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Summary: Uncle Tom's Cabin
Review: The reason why Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin was to let the North know what was going on in the South with slavery . Black families were broken apart and sold, young girls and women were taken advantage of by white owners, some were beaten to death by their owners and slaves could be treated anyway the owner wanted because they were not citizens. The white women characters cared more about the slaves than the white men. They didn't want to sell or break up families.
Uncle Tom was an uncommonly good and honest man and devouted Christian. He was sold when his owner needed money. At first he was sold to a man who was ok, but then he was sold to Simon Legree. Legree was a mean man. When Tom was a slave for Legree he was beaten to the point of death. Everyone should read this book because it gives you an idea of what happened at the time of slavery.
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Summary: A book with a mission.
Review: Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin is considered to be one of the great American classics. This classic novel was both an inspiration of the time period, and an inspiration to the time period. As a sociological critic, I believe this novel is one of American society's most influential books. First published in 1851-52, Uncle Tom's Cabin came onto the literary stage at the height of the tensions over slavery in the United States. It was this great debate within the country that gave Ms. Beecher Stowe the inspiration for her novel. Writing this book was simply a way that she could show her support for Abolitionism, the movement in America to end slavery. The author incorporates the social fabric of the day into the book splendidly. Living in Cincinnati, Ohio, just across the river from Kentucky, a slave state, Ms. Beecher Stowe heard many stories from Southern society about the practices of slavery and of runaway slaves. The novel, therefore, is a spattering of these various stories, woven together with various characters and multiple plots. It is a good novel, but some of the stories, like Eliza's flight across the ice-covered Ohio River, seem a bit exaggerated or far-fetched. Stories like this undoubtedly came from word of mouth of that time period, and therefore were probably distorted to make them more dramatic. The 1850's was a stirring time for the United States. The slavery debate boiled in the veins of many citizens. Unfortunately, there were still those citizens who knew little about the African race that was enslaved in the South. Ms. Beecher Stowe wasn't just trying to show how horrible slavery was, she was trying to educate people about the African race, even though much of her generalizing became too extreme. When this novel was published and read, it had a substantial impact on the Northern society who did not know much about the Southern ways. Many were appalled when they read this fact-based piece of fiction, and immediately sided with the Abolitionist movement. This movement to end slavery would become one of the driving forces for the Union during the Civil War (1861-1865). Harriet Beecher Stowe was a very good author, in that she could take word-of-mouth stories from Southern society, modify them to serve her purpose in a novel, and use that novel to inspire Northern society to act on something that she obviously felt very strongly about. Uncle Tom's Cabin will be read for many years to come. Whether it is read for an assignment, or just for pleasure, it is important that the reader does not misconstrue the reason for its writing. It was written as a political appeal for Abolitionism, and therefore was based on the social fabric of the time. It's influence will be felt for generations to come. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: An Excellent Must Read!
Review: Beautiful book that describes the horrors of slavery and what a mother risked to save her son and what a Christian man did to help his master. Above all, how they managed to keep their faith above and through all the opression of slavery.
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Summary: One of the best and most moving books I have ever read.
Review: Uncle Tom's Cabin is about the evils of slavery from many different sides of the issue. The main character (Uncle Tom) is a good, always obedient, Christian slave that's master has to sell to pay off a debt. He has several masters, one very kind, one just normal, and one very brutal. It reallly shows how horrible slavery was. After reading it, it became obvious to me why there was a war to put an end to this terrible atrocity. Uncle Tom shows us how it is possible to do the right thing, face horrible punishments (being beaten almost to death), and still love everyone, including his evil master which he also forgave. It was one of the most memorable books I have read. I recommend it to everyone and I think it should be required reading for all schools. I think this book definitely deserves five out of five stars.
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Summary: Should be required reading in all United States highschools
Review: The legend goes that when Abraham Lincoln met Harriett Beecher Stowe, he said to her, "So you're the little lady who started this great big war." The impact of this book cannot be overstated. By showing the kind and compassionate slaveholding families, as well as the horrors inflicted upon Uncle Tom by Simon Legree, Stowe illustrates that the institution, by its very nature, can never be kind or compassionate despite the actions of the individual slaveholders.
The book begins as Uncle Tom is sold to a slave trader. Though Mr. Shelby, his master, hates to sell him because he has been loyal and Christian, he recognizes that he has no choice based on large debts he has accumulated. Simultaneously, Mr. Shelby decides to sell a three-year-old boy, Harry. Learning this, Harry's mother, Eliza, escapes with this boy and heads north for Canada. Stowe continues to outline the diverging fates of Eliza and Tom throughout the novel.
Tom is sold to a kind family with a nearly divine daughter, named, aptly, Evangeline, who convinces her father to free his slaves. Before this can happen, her father is killed and Tom is sold to the brutal Simon Legree.
Stowe has been criticized for her racism, which does come through in her storytelling. She often refers to the steadfast faith common to people of African decent and makes other sweeping generalities. However, this story cannot be taken out of context and one cannot disregard the era during which it was written. Stowe was heroic to depict the gamut of possible treatments of slaves, and portray slavery as nearly equally cruel no matter how kind the master. The fact remains that no matter how kind an individual slave holder was, slaves were still subjected to having their families ripped apart when dictated by economic need or by death of their masters. By not depicting all masters as ogres, Stowe's abolitionist message rings more truthfully and convincingly. Lest we ever forget just what it meant to own another person, in all its various vestiges, every high school student in America should be required to read this novel.
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Summary: Uncle Tom's Cabin
Review: Often credited to helping start the American Civil War, Stowe's novel became influential for all Americans, whether willingly or not. She may not have wanted absolute war, but she made it clear that "The object of these sketches is to awaken sympathy and feeling for the African race..." (Stowe xviii). She made a brilliant attempt to fulfill this goal and the result was a novel that changed the course of history.
The actual story is just one way that Stowe created compassion in her audience. The story starts with a gracious slave-owner, Shelby, and how debts have forced this kindhearted man to separate two families, one of them mother and child. The mother, Eliza, and child, Harry, flee to the north were abolitionists help them make their way to Canada and reunite with the husband and father. The escape is dramatic and moving and the people that help the family along the way are appropriately labeled as righteous humans. In contras, Loker, the slave hunter that hindered them, is deemed unethical. The conversion of Loker is a turning point for that part of the story and he is altered into a character favorable to the reader.
As for Tom, he is sent to the St. Clare family where the master is moral man and he has a religious and flawless daughter, Eva. Because of her perfection, Eva cannot see the difference between blacks and whites. Soon afterwards, Tom is sold to a malicious slave owner, Legree. Tom helps two fellow slaves escape but is therefore severely beaten and then dies. In his memory, Shelby's son frees all of his slaves and Tom becomes a martyr. The seemingly real lives of Stowe's characters raise emotions and sway the reader to be sympathetic towards blacks.
An important person who was the prime example to support Stowe's thesis was St. Clare's cousin Ophelia. She is a northerner who hates blacks but is opposed to slavery. She represents the intended audience that Stowe was writing for. What Stowe wants for the North is what happens to Ophelia: through contact with a suffering slave, she overcomes her racism. Ophelia insists that St. Clare legally give her the slave that she grew fond of and states that "'Nobody but God has a right to give her to me; but I can protect her now'" (308).
Uncle Tom's Cabin also happens to be incredibly biased. From cover to cover, there are narrations with reasons and opinions that Stowe created to draw the reader to a certain belief. One speaks of how the pleasant and caring masters in Kentucky were the best a slave could get but even there they were still sold, worked hard, and separated from family. Others told of why the immoral masters were so atrocious. The author described the characters with different types of attitudes based on how she wanted the reader to feel about them. For example, a Quaker named Ruth "...was decidedly a wholesome, wholehearted, chirruping little woman..." and therefore the first impression of this woman was positive (133). This worked for Stowe because the Quakers were placed into an optimistic atmosphere. On the other hand, the people that were created to be the "enemy" were portrayed as abhorrent creatures who weren't truly gentlemen. For instance, Tom's master Legree was said to be "...like some ferocious beast, that plays with its victim before he devours it, he kept back his strong impulse to proceed to immediate violence..." (355).
Religion played an enormous part in story as well. The characters that the reader would grow fond of were tremendously religious. For example, Tom "...would climb to a nook... and busy himself in studying over his Bible..." (141). In addition, Eva is perfect and extremely pious. The devout characters are also the ones opposed to slavery. The more religious a person grows, the more moral they become. For example, Loker is healed by Quakers and consequently found religion with them. Through this he is transformed into a man who is completely concerned with the well-being of blacks. In opposition, Legree was the true evil of the story and he is also the opposite of any religious person, especially Tom and Eva. At one point, Tom hears a voice that seems to come from the religious scroll that tells him not to be afraid. On the other hand, "...Simon Legree heard no voice. That voice is one he never shall hear" (336). The significance behind her strong use of religion is that Stowe was trying to create a hidden message in the story: that no genuine Christian would support slavery.
Through the above types of communicating her argument, Stowe was tremendously successful in convincing any reader of the evils of slavery. The readers will most likely feel moved, emotional, and supportive toward any slave, which was the author's objective.
The actual sources and research that Stowe used are unclear. From some research of my own I learned that much of her information came from her servants who were former slaves. While she never actually visited a "deep-south" plantation such as Legree's, she did experience some mild slavery around her. The last chapter of her book is basically her defense for her research. Unable to get an actual comparison between her version and others, it is hard to determine the accuracy. I believe that her research was very good for what was available at the time and generally accurate. There may have been some stretches from the truth, but she was overall fairly factual.
On the whole, the novel was virtuous. As a piece of fictional literature, it is excellent and it is difficult to find a better story. As a historical book, it could be improved, especially in accuracy, but of course the historian reader has to keep in mind that that was not her intention. She set out to make an emotional story to convert people in the North to be compassionate and that was accomplished.
I would highly recommend this book to anybody old enough to comprehend the meaning behind it. For AP students, the book can help them to understand the social situations before the Civil War. At the same time, it is not the best for a historical book review of this sort because it argues for something irrelevant today and does not look upon the topic from a historical point of view.
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Summary: The real Uncle Tom was a hero not a Quisling !
Review: HOW DID A CHARACTER WHO PREFERRED TO FACE DEATH RATHER THAN TORTURE AND BETRAY OTHER SLAVES BECOME THE SYMBOL OF 'JUDAS-HOOD' FOR BLACK AMERICA ? I wonder how many blacks --then or now-- would refrain from going against other blacks if they knew it could mean their being beaten or killed ? In view of all the black drug dealers willing to sell drugs to black children and run away dads and other betrayers, I don't think many. The original character was a hero of non-violent resistance. But, militants have often seen the such as a weakness; not a strength --attacking Martin and others. And, they are wrong. The name Uncle Tom should be used for blacks of great character and not for blacks of no character. But, many --including myself-- have used it the wrong way.
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Summary: Heatbreaking and Enlightening
Review: I think "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is a book that everyone should read. Unlike some other reviewers, I did not find the slaves' dialogue (as it is written in the dialogue of the times much like Mark Twain's novels) hard to read. The book covers the lives of two slaves: the pious and faithful Tom and the beautiful and loving Eliza. The descritions of the punishments slaves endured make the novel all the more important-- underscoring the inhumaity of such a system. This is a book that once read is not easily forgotten.
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Summary: Uncle Tom's Cabin Review
Review: Uncle Tom's Cabin is a novel that touched many people's lives including my own. It made me realize just how lucky I am to be living like I am today. Harriet Beecher Stowe takes us through the lives of two slaves, Tom and Eliza. We read about their triumphs and hardships that they go through in order to get one thing. Freedom. There are just a few things that I didn't enjoy about this book. The dialogue that takes place in Uncle Tom's Cabin was a little more difficult to understand than what I am normally used too. Another thing that I didn't really like was all the details about the punishments that the slaves had to endure. Overall, I think that this book is a book that everyone should have the opportunity to read. I am very glad that I read this book.
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Summary: Pablos excellent review
Review: Uncle Tom's Cabin is one of the best American novels written to date. It is a wonderful fictional tale about two slaves, Eliza and Tom, who follow two very different paths during their lives as slaves. They both live in Kentucky under the same master. As their master goes in to debt, he is forced to sell them to a slave trader. Fearful of loosing her child, Eliza takes the very dangerous path and runs away with fellow slaves leading to a bloody skirmish with a group of drunken bounty hunters. Tom on the other hand, chooses to follow his master's orders and get sold into the Deep South. By following his faith in God he believes God will guide hi through his life as a slave. Harriet Beecher Stowe uses her descriptive style of writing to capture the reader's imagination, and show them the horrors of slavery. One interesting topic the author brings up all throughout the novel is the idea of how can a southern slave holder feel right even after they have read the bible and how their slaves know passages that describe their right to freedom. Another great thing the author does in this novel is give a great ending by telling what happened to each of the different characters after they have ended their lives as slaves. I think this book is a classic American novel, however I believe its message is shallow and cannot compare to that of the Jungle's or even or some of Jack London's or John Steinbeck's works. For these reasons I giving Uncle Tom's Cabin a 4.5, but it still deserves five stars. This book is a must buy for every American.
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