Big Anthony is soon captured and tortured to death. Cora agrees to run away with Caesar; he tells her that he is being assisted by Fletcher, a local shopkeeper who works for the underground railroad. Cora is tackled by a young boy and she kills him with a rock. After Cora and Caesar find Fletcher, Fletcher introduces them to Lumbly, who houses an underground railroad station beneath his farm. They travel in a rickety car to South Carolina.
Mabel’s disappearance-
When Mabel disappeared, Cora didn’t know she was leaving. Old Randall hired Ridgeway, a notorious slave catcher, to find Mabel, but he couldn’t. Ridgeway is the son of a blacksmith, Ridgeway Sr. who believed in a “Great Spirit” uniting all living things. Ridgeway is tortured by his failure to capture Mabel and he swears he will track down Cora in her place.
Mr. and Mrs. Anderson
-couple living in South Carolina with their two children, who are cared for by a black nanny called Bessie.
What job does Cora have?
Soon, Cora is given a new job as a “type” in a museum. She poses in three different scenes representing different stages in the transatlantic slave trade: “Scenes from Darkest Africa,” “Life on the Slave Ship,” and “Typical Day on the Plantation.”
How does Cora get to NC? What happens when she first gets there?
Through UGRR- she sees the line of lynched people and is hidden by Martin Wells and his wife Ethel in their attic, risking their lives if she’s found.
What happens after Cora is taken from the attic?
Cora travels through Tennessee with Ridgeway, Ridgeway’s accomplices Homer and Boseman, and a captured runaway, Jasper, who won’t stop singing hymns.
What happens after Cora escapes Ridgeway’s capture?
Cora’s living on Valentine farm, a free black community in Indiana. She takes classes, and shares a cabin with a woman named Sybil and Sybil’s daughter, Molly.
What happens during the debate at Valentine Farm?
The meeting is disrupted by Ridgeway and a gang of white men. Many people are kidnapped/killed.
Mabel’s backstory
When Cora was born, Mabel was repeatedly raped by Moses, one of the black bosses on Randall. Cora had been born out of wedlock and her father died of fever before learning that Mabel was pregnant. When Mabel runs away, she is thrilled by the taste of freedom but she immediately decides that she must go back for Cora. However, on her way back to Randall she is bitten by a snake and dies, her body swallowed up by the swamp.
Cora’s escape from ridgeway
Cora takes Ridgeway and Homer to the station.Cora kills him. Cora steps onto the handcar waiting in the station and makes it north. She encounters a group of wagon drivers and sits up with an elderly black man named Ollie, who offers her food and water and suggests that they catch up on each other’s stories.
Bessie
- Lives in dormitories supervised by white proctors, including Miss Lucy.
-Has a fake identity partly because of an UGRR agent
What happens when Cora gets to NC? What decision does she make with Caesar? What happens that makes something seem off?
Takes literacy classes and has a medical exam. One night, there is a dormitory social at which Cora wears a pretty new dress and chats happily with Caesar. Although there is an underground railroad train coming in a few days, they decide to stay in South Carolina. Later that night, Cora sees a black woman running through the green in front of the dormitories screaming, “They’re taking away my babies!” This image haunts Cora.
What happens at a medical examination which horrifies her?
Dr. Stevens suggests she’s sterilized.
What rumors spread in NC?
Doctors aren’t treating some of the black dormitory residents for syphilis so that the doctors can study the infection’s progression and other residents are being forcibly sterilized in order to cull the black population.
What makes Cora realize she’s in danger? What happens when she tries to warn Sam?
Shortly after, Cora has an interaction with Miss Lucy that causes her to fear that her true identity as a runaway slave may have been revealed. She goes to warn Sam, who tells Cora that Ridgeway is after her and hides her down on the underground railroad platform. After waiting in the dark, Cora realizes that on the other side of the door Sam’s house is on fire.
How is Cora found from the Wells’ attic?
Soon after, patrollers arrive at the house and storm straight up to the attic. Among them is Ridgeway, who grabs Cora by the ankles and throws her down the stairs. Ridgeway takes Cora with him. As they drive away Martin and Ethel are stoned to death by the townspeople.
Who is Homer?
One of Ridgeway’s accomplices- Homer is a 10-year-old black boy who serves as Ridgeway’s driver and bookkeeper. Although he is technically free, Homer mysteriously decides to stay with Ridgeway and he even voluntarily chains himself to Ridgeway’s wagon at night.
Who is boseman?
One of Ridgeway’s accomplices. Boseman, meanwhile, has been traveling with Ridgeway for three years and he wears a necklace of shriveled ears.
How does Cora escape Ridgeway’s capture?
One evening, Ridgeway gives Cora a new dress to wear and takes her out for dinner. He informs Cora that Caesar was killed by a mob in South Carolina. After the dinner, Boseman attempts to rape Cora but is interrupted by Royal, Justin, and Red, three free black men who shoot Boseman and rescue Cora. Cora kicks Ridgway three times in the face before fleeing.
What is Valentine Farm like?
The farm is run by John Valentine, a white-passing freeborn black man, and his wife, Gloria. Visitors often come to the farm, including abolitionists, musicians, and poets.
What is the debate at valentine farm?
The residents are about to debate whether the community should move west or stay put and expel the runaways who live there. John tells Cora that he feels a sense of duty to help all black people, who he believes must look out for one another.
