Uncle Tom’s Cabin: a Classic of American Literature

The historic literary novel titled Uncle Tom’s Cabin was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Harriet met president Abraham Lincoln he then gave her the nickname of “the little lady that started this great war. This novel was written and published just nine years before the start of the American Civil War. This book is also considered as a classic tale of American Literature. The novel was inspired by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. The novel portrays the actions and challenges of slaves during the previous times.

Slaves were sold numerous times from different masters without any consent. They were separated from family members without any freedom.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin begins on a small farm in Kentucky in the month of February. Two white slave owners were sitting and drinking while discussing a major business deal. Mr. Haley is a mean old hag look to buy slaves from Arthur Shelby. Shelby has fallen into a world of debt and is in search of any money to keep him from losing everything that he has worked hard for. Mr. Shelby speaks highly of one slave he owns, Tom.  Tom is a hardworking slave that shows the utmost respect all while being a Christian. He also wants to include a young boy in the trade named Harry. Harry is the son of their maid, Eliza. Mr. Shelby agrees to proceed with the selling of Harry. While they are still in the middle of discussing the sell, Eliza is eavesdropping nearby. Eliza then asks Mrs. Shelby if this could possibly be happening. With Mrs. Shelby being unaware of her husband’s deal, she assured Eliza that this wouldn’t take place and her son would be safe.

Eliza was a very beautiful young woman that was married to a talented biracial man, George Harris. Eliza hardly even saw George because of his job at a bagging factory. While George was working at the factory he invented a machine that sped up the process of cleaning hemp. His boss saw his as a stretch for George to work less and put him to work doing menial labor. With George moving to a new labor, Eliza really doesn’t see him often. Eliza and George had already lost two children, which made them overly protective of their son, Harry. Finally, George comes to see Eliza and mentions his escape plan. He explains that he couldn’t take the pressure that his master is now putting on him. Eliza is shocked but asks him to trust God and practice patience.

In the meantime, Mr. Shelby agrees to selling both Tom and Harry. Once He signs the papers Mr. Haley takes care of his mortgage. Shelby tells Haley to make sure that he sells Tom to the kindest master there is. Mrs. Shelby has found out and is livid at the deal her husband has made. Mr. Shelby then explains that they either had to sell their slaves or their entire property. She offers to sell her watch to keep Harry, but her husband tells her hat it is too late the papers have already been signed. They were both unaware that Eliza was listening in on their private conversation.  Eliza then rushes to tell Tom the news that she has just heard. Tom explains that he isn’t planning to escape. Eliza then asks Tom to tell her husband that she has left for Canada. The next morning Mrs. Shelby realizes that Eliza has escaped and becomes joyful. She also worried that Mr. Haley will think that they are trying to get out of the deal. When Haley arrives, he is furious to find out that Harry isn’t there. The slaves of the Shelby’s take as long as possible to bring the horses to hunt for Eliza. They also rig the horse’s saddle to make it move slower. They also send another lave, Sam to ride with Haley. The horse is so irritated that it throws him off, leaving more time for Eliza to escape.

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