An Analysis Of Initiation Features Reflected In Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad

In 2016,American contemporary writer Colson Whitehead(1969—)launched The Underground Railroad.It has been selected into the Oprah Book Club,included in the summer list by Obama,and listed as one of the best yearly books of New York Times,San Francisco Chronicle,Wall Street Journal,Washington Post,Daily News and so on.So far,it has gained a number of literary awards such as the American National Book Award(2016)and the Pulitzer Prize for Literature(2017).In The Underground Railroad,black female slave Cora’s escaping journey enables her to cast off innocence and become mature.Such kind of growth implies that the novel belongs to initiation.Since initiation novels have typical themes,plot,and characters,the thesis attempts to explore the initiation features from aspects of theme,plot and characters.This thesis is composed of five chapters.Chapter One is an introduction to the research background and purpose,literature review,theoretical basis,research questions and organization of the thesis.Chapter Two explores the growth themes displayed in the novel,such as the protagonist’s transformation from innocence to experience,protest against social injustice,and formation of personal values.Chapter Three discusses the initiation characteristics presented in the plot,including the protagonist’s setting off,suffering from conflicts and fulfilling self-discovery.Chapter Four studies the characters’ influence on the protagonist to figure out whether they are guides for the protagonist or not.Chapter Five concludes that The Underground Railroad is an initiation novel.On the one hand,the interpretation from initiation features is helpful to broaden the research of The Underground Railroad and even African American literature.On the other hand,it is of realistic significance.Since the reality for African Americans is still harsh,the black female growth study,with the intention to reveal the spirit of brave pursuit for dream,helps to raise people’s awareness of the social issues and to provide enlightenment for African American’s development.