Source Evaluation of Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe

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Recommended: Preface of uncle tom's cabin

What makes a good novel? Is it the title? Could it be the unusual or stylish cover? The author’s accredited reputation? Is it the number of copies sold? It could be the memorial characters of the novel? Maybe it is the length of the novel? The familiarity the novel illuminates to its readers? Or it may be the thrilling or contradictory plot? The influence it has upon the readers? It could be the criticism surrounding the novel? Whatever the criterion for a good novel is Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe may well be one of the critical controversial novel of its time.

Regarding Uncle Tom’s Cabin, I collected sources about the critical controversy about the novel. In my findings, there is Norton Critical Edition, A Routledge Literary Sourcebook on the novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet B. Stowe, lastly “The Little Cabin of Uncle Tom” by Egbert Oliver. I classified each source from best to worse base upon author credentials, origin, amount of detail/reading level, and purpose. The best source was the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin by H.B. Stowe. By reading the novel first, I was able to freely criticize it without the involvement of any other critic’s view to influence my interpretation. The author of the novel is reputable H.B. Stowe. As the author she has the best credentials of anyone because she had firsthand experience since she lived during the time of slavery. The novel, by itself, is a primary source of criticism regarding the public recognition to the horrific circumstances of slavery in the Southern states. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was first published weekly in an abolitionist newspaper called National Era then was published in a two volume book set published by John P. Jewett and Company (Rosenthal 9). The novel was wr...

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...ith reference material with modern criticism.

Works Cited

"Norton History | W. W. Norton & Company." W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. W. W. Norton & Company,Inc.Web.23Jan.2012..

Oliver, Egbert S. "The Little Cabin of Uncle Tom.” National Council of Teachers of English. 26.5 (1965): 355-361. Web. 24 Jan. 2012. .

Stowe, Harriet B. A Routledge Literary Sourcebook on Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Ed. Debra J. Rosenthal. New York and London: Routledge, 2004. Print.

Stowe, Harriet B. Uncle Tom's Cabin: Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism. Ed. Elizabeth Ammons. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010.Norton Critical Editions. Print.

Stowe, Harriet B. Uncle Tom's Cabin, Or, Life Among The Lowly. Reader's Digest Association, 1969. Print.

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