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Oliver twist literary analysis essay
Slavery in america by the late 1800s
Slavery in American society
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The two classic books that I read were very inspiring and interesting. They are both widely known books that have impacted people’s lives and views on various subjects greatly. These two books that are known worldwide are Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Uncle Tom’s Cabin revolves mainly around the aspect of slavery and how slaves were treated unfairly. We learn about how slavery was once lawful in our country, the United States of America, and how our government punished people who helped fugitive slaves escape.
Oliver Twist mainly revolves around the mistreatment of orphans and how they were ranked low in society. The story teaches us a lot about how growing up in poverty and being ranked lowly in society makes people do things to harm others when they grow up by becoming thieves, pick-pocketers, or murderers. Oliver Twist takes us to England and while telling us the story of the fictional character Oliver Twist, who was an orphan, Charles Dickens also shows us the hard life for the people who faced poverty in old England. England,...
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”).
Overcoming the death of a loved one can be one of life's most difficult tasks, especially when that loss involves a parent or a child. Author and abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe grieved over death as both mother and child. When she was only five years old, her mother Roxana Foote Beecher, died of tuberculosis. Later at age 38, she lost her infant son Charley to an outbreak of cholera. Together these two traumatic events amplified her condemnation of slavery and ultimately influenced the writing of one of America's most controversial novels, Uncle Tom's Cabin.
...Tom's Cabin is an insightful novel, I found Douglass' narrative more interesting and subjective. I was more interested to know about the truth about the history of slavery rather than read a story about slavery. Sometimes it takes graphic and unpleasant reality to make people realize that what they are doing is very wrong and sometimes it takes one of their own to say "Hey what are we doing here?" Either way, I think that both pieces of writing were influential on the slaveholding community at the times that they were published.
One reading that spoke to me in many different levels was Jane Gallop’s: The ethics of reading: Close Encounters. This reading was my favorite when it came to reading complex and sophisticated text during my time in the writing arts program. Prior to reading this article I would always jump to conclusions about a piece of text without fulling understanding all its main ideas and hidden messages. I would simply just highlight the main ideas that stand out to me pushing forward to the next idea without fulling
Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” in 1852. This anti-slavery book was the most popular book of the 19th century, and the 2nd most sold book in the century, following only the Bible. It was said that this novel “led to the civil war”, or “the straw that broke the camel’s back”. After one year, 300,000 copies were sold in the U.S., and over 1 million were sold in Britain.
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” opened the eyes of millions of people worldwide. The book portrayed the brutal life of the black slaves. It went on to sell millions of copies and was given the title “The Greatest Book of the Age”. (pg. 616) It is had been commented that this book had helped “lay the groundwork for the Civil War”, according to Will Kaufman, and is widely regarded to one of the reasons of the Civil War. Langston Hughes refers to this book as a "moral battle cry for freedom." The characters in her book debated the causes of slavery, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, the future of freed persons, individualism and racism. The Civil War arose from a combination of causes counting regional conflicts between the Southern and Northern states, economic forces, and humanitarian concerns for the welfare of enslaved people. The four year war opposed one section of the country against each other and nearly rescinded the United States of America. It is no wonder why when Abraham Lincoln met Stowe, he responded that she was “the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war” and I would agree with that statement of his. Whether this is true or not, the gush highlights the public linking between Uncle Tom's Cabin and the Civil War.
...away slaves. Harriet Beecher Stowe published a book called Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It was the most influential document of the abolitionist literature. The book showed emotions of slaves that were treated cruelly by Uncle Tom. Although abolitionism was dividing both sides knew the amount of damage slavery was doing by dividing America. They knew slavery had to be extinguished.
I would recommend Runaway Slaves to others because it literally has every reason or cause that a slave would run away; some you would never even expect or think of. The book broadens your view of slavery and shows you every opportunity a slave had to escape to the promise land; they would take it. Also, the book shows how whites viewed and feared runaways, and how the slavery institution retaliated to this ultimate form of resistance. The letters from free slaves are very heart felt because after they spent time actually enjoying their freedom, it gives you an understanding of how content and blessed they felt after being free which really made them appreciate their freedom more than any other born free man. Also, they had to carry the burden and guilt that their kin were still held in bondage and may never taste freedom.
To be honest, reading Uncle Tom's Cabin was no easy task. The story does have an impact that resides in my brain however. To think that slavery was actually a way of life in our own country, the United States of America, is unbearable. The idea that there are inferior and superior human beings is absurd. Nevertheless, this still goes on in our country to this very day. Reading Uncle Tom's Cabin has made me more alert of my actions, not only toward people of the different races, but people of the opposite sex as well. I think that Uncle Tom's Cabin should be a mandatory reading in high schools nationwide. Our country has come a long way since Uncle Tom's era, but it is ironic how history has the propensity of repeating itself.
Some of my English papers required me to use the books Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot as guides. I enjoyed reading Dunn’s novel over Skloot’s novel, but I experienced more difficulty when writing one of the papers based on Dunn’s novel. All struggles aside, I improved my writing and learned how to write different essay types with the help of both books.
Charles Dickens is a famous novelist who was born on February 7TH 1812, Portsmouth England. His novel ‘Oliver Twist’ had been serialized and to also show Dickens purposes, which was to show the powerful links between poverty and crime. The novel is based on a young boy called Oliver Twist; the plot is about how the underprivileged misunderstood orphan, Oliver the son of Edwin Leeford and Agnes Fleming, he is generally quiet and shy rather than being aggressive, after his parents past away he is forced to work in a workhouse and then forced to work with criminals. The novel reveals a lot of different aspects of poverty, crime and cruelty which Dickens had experienced himself as a young boy in his disturbing and unsupportive childhood, due to his parents sent to prison so therefore Charles, who was already filled with misery, melancholy and deprivation had started working at the age of twelve at a factory to repay their debt.
The book Uncle Tom’s Cabin is considered a classic. Many times classic lose some of their impact as time goes by but that is not the case with Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel. It can be argued that the story has more meaning and impact now then it even did when it was first published. It is a glimpse into a dark period of American history that people have no actual frame of reference to understand. Books like Stowe’s puts a name and an emotional context to what can otherwise be viewed through a detached lens of indifference.
“Oliver Twist” was written in 1838 by Charles Dickens and was originally published as a monthly magazine before being published as a novel that was subsequently read by many Victorians. It was written not only to entertain, but to raise awareness for the many issues in the society of the day related mainly to criminal activity. One of the main problems was based around the differentiation in the class of people in the Victorian era. People from the middle classes were widely known think very little of the lower classes and often considered them the evil of society. He also uses the novel to raise the issues related to the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 and the way that it involved sending poor or orphaned people like Oliver to ghastly overpopulated workhouses where they were poorly looked after. Dickens also fights against the negative stereotypes of criminals and prostitutes such as Nancy who eventually shows the good in herself to protect Oliver from the hands of the deadly wrath of Bill Sikes.
As I mentioned earlier all my experience with books and reading were not bad. I was in middle school when I read two books that I really captivated my attention. One was a biography of Harriet Tubman and the story of the Underground Railroad. I admired Harriet Tubman for her selfness and dedication to freeing slaves.
Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels presents a narrator, Lemuel Gulliver, who recounts his various sea voyages to fantastical lands. During each voyage, Gulliver encounters different societies and customs to which Gulliver must adjust to. in order to be accepted into their society The entire novel serves as a commentary on how people everywhere have a tendency to abuse the power given to them.