Around the 1800s, slavery was big in America. Your race determines whether you are counted as a slave or slave owner. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a novel that the main focus is slavery. In the novel, Harriet shows us many different kinds of slaves and slave owners. By her showing us this we get to understand one of the themes more. One of the themes in Uncle Tom’s Cabin is no matter what kind of master you have you still deserve to be free. Stowe shows us a “humane slave owner” in the beginning of the novel whose name is Mr. Shelby and how he affects two slave’s lives. “ ‘It’s done!’ said Mr. Shelby…”(Stowe 36). This is the part of the novel that Mr. Shelby sells two of his slaves, Tom and Harry because he owes money to Haley, the trader. If Mr. Shelby were a humane man like he says he is then, he wouldn’t own slaves at all. Mr. Shelby gives Tom more freedom than any other slave he owns. He lets Tom run his errands for him on a daily basis. Imagine being the favorite slave of your master, and the next day you are just sold away because of selfish reasons. Harry was the child of Eliza, one of Mr. Shelby’s slaves; he was being sold along with Tom because they were the two best slaves that …show more content…
Clare and get the chance to finally be free but you still won’t make a run for it. “ ‘I won’t keep you…’ ”(Stowe 341). Uncle Tom gets the chance to be free and not be a slave anymore. Many slaves dream to be free and hope to get the same opportunity that Tom did, yet Tom decides to stay with St. Clare. Tom did this so he could help St. Clare clean his soul. He could’ve taken the chance to take off with his family like every slave would do. Because of the decision Tom decides to take, he didn’t get to be free like he hopes. He waits too long and St. Clare passes away. This shows how you could have a perfect master who you love and care for, but you also need to be free and make decisions for
Clare Homes. It’s located in Louisiana, almost the southernmost you can go, like Simon Legree but unlike Legree they aren’t situated in the rural portion. St. Clare, master of the Homes, has a drinking problem, but despite this he is a kind slave owner much like Mr. Shelby. They are also similar in that they both promised to free Uncle Tom and that they both believed slavery wasn’t a good and happy thing, specifically St. Clare believed that the Bible didn’t justify slavery as he states “When I look for religion, I must look for something above me, and not something beneath.” (Uncle Tom’s Cabin 156). The St. Clare's whole family dynamic is different from the Shelby's, Marie St. Clare was oblivious to the thoughts and feelings of others, she is described as having “not much capability for affection… sensibility” and a case of extreme selfishness (Uncle Tom’s Cabin 131), whereas Mrs. Shelby was defined as a woman of high class, high morals, and high principle (Uncle Tom’s Cabin 10), Cassy, Simon Legree’s mistress, too, was high class even as a mulatto woman and though she has had a difficult time of it, retains the poise and intelligence that once came with her station. Miss Ophelia, the cousin from New England with strict mannerisms, most opposite to Augustine St. Clare, she is the embodiment of religious duty. Eva though adored didn’t have much of a relationship with her parents, unlike George Shelby. Like George though, Eva
Stowe focuses on the story of a slave name Uncle Tom, who was sold down the river and brutalized by the planter whose name remains a synonym for cruelty and oppression, Simon Legree. Uncle Tom was a slave for the Shelby’s’, who were very nice to him and really cared about their slaves. Unfortunately, due to their financial circumstances they had to sell Uncle Tom to another man named Haley, who later sold him to a very oppressive master named Simon Legree. Tom experienced the “best” of slavery at the Shelby plantation, and suffered the “worst” at the Legree plantation. Even though Tom suffered a lot he never gave up, as stated in the book when he tells his master “if you was sick, or in trouble, or dying, and I could save ye, I’d give ye my heart’s blood” (Stowe, 464).
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, is a compelling story about the horrors of slavery. The book is a creative outlet of protest against the institution of slavery. Throughout the book it is evident that the author promotes that slavery is not the Christian way. This is proven through the ways in which it rips apart families, and is ultimately an inhumane way of life. This essay will discuss the ways in which Harriet Beecher Stowe encouraged the abolition of slavery.
Harriet Beecher Stowe tells stories of different slaveholders apathetic, abusive, and hypocritical actions towards various slaves in her beautifully written novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, during the 19th century in order to help convey the true evil behind slavery- no matter the circumstance. The author allows readers to view slavery from seemingly safe environments to hostile settings, and continually shows the bad in every situation. The reality of slavery is shown to anyone willing to read this novel, and Harriet Beecher Stowe does a good job of combining various stories that tie together in order to complete her goal.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was valuable because it opened the eyes of American citizens to the harsh reality of slavery and proved its need for abolishment. Harriet Beecher Stowe proved the wrongness and cruelty of many southern slave owners by mentioning the splitting up of slave families in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. In the beginning of the book, Stowe developed the nasty and feelingless character of Mr. Haley, a slave trader. He decided to buy Harry from Mr. Shelby and wanted to separate the young child from his mother without considering the impact it would have on their family. Stowe also explored the cruelty of slavery in the scene where Simon Legree beat Uncle Tom to death. She used Legree as an example for many southern slave owners who brutally acted the same way in real life. Stowe was very bothered by the fact that slave owners were willing to kill their own slaves and was able to share her hostile feelings with many others with her book. Through Stowe’s examples of family separation and death, she was able to show Americans how ruthless some slave owners could truly be. This compelled both Northerners and Southerners to fight for the abolishment of slavery.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, is a novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe which originally was published on March 20, 1852. Under the background that the country had been divided over the issue over slavery, the south states of the country are slaves states, and the north states of the country are slave free states. Different sides of the country have distinct views over slavery system in south. The north, specially abolitionist, views slavery system is villainous and immoral, it takes away the basic right of human which is freedom, and it againsts God which is Christian believes. The theme of the novel based on the abolitionist views. The purpose of the novel is that tell the world what is slave life like, especially for those northerners never been to the south.Their life will be strenuous or comfortable is depend on what kind of slave owner they meet. The book is appeal people to face and deal with the issue of slavery which lasted in the history for a long time.
In the course American Global Context taught at Mount St. Mary’s University, eight significant historical events from 1898 to contemporary times are covered. These events range from the assassination of William McKinley to the Great Depression to Pearl Harbor. One of these events, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, occurred in the 21st century. If I had the ability to add another event that possesses historical significance it would also be from the 21st century. The Great Recession of 2008 is the event that I would pick as the ninth historical event. By looking at the details of what happened, what the recession revealed about America, and what changed as a result it is possible to understand the immense significance of the recession.
Using the recurring motifs of Christ figures and the supernatural, the novel goes in a circuitous loop around the themes of Christian values and the evils of slavery. The author expresses these moments through Eliza’s “miraculous” leap to freedom across the Ohio River, George Harris’ battle of being a slave to finding his family as a free man, and Uncle Tom’s struggle to keep his faith strong through so much mental and physical anguish. Stowe controls the tone and diction of the story so impeccably; to the point of tears. “Jesus can make a dying-bed feel soft as down pillows are,” (pg 237) not only does Stowe include many Bible verses and biblical allusions to show how the slaves foundation was faith, but she does it so effortlessly that her writing is genuinely rich with
Being alive during the time of slavery in the United States was hard both for blacks and whites alike. Harriet Beecher Stowe was a white woman growing up in Cincinnati during the time of slavery and she wrote her novel to express her anger and disbelief of the practice of slavery. When she wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin she shows the horrible experience that the slave’s endured and also how many white slave owners were actually against slavery. She communicates her dislike of slavery by showing the audience the lives Tom and Eliza.
Discrimination against: The ultimate payback African Americans have been discriminated as far as time can go back. Their lives had been miserable for years, and it has been a struggle due to all the discrimination they have to face. In Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, every character has someone to talk to and socialize with on the ranch. Some would say that the relationships that the workers have with each other are the only type of “family” or communication that they have to talk to. For black ranch workers that was different.
This shows that all morals would be put aside to sell the slaves for monetary purposes. Although Mr. Shelby did not want to do this, he conceded to it in the end. Others in the book who have dealt with slavery have noticed or come to their senses over time. St. Clare is a good-hearted man who has virtues, but continues to work and deal with a horrible situation. Miss Ophelia has a conversation with St. Clare that shows the reader her extreme upset.
Another place in the text where Stowe’s theme becomes clearer to readers in in chapter twenty when St. Clare exclaims, “That’s you Christians, all over!—you’ll get up a society and get some poor missionary to spend all his days among just such heathen. But let me see one of you that would take one into your house with you, and take the labor of their conversation on yourselves! No; when it comes to that, they are dirty and disagreeable, and it’s too much care, and so on (866).” St. Clare recognizes the evil of slavery himself but is afraid free his slaves in order to become a “Christian.” He is more than willing to point out all the problems
Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a rather vocal story with some strong depictions in the lives of the slaves in the South. As a fictitious ensemble, this story simply sought to bring to light the slavery situation in the South. The author did not base her book on the reality of any particular slave but from the collective narratives of slavery, one would conclude that her assertions are rather factual. At the time, the author’s aim may have clouded the minds of the readers and critics since she clearly was an abolitionist with the hope of abolishing slavery in the South. However, her assertions in this book are very similar to the relationship between slaves and their masters.
Stowe use Legree as her vision for unethical slave owners. Stowe also used the character Eva St. Clare as the ethical kind of slave owner. Eva thought that blacks and whites had no differences (ch. 16), which was not a popular idea at the time when the book was published. Stowe gave a different take on slavery which wasn’t a common thing for people back then, especially for a women. Stowe used the two different types of slaveowners to relate with the same people and events that was going on when Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published.
In the novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe unmasks the unjust and unfair treatment of blacks by whites during the time in which she lived. Stowe goes on to criticize American slave owners for their irrational justifications of slavery. They use racial superiority and sub-human categorization of blacks as means of justifying slavery. She deconstructs the theory of white supremacy in her emotional and thought provoking novel. Stowe demonstrates in her depiction of the beating of the slaves how they are inhumanely treated as animals. She also uses many slave and master relationships in order to demonstrate society’s belief of racial superiority.