A Study Of The Underground Railroad From The Perspective Of Spatial Criticism

The Underground Railroad is a novel about American slavery written by Colson Whitehead who is an African American writer.The story takes place in the slave states when slavery was going on.The novel describes a female slave Cora?s escape from the brutal Southern plantation and she takes the “underground railroad” going through all the way to the north in search of freedom and identity.The novel uses the“underground railroad” to turn virtual into reality,rooted in the historical reality of the north and south of the United States at that time,reveals the darkness and cruelty of the slavery period in the United States,and reproduces the physical and spiritual encounters of black slaves and their yearning and pursuit for freedom.This thesis uses Lefebvre?s “Spatial Triad” as the theoretical framework from the three aspects of physical space,social space and psychological space to analyze how the black female Cora gradually gets rid of the marginalized female identity and pursues physical and spiritual freedom in the face of the persecution of racism dominated by the white and the oppression of the patriarchal society.This thesis is divided into four chapters.Introduction mainly introduces the background of Colson Whitehead,the main plot of the work The Underground Railroad,the literature review at home and abroad and the significance of the thesis statement.The first chapter is the theoretical framework part,which mainly interprets the origin and development of spatial theory,and further explains the three spatial dimensions of Lefebvre?s “Spatial Triad”.The second chapter is the facet of physical space,which primarily states the spatial practices embodied in the transformation of physical space in the novel.From the southern plantation to the northern cities,the space practice in different places drives the development process of Cora?s escape journey.The third chapter is the dimension of social space,which mainly analyzes the historical root of social space,that is,the influence of white cultural hegemony and patriarchal society in the 19 th century on the social relations of the characters.The fourth chapter is the sphere of psychological space,which mainly analyzes the change of the heroine Cora?s psychological space in the process of escape,and also explains that the change of Cora?s psychological space is mainly affected by the physical space and social space.Using spatial criticism to study The Underground Railroad can help readers to grasp the theme of the novel from the perspective of space,understand the character?s tragic fate in the social environment at that time,and explore the multidimensional narrative space constructed by Colson Whitehead.The interpretation of the protagonist Cora?s escape experience in the novel through the physical space,social space and psychological space is help for readers to fully comprehend the protagonist?s living space,psychological changes and the social environment at that time.Simultaneously,it also reveals black women?s tragic fate in the social space constructed by white people in the 19 th century.Through the research of spatial practice on the black women Cora in The Underground Railroad,the theme of the text can be understood from a deeper level,and more study perspectives on Colson Whitehead can be provided.