Uncle Tom’s Cabin or Life Among the Lowly

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, is a powerful and gritty depiction of the lives of slaves in the early 1850’s. She uses two main characters as examples of the cruel treatment and harsh realities of slaves, in the breaking up of families, violation of rights or the lack thereof, and the overall stifling of positive growth for any person. Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin at a time when the United States was a country that practiced the ownership of slaves.

The story takes place in is pre-Civil War, and a majority of the population believed slavery to be an everyday part of life.

A novel which expressed ideas of anti-slavery and the perspectives of those being enslaved was seen as outlandish. The book was met with much backlash but still became one of the most successful pieces of antislavery literature to ever be published. Stowe’s work stimulated and helped to spur on the conversation for the abolishment of slavery. Socially, people began to look at themselves and how they treated those of a different complexion. Due to Stowe’s usage of gritty realism in the trials that her characters endured, readers were able to relate and were captivated by her words. The story begins in Kentucky on the Shelby plantation where a slave owner by the name of Arthur Shelby faces the decision of either losing all of their possessions or giving up their slaves. Shelby decides to give up the two slaves Uncle Tom, for whom the book is named after, and Harry, the son of Mrs. Shelby’s maid Eliza. Eliza overhears the conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Shelby where he explains to her that he must sale those two slaves. Eliza reacts by immediately going to find Harry and taking him to flee north to Canada.

The two are pursued by Mr. Haley, to whom they were promised, but she is able to avoid capture by crossing the Ohio River. Haley then decides to hire a slave hunter named Loker to track down Eliza and Harry. Eliza and Harry are able to make it to a Quaker settlement where they find help in fleeing from their pursuers. Meanwhile, Uncle Tom is forced to leave his family and the plantation to head for the slave market on the other side of the Mississippi River. While in route to the slave market, Tom meets a young white girl named Eva who falls off of the steamboat and into the river. Tom saves Eva from drowning, and to show his gratitude Eva’s father, Augustine St. Clare, buys Tom and decides to take him back to their family’s plantation. Tom becomes increasingly invaluable to the St. Clare household and increasingly close to Eva, with whom he shares a devout Christianity. Tom remains in Louisiana as a slave to the St Clare family until the death of Eva. Her death sets off a chain reaction that causes others to discover new things about themselves or in some ways change for the better. Tom’s faith and Christianity serve him well as he deals with the various slave owners he has over his lifetime.

The pain of slavery is portrayed through Harry and Eliza who must flee for their lives just to survive. The degradation of slavery is portrayed through Emmeline and Casey who eventually flee and are reunited with lost family members as they journey towards freedom. Stowe’s novel focuses on humanization of the black slave. Stowe puts on display the pain and agony that is felt by much of the slaves in their everyday lives through her depictions of injustice and lack of rights. In a country that so proudly boasts its belief in freedom and justice, this novel shines a light on the fact that at the time this novel was written freedom and justice only truly applied to a chosen few. Stowe presents a very optimistic outlook on slave owners and their ability to be swayed on their thoughts and feelings towards slaves. Although Stowe did do a good job at presenting the idea, I believe that for the time that the book was written, it wasn’t a very realistic look of the people.

Uncle Tom’s cabin is a vivid and raw narration of the lives of slaves in the early 1850s. It gives life and faces to those who were mistreated and enslaved at the time. It gives a voice to the heartache and pain that they felt on a daily basis. It is my belief that Harriet Beecher Stowe meant to present this in an effort to sway the opinion of the white population to further the abolitionist movement and bring people to a new understanding not only on the idea that slavery was wrong but also on the worth and humanity of the black population. I agree with her efforts and believe that she did gain her intended effect. The social relevance of this novel at the time it was written is unparalleled. This was the cause for its social and political impact in the United States following its release. The topics discussed in the novel still hold a bit of relevance today in that it speaks on the morality, spirituality, and the concept of equality and humanity existing in all people. After reading this, those concepts make themselves even more obvious in the present and the issues keep their relevance in that they are not always adhered to and often times get brushed aside. Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a book that will remain relevant for ages to come because of its timeless message of equality and love for all, and that is something that will not be needed in this world.

Citations

1. Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly.
2. Boston: John P. Jewett & Co., 1852; Bartleby.com, 2013
3. Davidson, J. Delay, B. Heyrman, C. Lytle, M. Stoff, M. (2018) US: a Narrative History. New York, Ny: McGraw-Hill

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