Uncle Tom’s Cabin Review

Uncle Tom’s Cabin Review

In life, people are judged upon their looks, status, and value, while in death, everyone is equal. Uncle Tom’s Cabin is an anti-slavery novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852. The novel was published less than a decade before the official start of the American Civil War and has been named as a divisive spark lit between the North and South. The storyline follows an unfortunate slave called “Uncle Tom” who is unwillingly passed between many masters throughout the book. This novel has become a profound work that teaches about the horrors of slavery and the hope of freedom. Throughout the novel, Stowe creates a moral message about slavery while teaching readers to have virtuous qualities. There are many pros and cons about Uncle Tom’s Cabin, but overall, the book has become a heartfelt representation of how slavery tore America in half while teaching her of the vile things her people were doing.

In order to truly understand the magnitude of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, readers must first understand the author. Harriet Beecher Stowe was the seventh of thirteen children. Her father was a congregational minister and moral reformer who was president of Lane Theological Seminary. Her husband was a professor of biblical literature at Lane, and her siblings were well known abolitionists. Harriet’s childhood helped to influence her life as she grew older. She was also a women’s rights activist along with many other women of the 1800s. Her religious upbringing combined with her personal beliefs to produce Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The novel was serialized in newspapers across the country. In the 1800s, racial equality had not been established, and neither had gender equality. Books written by women were not respected, read, or considered major works no matter how good they were. In order to influence readers to grab their book, many women would use a male pseudonym. Harriet took risks when she published Uncle Tom’s Cabin in her own name. After publishing, the novel was barely read in the South, yet the people condemned it as a whole. Soon after, the book was prohibited and burned in mass piles. Harriet Beecher Stowe was a risk taker, and she was not afraid to voice her opinion.

Positive aspects of Uncle Tom’s Cabin include the arcane plot and wonderfully developed characters. Stowe’s use of pathos captivates the readers and keeps the story interesting while also adding a sense of mystery. Throughout the novel, readers are wondering what their favorite character will do next. The adversity faced by the characters keeps readers interested in the book while providing vital historical information. Without Stowe’s crucial details, the true essence of the slave trade would be completely missed. One of the worst side effects of slavery is that families are broken apart; one example of this separation is used when an older woman and her son are sold to different plantations at the slave market. After the sale, “the poor victims of the sale, who had been brought up in one place together for years, gathered round the despairing old mother, whose agony was pitiful to see” (Stowe 136). Throughout the book, Stowe continues to provide examples of slavery ripping apart marriages, families, and friendships with no trace of remorse. At the ending of the book, the minor characters intertwine with the major. Most minor characters have very little impact on the overall story, yet in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the minor characters return to have a large impact on the ending. The ending of Uncle Tom’s Cabin includes the heroic death of Uncle Tom in his effort to protect Cassy and Emmeline from their master, Simon Legree. As a result of Tom’s death, George Shelby, Mr. Shelby’s son, took Tom’s body and left the plantation to take him home. Cassy and Emmeline escaped the plantation in disguise and boarded the same boat as George. While on the boat, Cassy and Emmeline told George their story and he promised to protect them. A woman named Madame De Thoux confronted George and asked him questions about his past. Madame De Thoux learned that Eliza’s husband George is her brother. Cassy was also listening to George Shelby’s story and realized that Eliza may be her daughter. This ending was very surprising. Many think that minor characters will have small storylines that partially contribute to the overall message of the novel, but they actually wound this entire book together. Stowe solidifies one of the main themes of the book when she unites the two families together once more.

Despite the positive aspects of the novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin possesses a few negative facets. In modern day, slavery is known as a system, a process, and a