![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The danger of being associated with the underground railroad is present and consistent throughout the novel. Coates skillfully crafts the function and dedication of actual underground railroad operators and conductors into the novel. In the novel Harriet Tubman also possesses this power. If developed, this supernatural power would be a great tool for one seeking to escape bondage. Coates’ protagonist Hiram Walker, a slave, is assumed to have the power of a water dancer one who can cross distances of actual land through mental prowess. Historical fiction builds on and depends on actual past events to create a story. The genre of magical realism attempts to make the supernatural natural it causes an acceptance of the extraordinary as ordinary. To accomplish either of these tasks would require a seasoned fiction writer however, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ premier novel, The Water Dancer, achieves these tasks. ![]() To create a vernacular specific for a novel is a speculative task. To discuss the topic of family pride from the perspective of the offspring of a slave and a master is an awkward task. To mix magical realism with historical fiction is a bold task. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |