The Underground Railroad

by

Colson Whitehead

Dr. Aloysius Stevens Character Analysis

Dr. Stevens is another doctor who examines Cora. Prior to his employment in South Carolina, he was a medical student in Boston, where he was involved with the “body trade” of stealing corpses for research. During this time, Stevens felt out-of-place among medical students due to his poor Irish background. He condemns racism and even feels a sense of affinity with black people, although he never admits this out loud and becomes complicit with the commodification and exploitation of black people that takes place through the medical industry.

Dr. Aloysius Stevens Quotes in The Underground Railroad

The The Underground Railroad quotes below are all either spoken by Dr. Aloysius Stevens or refer to Dr. Aloysius Stevens. 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 4: South Carolina Quotes

Stolen bodies working stolen land. It was an engine that did not stop, its hungry boiler fed with blood. With the surgeries that Dr. Stevens described, Cora thought, the whites had begun stealing futures in earnest. Cut you open and rip them out, dripping. Because that's what you do when you take away someone's babies––steal their future. Torture them as much as you can when

they are on this earth, then take away the hope that one day their people will have it better.

Related Characters: Dr. Aloysius Stevens (speaker), Cora (aka Bessie)
Page Number: 117
Explanation and Analysis:
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Dr. Aloysius Stevens Quotes in The Underground Railroad

The The Underground Railroad quotes below are all either spoken by Dr. Aloysius Stevens or refer to Dr. Aloysius Stevens. 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 4: South Carolina Quotes

Stolen bodies working stolen land. It was an engine that did not stop, its hungry boiler fed with blood. With the surgeries that Dr. Stevens described, Cora thought, the whites had begun stealing futures in earnest. Cut you open and rip them out, dripping. Because that's what you do when you take away someone's babies––steal their future. Torture them as much as you can when

they are on this earth, then take away the hope that one day their people will have it better.

Related Characters: Dr. Aloysius Stevens (speaker), Cora (aka Bessie)
Page Number: 117
Explanation and Analysis: