Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Introduction

The novel, Uncle Tom's cabin is written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, who very compassionately tells us about the shameful period of the slavery in the United Sates of America, ranging from households in the north to the plantations in the south. This novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin is about the lives of a young woman, Eliza who struggles to save her son from the jaws of slavery, and Uncle Tom, who suffers a lot but he never once loses faith in humanity or his god. The cast of characters that the writer has used in her novel, help in bringing vivid ideas and emotions in the novel that go on to expose the terrors of slavery.

Discussion

The story of the novel starts in Kentucky, at Shelby plantation. Two enslaved people over there, four year old Harry and Tom, are sold so that the Shelby Family can repay its debts. The writer has developed two plot lines over here and focuses on Tom, who is a very religious and a strong man with a wife and three children, and Eliza, who is the mother of Harry.

At the beginning of the novel, George Harris, who is the husband of Eliza, is not much aware of the danger, that his son Harry is in. he has already escaped and his plan is to later on, when circumstances allow him, he will come back and purchase the freedom of his family. Mean while Eliza, in her attempt to give protection to her son, runs away and makes a very dramatic escape over the Ohio River which is completely frozen, with her son in her arms. In the end, the family of Harry reunites and travels north to Canada.

Meanwhile the strategy of tom is to protect his family and not run away so that his whole family can stay together. When he is sold south, he meets a young black girl by the name of Topsy, who hides her pain through her mischievous behaviour. He also meets St. Clare who is very charming elegant but passive and the lovely young white Angelic Eva, whose death bought tears to many Victorians. He finally meets the violent, cruel Simon Legree who is his third and the last master.

The deep faith that tom has helps him in giving the inner strength, resulting in frustration for his enemies, as he goes towards his fate in Louisiana. The novel ends with the escape of both Eliza and Tom from slavery. Eliza manages to reach Canada with her family. But the freedom of Tom comes with death. The last master of tom whipped him to death because tom refused to deny his faith and refused to disclose the hiding place of two fugitive women.

The novel is all about the impact that slavery has had on America. Uncle Tom is a pious slave who is unlearned and follows Christianity which his masters also follow but do not really live up to it. The writer, through her novel, wins the hearts of ...