The Underground Railroad

by

Colson Whitehead

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Underground Railroad makes teaching easy.

Ajarry Character Analysis

Ajarry is Cora’s grandmother and Mabel’s mother. She was born in Africa before being kidnapped and enslaved slave in America, where she is sold so many times that she comes to believe she is “cursed.” She has three husbands and five children, of which Mabel is the only one to survive. She is well-liked and respected on Randall, and this respect helps protect Mabel and Cora within the enslaved community until Ajarry’s death. She is the first owner of the garden, and she dies on Randall after suffering a brain hemorrhage while working in the field.

Ajarry Quotes in The Underground Railroad

The The Underground Railroad quotes below are all either spoken by Ajarry or refer to Ajarry. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Family, Heritage, and Home Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1: Ajarry Quotes

She knew that the white man's scientists peered beneath things to understand how they worked. The movement of the stars across the night, the cooperation of humors in the blood. The temperature requirements for a healthy cotton harvest. Ajarry made a science of her own black body and accumulated observations… in America the quirk was that people were things.

Related Characters: Ajarry (speaker)
Page Number: 6
Explanation and Analysis:

To escape the boundary of the plantation was to escape the fundamental principles of your existence: impossible.

Related Characters: Ajarry
Page Number: 8
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Underground Railroad LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Underground Railroad PDF

Ajarry Quotes in The Underground Railroad

The The Underground Railroad quotes below are all either spoken by Ajarry or refer to Ajarry. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Family, Heritage, and Home Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1: Ajarry Quotes

She knew that the white man's scientists peered beneath things to understand how they worked. The movement of the stars across the night, the cooperation of humors in the blood. The temperature requirements for a healthy cotton harvest. Ajarry made a science of her own black body and accumulated observations… in America the quirk was that people were things.

Related Characters: Ajarry (speaker)
Page Number: 6
Explanation and Analysis:

To escape the boundary of the plantation was to escape the fundamental principles of your existence: impossible.

Related Characters: Ajarry
Page Number: 8
Explanation and Analysis: