In 1962, Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe. According to legend, he said, “So you’re the little lady who wrote the book that started this Great War” (Harriet Beecher Stowe Center). Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a controversial novel written about slavery during the 1800s, sparked many of the feelings that would eventually escalate into causing the bloodiest war America had ever seen. At the start of the novel, Mr. Shelby, a Kentucky plantation owner, must sell two of his slaves in order to settle his debt with Haley, a slave trader. Going against his conscience, he decides to sell Tom, an old religious and faithful slave, and Harry, a bright toddler. When Eliza, Harry’s mother, overhears Mr. Shelby discussing the issue with his wife, Eliza decides to run away. Eliza takes off, with hopes of meeting up with her husband in Canada who also decided to run away from his master earlier that day. . In the morning, when Haley discovers that Eliza had run away, he chases her until Eliza makes a daring escape across the Ohio River by running across chunks of floating ice. After employing a group of men to track down Eliza, Tom and Haley leave for New Orleans. On the way down the river in a steamer boat, Tom befriends a young girl named Eva and saves her from drowning when she falls overboard. Eva’s father, St. Clare, buys Tom to be Eva’s personal servant. Over time, the Tom and Eva grow very close. Eva, like her father, is very kind and devoted to her slaves. She even transforms the life of a hardened, young slave girl named Topsy. When it becomes clear that Eva, now quite ill, is going to die, she calls all of the servants together and gives them each one of her golden curls so they can remember her. Eva dies peacefully, but her family... ... middle of paper ... ...Print. Clendenning, John. "Uncle Tom's Cabin." World Book. 2002. Print. Donald, David Herbert. "Aboltion Movement in the United States." World Book. 2002. Print. Donald, David Herbert. "Underground Railroad." World Book. 2002. Print. "Impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin, Slavery, and the Civil War." The National and International Impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. . "North America Review." Rev. of Uncle Tom's Cabin. North American Review [Boston] Oct. 1853: 467-93. Stephen Railton, 1998. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin, Or Life Among the Lowly. New York: Sterling, 2012. Print Walpole. "Southern Slavery. A Glance at Uncle Tom's Cabin." Rev. of Uncle Tom's Cabin. New York Times 22 June 1853: n. pag. Stephen Railton, 2004. Web. 24 Sept. 2013
Harriet Beecher Stowe was born on June 14, 1811. Her father was Lyman Beecher, pastor of the Congregational Church in Harriet’s hometown of Litchfield, Connecticut. Harriet’s brother was Henry Ward Beecher who became pastor of Brooklyn’s Plymouth Church. The religious background of Harriet’s family and of New England taught Harriet several traits typical of a New Englander: theological insight, piety, and a desire to improve humanity (Columbia Electronic Library; “Biography of Harriet Beecher Stowe”).
When Abraham Lincoln met Harriet Beecher Stowe, he said, “So, this is the little lady who made this big war”(“History.com Staff”2). After Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin, there was a rumor that this book led to the Civil War. Uncle Tom’s Cabin turned a lot of people in the North against slavery. The people in the North wanted slavery to end which caused them to fight the South. The most important topic of Uncle Tom’s Cabin is that slavery was worse in the South than in the North. Slavery was worse in the South than in the North because of the hard labor, the freedom policy, and the treatment of the slaves.
The characters in this story are some very interesting people. They each lead their own way of life, and have their own interests at heart. Some of the main characters in this novel are: Sarny, Lucy, Miss Laura, Bartlett, Stanley, and Sarny's two children Little Delie, and Tyler. Sarny is the central character in this book. She is clever and knows exactly what to even in the worst of times. She is very emotional though, and can break down and cry when the slightest of things happens. This is perhaps from what she has experienced as a slave earlier on in her life. Sarny is fond of teaching people, as a friend named Nightjohn once taught her. Lucy is Sarny's close friend. She is also quite wise, but is a bit too optimistic at times. She never stops smiling and is very friendly. However, she does help Sarny find her lost children. Miss Laura is a middle-aged woman who lives a very luxurious life. She gives Sarny and Lucy a place to live and offers them employment. She also finds Sarny's children for her. Bartlett works for Miss Laura as well. He is a quiet and patient man who is helpful and quite kind. He was however castrated as a young slave boy, and cannot have children. Stanley is Sarny's second husband, for her first died from being worked to death on the plantation. Stanley is a gentle, big, fun-loving man, but is not intimidated by anything. This leads him to his death when he gets mad at a white man, and is confronted by the Ku Klux Klan. Little Delie and Tyler are Sarny's lost children. After she recovers them, and they grow up, Little Delie starts to like business, while Tyler wants to become a doctor.
Tom's Cabin: A Norton Critical Edition by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Ed. Elizabeth Ammons. New York: Norton, 1994.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin begins with a Kentucky farmer, Shelby trying to sell his slaves to pay for the heavy debts he had run up. Shelby and his family are not alike other typical slave owners, because they are more kindhearted and caring for all of their slaves. With this in mind, it had made it difficult for him to be able sell one of his longtime slaves, Uncle Tom. But Haley, the slave trader, also wanted one of Shelby’s child slaves, Harry. When he told his wife about the agreement he made with Haley, she was shocked because she had promised Eliza that they wouldn’t sell Harry. After overhearing the conversation, Eliza had done what she had to protect Harry, she warns Tom and his wife, and Chloe of the news, then takes Harry and runs to the North, excited to find freedom with her husband George in Canada. When Mrs. Shelby was told of her fleeing, she was glad that Eliza made the right decision. On the other hand, Haley attempts to purs...
“Censorship is telling a man he can’t have a steak just because a baby can’t chew it.”(1) This is a quote from author Mark Twain in response to the banning of his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from public libraries. Huckleberry Finn has proven to be one of the most controversial books in the United States since its first publication in the 1880s. Many people disagree with the language and themes of this book, and bemoan the teaching of it in public high schools. Others argue that Mark Twain’s narrative is an important work of American literature and students that are mature enough for these topics should be exposed to it. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain should not be banned from public high school curriculums because it teaches students about Southern culture in the 19th century, introduces students to information for learning and discussion, and brings up social issues that need to be addressed in today’s society.
Stowe and her siblings were involved in various reform movements and even “...reformed Puritanism itself by challenging some of its harshest creeds” (Reynolds, 2011, p.6). Stowe was uninterested in the political issue created by slavery, she wanted to bring light upon the emotional and religious problems caused by it. Stowe was able to receive testimony from former slaves because of the close interaction she had with them. One of her housekeepers, Eliza Buck, was a fugitive slave and was able to tell her story. Eliza Buck, along with Stowe’s mother’s sister, were able to influence Stowe in her creation of the characters for Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The immense cultural importance produced by Uncle Tom’s Cabin is created through its emotional appeal. Stowe’s book aid “...rectify
Uncle Tom’s Cabin is an anti-slavery novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1850s that “changed forever how Americans viewed slavery, the system that treated people as property”. (Harriet Beecher Stowe Center) This book “demanded that the United States deliver on the promise of freedom and equality, galvanized the abolition movement and contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War”. (Harriet Beecher Stowe Center) “The strength of Uncle Tom's Cabin is its ability to illustrate slavery's effect on families, and to help readers empathize with enslaved characters.” (Harriet Beecher Stowe Center) As Foner mentioned: “By portraying slaves as sympathetic men and women, and as Christians at the mercy of slaveholders who split up families and set bloodhounds on innocent mothers and children, Stowe’s melodrama gave the abolitionist message a powerful human appeal.” (472) With this novel, Stowe wanted to convince Christians that God doesn’t’ approve slavery, that it is evil which must be destroyed.
Overall Uncle Tom’s Cabin is filled with religious overtones of martyrdom, imposed religion, and genuine piety of the slaves in bondage. Harriet Beecher Stowe shows the divide between how the slaveholders see religion as a whip to keep slaves in line and how slaves see the same religion as a balm for the wounds inflicted on them by the whites.
Uncle Tom's Cabin is said to have been a book that tells the truths of slavery. It does this by telling the actual things that happened to many slaves. By publishing this book, Stowe made those who knew nothing of the evils of slavery realize how cruel it really was, and by doing this she made the South angry. She made the North so angry at the South that the two began to fight over slavery. This is truly one of the reasons why the Civil war began.
It also teaches Christian values as well as family values. At the time of its publication, Uncle Tom’s Cabin was an immediate success and one of biggest sellers of all time. Despite the fact that Stowe induces her own personal opinions, with the very little experience she has had with slaves, she delivers a magnificent novel which is still enjoyed by many modern readers today. The time of her novel’s publication was very important. It was published at the peak of the abolitionist movement, in the 1850’s.
In the classic 1960 novel of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses irony to reveal Maycomb’s true colors of prejudice, racism, and hypocrisy. The “tired old town” seems ideal and peaceful on the surface, but as the story progresses, it becomes evident that the town is a biased, racist community. (p. 5) The author’s irony helps the reader interpret the actual hypocritical views of the story’s characters. Simon Finch, Miss Merriweather and the Missionary Society, and Miss Gates all show the existence of discriminatory and impartial views that surround the town. Their actions contradict their words and seemingly positive intentions, showing their real ignorance.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee seems like a complete replica of the lives of people living in a small Southern U.S. town. The themes expressed in this novel are as relevant today as when this novel was written, and also the most significant literary devices used by Lee. The novel brings forward many important themes, such as the importance of education, recognition of inner courage, and the misfortunes of prejudice. This novel was written in the 1930s. This was the period of the “Great Depression” when it was very common to see people without jobs, homes and food. In those days, the rivalry between the whites and the blacks deepened even more due to the competition for the few available jobs. A very famous court case at that time was the Scottsboro trials. These trials were based on the accusation against nine black men for raping two white women. These trials began on March 25, 1931. The Scottsboro trials were very similar to Tom Robinson’s trial. The similarities include the time factor and also the fact that in both cases, white women accused black men.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin. Ed. Philip van Doren Stern. New York: Paul S. Eriksson, 1964.
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, has had a tremendous impact on American culture, both then and now. It is still considered a controversial novel, and many secondary schools have banned it from their libraries. What makes it such a controversial novel? One reason would have been that the novel is full of melodrama, and many people considered it a caricature of the truth. Others said that she did not show the horror of slavery enough, that she showed the softer side of it throughout most of her novel. Regardless of the varying opinions of its readers, it is obvious that its impact was large.