Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe was a catalyst for the Civil War due to its depiction of slavery as harsh and brutal. The main character, a slave named Uncle Tom, and one of the slave owners, Simon Legree were used to attack the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and the institution of slavery that it protected. Throughout the novel, characters, scenes and plots were Stowe’s persuasions to the reader that slavery is evil, un-Christian, and should not be tolerated. She illustrates the fact that slavery and Christian values oppose each other and are not in any way compatible. Uncle Tom’s Cabin outraged the southerners and made the northerners more aware of the brutality of slavery. Ultimately, the novel used Uncle Tom and Simon Legree as …show more content…
The characters are used to show that northerners are contributing to the growth of slavery just like the southerners. In Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Uncle Tom is the central figure and he possesses a trait that makes him different from the rest of the characters. Uncle Tom 's faith is his source of strength throughout the novel that helps him through all the suffering, grief, and hardships. Stowe uses Tom to show that if the horrible white slaveholders of the novel were to achieve Tom’s faith of Christianity that slavery would be impossible. Stowe attack the institution of slavery by showing that being a Christian would not allow such cruelty of other human beings despite their color. Stowe portrays him like a Christ figure in the novel. He introduces God to people through his love for them, his sacrifices, and finally in his …show more content…
The South was outraged by Stowe’s novel as well as by her attempt to plant the abolitionist roots of her fiction in Southern reality (Beau 672) John R. Thompson, the editor of the Southern Literary Messenger, said she had “volunteered officiously to intermeddle with things which concern her not – to libel . . . a people from among whom have gone forth some of the noblest men that have adorned the face – to foment heartburning and unappeasable hatred between brethren of a common country” (Gossett 189). Some Southerners were worried about the novel leading to slave rebellions. In Abolitionism Unveiled, Henry Field James predicted that the South would be devastated by blacks who acted in the spirit of Stowe’s militant slave George Harris (Reynolds 151). Southerners felt threatened that it seemed necessary to challenge it in every genre, even poetry. Anti-Tom novels rose and their theme was a defense of slavery, arguing that the South’s enslaved blacks were far better off than either poor whites or free blacks in the North (Reynolds 155). As Southerners came back with defensive literature or protests, the North would comment back. The novel created a constant protest between the North and South which was a factor towards the sectional strife.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe was a catalyst for the Civil War due to its depiction of slavery as harsh and brutal. She uses Tom, St. Clare and Legree to
Books were a way for people to connect with characters, Uncle Tom's Cabin did this. Most of its readers were found sobbing after reading the heartbreaking but true story of a slave. Uncle Tom's Cabin was a slave narrative written by a woman named, Harriet Beecher Stowe. After the publication, the slavery issue was no longer just the Confederacy's issue, it affected the life of every person in the Union. Stowe brought numerous facto...
I never thought that I would read a book over the summer, but over the course of these past two months, that changed. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” forever changed how I view slavery. I loved reading it. Throughout the whole novel, Stowe uses her experience and knowledge to portray the terrible hardships and struggles that slaves endured everyday. Not only does this book express the thoughts of the slaves and their faith in God, but also of the people around them. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” wanted so badly for America to give freedom and equality for all people, and that is what I enjoyed most while reading.
Nineteenth century America was in need of a courageous man or woman who would stand up for those who did not have a voice. Slavery was ruining the lives of thousands, yet nobody cared to do anything about it. Harriet Beecher Stowe rose up to meet this need by writing Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a book that clearly outlined its intended audience, the reason it was needed, the faults of slavery, and the effect of this information on the reader.
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...
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.
Published in the early 1850’s, Uncle Tom’s Cabin had a huge impact on our nation and contributed to the tension over slavery. It was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, a woman who was involved in religious and feminist causes. Stowe’s influence on the northern states was remarkable. Her fictional novel about slave life of her current time has been thought to be one of the main things that led up to the Civil War. The purpose of writing it, as is often said, was to expose the evils of slavery to the North where many were unaware of just what went on in the rest of the country. The book was remarkably successful and sold 300,000 copies by the end of its first year. It is even rumored that upon President Lincoln’s meeting Stowe, Lincoln said, “So this is the little lady who made this big war.”
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.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe is a classic novel that some people claimed evoked the American Civil War. Stowe motivated people to take sides over the issue of slavery by discussing the issue and showing the cruel aspects of it. The main focus of the novel was to show whites that African American’s have souls and feelings like any other human; it was common for whites at the time to view blacks as cattle. Families were separated, and the white people’s reasoning was that blacks did not feel the loss the same way a white person would. Stowe’s basic argument is that it is wrong to mistreat blacks because they suffer just as much as whites.
Introduction: Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book Uncle Tom’s Cabin was an amazing read that was truly inspiring. It was evident to me, and clearly evident to others as well, that the book was written for a specific purpose. This purpose was to inform the American public of the horrors of slavery. The novel was set in the early 19th century. During this time period, slaves took up approximately 13% of the American population and for the most part worked on large plantations.
The Effective Story in Uncle Tom’s Cabin Harriet Beecher Stowe, a northern abolitionist, published her best-selling novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852. Uncle Tom’s Cabin contracts the many different attitudes that southerners as well as northerners shared towards slavery. Generally, it shows the evils of slavery and the cruelty and inhumanity of the peculiar institution, in particular how masters treat their slaves and how families are torn apart because of slavery. The novel centers around a pious slave, Uncle Tom, and how he is sold over and over again. It shows the different attitudes that Tom’s masters share about slavery, and how their slaves should be treat.
Stowe’s purpose was to reveal the horrors of slavery to the northern states. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, although graphic and harsh, displays detailed descriptions of the motifs in the novel, the writing styles, and historical background of slavery in the 1800s. A description can set the scene of a novel with vivid impressions that allow the reader to see the world through the characters’ eyes. Tom’s cabin reminded Mr. Shelby of all the suffering Tom had experienced. Tom was willing to suffer and die rather than go against his Christian values of love and loyalty.
William Arthur Ward once said, "Real religion is a way of life, not a white cloak to be wrapped around us on the Sabbath and then cast aside into the six-day closet of unconcern." Religion is the one thing that people can usually tolerate but never agree upon. Each faith seems to have an ordained assumption that they have the correct thoughts on how to life one's life or how to think about things or the way to act in certain situations. Still, each religion has its own "sub-religions." If someone refers to Christianity, there are several different religions that are blanketed under that umbrella: Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, and Presbyterian are just a handful. The inconsistencies that are associated with everyone's belief about religion run into deeper ruts of confusion. This confusion leads people to have distorted views as to what they believe and what their religion is all about. This is no different from the feelings about slavery by Christians in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Throughout the novel, Christianity presents itself in a few different lights; as a twisted and deformed glimmer of what religion is supposed to be with undertones of bigotry and prejudice, an innocent yet naive child that brings joy to everyone he or she meets, and as Uncle Tom himself, the standard for what a Christian is supposed to be. These different portrayals of Christian living come from Stowe's own beliefs about Christians and brings them into the light.
In the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, one of the main themes is religious faith; specifically Christian faith. Stowe’s characterization of this was that Christian faith is a strong force of love that has the ability to invalidate slavery. This was shown in many characters like Uncle Tom and Eliza. As a result of their strong Christian faith and values, Uncle Tom and Eliza were able to
Although Tom is a slave, it seems that he is very different from his other enslaved peers. Uncle Tom is known for his kindness, honesty, and his strong religious beliefs. Unlike other slaves, Uncle Tom shows true resilience when it comes to the institution of slavery. For example, even when Uncle Tom was on the verge of death, he pleads with his devilish master Simon Legree, to not go through with killing him. Uncle Tom states “Mas’r, if you was sick, or in trouble, or dying, and I could save ye, I’d give ye my heart’s blood; and, if taking every drop of blood in this poor old body would save your precious soul, I’d give em freely, as the Lord gave His for me. O Mas’r! Don’t bring this great sin on your soul! It will hurt you more than ‘twill me! Do the worst you can, my troubles “ll be over soon; but, if ye don’t repent, yours won’t never end” (410). This quote is the best example of Uncle Tom’s character traits. Although he is most certainly going to die, he still wants the best for even the person that will eventually kill him. With all of the events Uncle Tom went through, he remained true to his beliefs. Although he was upset when he had to leave the comfort of the Shelby’s, Uncle Tom did what he could to make the best out of the situation. Stowe’s portrayal of Uncle Tom makes the reader believe that Uncle Tom is not only a
Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, published this book in 1852. The wide speared of this book and idea in it triggered the Civil War. Stowe in this book discussed a story of a faithful, Christian slave, Tom. This extreme example of a loyal slave is not usually considered reasonable for readers. Also with the three owners of Tom, Shelby, St. Clare, and Legree.