Monday, January 20, 2020

Power of Uncle Toms Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe :: Uncle Toms Cabin

The Effective Story in Uncle Tom’s Cabin  Ã‚         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. 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. It proved to be very effective propaganda for the abolitionist cause, which Stowe openly supported.    Stowe is trying to prove to the reader that slavery is wrong and nothing short of evil and cruel. She does an effective job at proving her point, while delivering a superb novel at the same time. Stowe is constantly tying to prove that slavery is evil. She opens the novel, by showing two slave owners, making a business deal. Mr. Shelby is in debt to Haley, so he must sell Uncle Tom and Harry, tearing them apart from their families. Stowe shows a young slave woman, Eliza and her affection for her son Harry, when she decides to take her son and run away. This disputes the common belief of the time that slaves mothers has less affection for their youth than white women. Uncle Tom is sold again to the carefree Augustine St. Clare whos philosophy is â€Å"Why save time or money, when there's plenty of both?† Uncle Tom receives good treatment at the St. Clare’s, which proves that the novel is not one-sided, showing that their where kind slave owners. However Uncle Tom is sold again, this time up the Red River to the â€Å"devil† Simon Legree.

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