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Christianity and slavery in uncle toms cabin
Experiences of slavery in america
Experiences of slavery in america
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As I have continued to read the next section of Uncle Tom’s Cabin I have developed even more opinions about the south and slavery. I still feel southerners have no sense of common decency for other human beings and that their Christian values don’t match their actions; the evils of slavery are simply incompatible with Christian morals. However, as I read this section of the novel, I became even more horrified. How could something this disgusting and inhumane be happening in my country? Slaves are people that have families, histories, and reasons and desires to escape the system of slavery. I was heartbroken when George was found by Mr. Wilson, his previous owner. Mr. Wilson said that he was sorry to see him “breaking the laws of his country,” …show more content…
Tom is pure and has no flaw in his morals. While he was travelling with Haley, he was forced to spend the night in jail. Tom felt strange like he didn’t belong there; and he didn’t. Uncle Tom has nothing in common with anyone who should be in jail. The only reason he was put in jail was because of his skin color. Tom has endless respect for his masters, even when they treat him badly. After Shelby split him from his family, Tom still has respect for him. He had the chance to escape with Eliza, but he didn’t do it. Also, Tom saved a little white girl’s life who had fallen off a boat, while the rest of the passengers stood motionless. His goodness stems from his Christianity. While Tom is martyr for slaves everywhere, George is a hero that rebels against the system. Once he is reunited with his family by the Quakers, all of them go into hiding in the woods from slave hunters. The hunters find them, but instead of hiding or letting them get captured, George stands and threatens them. When the hunters don’t take him seriously he injures one and the rest retreat. George has escaped, and in this scene he is fighting back; Tom would never do either of those things. The unfortunate part about George being a hero is that he is not viewed as one in America. It would be a much different story if he were in a European country where blacks are not …show more content…
Prue, who I mentioned was whipped to death, shares a story that horrified me more than anything else so far in the novel. She tells Tom that she was used for breeding slaves and that she didn’t keep a single one of her babies. She was sold to a new master though, and he finally let her keep one. It was obvious that her baby was the thing she cherished and loved more than anything else in this world. However, her new owner would not allow her time to feed the baby because she had to take care of his ill wife. The lack of nursing caused her milk to dry up and the owners would not buy milk for the baby, so it died of starvation. I cannot imagine the pain of watching your child die in front of your eyes, knowing how to help it, and not being able to. Prue was treated like an animal and she was a tragic victim that was dehumanized by the system. Her story of loss and desperation changed Miss. Ophelia’s opinions on slavery. I believe that no one should have to go through something this horrific to change someone’s opinion on slavery. We as human beings, should realize the sickness of slavery and have the common sense not to hold up this
In the North, by law slave owners could be a lot more strict with the treatment of their slaves. Instead of going the limit of the treatment, the Northern masters went under the limit. They treated their slaves like low class servants and respected them as a human being. In the South, their laws did not allow them to treat their slaves harsh, but they did not listen. Southern masters abused their authority and broke the law by treating their slaves in such poor conditions, but they got away with it. The Southern masters categorized their slaves under dogs. The novel proclaims, “The night was damp and close, and the thick air swarmed with myriads of mosquitos, which increased the restlist torture of his wounds…”(“Stowe”359). The slaves in the south were so disrespected that they lived outside and mostly worked outside. On Uncle Tom’s farm back in the North, he had his own cabin with his family. He did not have to live with all the other slaves, crammed up in a shack like he did in the
When the slaveholders transfer this fear by corrupting something they revere, religion, slavery’s perversive power is shown in horrifying clarity. The slaveholders will stop at nothing, they will leave nothing untouched and unsoiled if it means the preservation of slavery. Slavery isn’t just a physical and mental burden upon the slaves it imprisons; it is a moral burden on the entire society in which it exists. Jacobs’ depiction of religion in the South throughout the Incidents reveals it to be much more than merely a place to gather and express beliefs; it is yet another tool owned and used by slaveholders to strengthen the system of slavery.
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Olaudah Equiano’s Narrative of his Life both endeavor to stir antislavery sentiment in predominantly white, proslavery readers. Each author uses a variety of literary tactics to persuade audiences that slavery is inhumane. Equiano uses vivid imagery and inserts personal experience to appeal to audiences, believing that a first-hand account of the varying traumas slaves encounter would affect change. Stowe relies on emotional connection between the readers and characters in her novel. By forcing her audience to have empathy for characters, thus forcing readers to confront the harsh realities of slavery, Stowe has the more effective approach to encouraging abolitionist sentiment in white readers.
Tom shows that he is misogynistic by the way he treats Daisy and Myrtle. Women are clearly objects and/or prizes to Tom, and he does not care about their feelings. He also shows that he has racist values. He showcases them by voicing his opinion on interracial marriage and by reading racist books such as The Rise of the Colored Empire. These are two qualities in a person that play a strong role in whether or not I associate with a person. Tom also values wealth greatly, but people who have recently acquired their wealth seem lesser to him than people who were born into a wealthy
"Slave narratives and Uncle Tom's Cabin." PBS. WGBH Educational Foundation, 1998. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. .
When reading about the institution of slavery in the United States, it is easy to focus on life for the slaves on the plantations—the places where the millions of people purchased to serve as slaves in the United States lived, made families, and eventually died. Most of the information we seek is about what daily life was like for these people, and what went “wrong” in our country’s collective psyche that allowed us to normalize the practice of keeping human beings as property, no more or less valuable than the machines in the factories which bolstered industrialized economies at the time. Many of us want to find information that assuages our own personal feelings of discomfort or even guilt over the practice which kept Southern life moving
From the beginning of the book, Tom is shown to be a contentious character. While Tom, Daisy, and Nick are all at dinner, Tom goes into a diatribe about the importance of the dominant race, going on to say “It’s up to us who are the dominant race to watch out or these other races will have control of things” (17). Later in the text, the readers learn about an argument between George and Myrtle Wilson. During the fight, Myrtle screams at George, “Beat me! Throw me down and beat me, you dirty little coward” (144). This is one of the first signals to the reader that George may be more contentious than imperturbable.
Mightier than the Sword: Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Battle for America is written by David S. Reynolds. Reynolds is a Distinguished Professor of English and American Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. In this book, the author analyzes and discusses the effect of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” in society. American history has been influenced through different works. However, as Reynolds claims, Uncle Tom’s Cabin helped shape the world’s public opinion about slavery and religion in more than one way. Therefore, no book could have more powerfully molded American history than Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Tom’s death wasn’t for granted. Through his death and his lifetime, many people were converted to Christianity, others started thinking that maybe by glorifying God, and following his footsteps, their life will be better and without cruelty. He opened eyes of the Mr. Shelby to the nature of slavery. He realized that in the eyes of the God slavery is wrong, unhuman and immortal. “"Witness, eternal God!" said George, kneeling on the grave of his poor friend; "oh, witness, that, from this hour, I will do what one man can to drive out this curse of slavery from my land!" (Stowe, 519) Mr. Shelby decided to work toward abolition of slavery with the help of God, because that is what God really wants. This is the main message that Stowe tried to pass to the readers. She wants that everyone to open their eyes, as Mr. Shelby did.
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.
... Tom continued to refuse, so Legree beat Tom until he passed out and Tom ended up dying. George's master treated him horribly too. He treated him so bad that when George invented a machine for cleaning up the hemp, his master got upset about it and took him back to his plantation. Slaves basically had a fifty percent chance of getting a master who treated them nicely and getting a master who treated them horribly.
In the year 1852, nine short years before the civil war began in 1861, Harriet Stowe published arguably the most influential, groundbreaking, and controversial books in American history, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The novel drew widespread criticism for the depiction of African Americans and slaves in a time when the United States of America was teetering on civil unrest due to the strength of the opposing views between the North and the South. The rapid expansion and growth the United States throughout the 19th century had led to an increase in labor demands, and slavery was not only viable but also essential to the economic prosperity of the southern states. The argument over slavery was wrestled with for the entire history of the young nation, and the late mid-1800’s brought the country to a crossroads. The publishing of Uncle Tom’s Cabin stirred the emotions of the country over whether or not African Americans are equal, if they should be free, and what should be done about slavery.
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.
Uncle Tom, being an avid follower of Christianity, owns this book and reads it everyday. Uncle Tom has protected this book ardently as he moves from the Shelby household to the St. Clare estate and finally to Legree’s plantation. The Bible is a source of strength and comfort for Uncle Tom who endures the harsh environment of slavery and the switching of masters. In the novel, Uncle Tom says: “[...] I will hold on to the Lord, and put his commands before all,—die or live; you may be sure on’t. Mas’r Legree, I ain’t a grain afeared to die. I’d as soon die as not. Ye may whip me, starve me, burn me, it’ll only send me sooner where I want to go” (433). Stowe shows us how much he values Christianity and how he is even willing to sacrifice his life. He also reads the Bible to many of the characters in the novel which gives hope to many who struggle with their faith like Cassy. His willingness to spread his faith to Cassy despite the circumstances on the plantation is truly remarkable, but this loyalty to Cassy also leads to his suffering. The Bible allows him to withstand the brutal treatment from Legree and this shows the strength of his Christian faith. However, when Uncle Tom is on the brink of death, he decides to forgive Legree for his wrongdoings and that he has “only opened the gate of the kingdom for [him]” (476). This shows that despite suffering, Uncle Tom still grasped onto his Christian faith. Stowe wanted to use the Bible to symbolize Uncle Tom’s suffering, strength, and love for God.
Since the 17th century when African slaves were brought over by Dutch slavers, Christianity has been used to justify the act of enslavment. Missionaries sailed with slavers and tried to convert the Africans sold into slavery many times. During the 19th century Christianity was a great factor in helping institutionalize and even justify the suffering of the slaves. Slaves were made to believe through verses of the Bible that if they suffered in their current lives, they would have a better existence after they passed on. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, puts forth the lives of many different slaves and their masters in a way that was one of the contributing factors to igniting the civil war. The book focuses on the tension between the morality of religion and how religion was used to institutionalize slavery, particularly for the main character, Tom. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin presents the interpretative tension between religion and how it was used by the white slaveholders to rationalize Tom’s bondage and servitude for him and themselves.