Discuss the characters of haley, shelby, aunt chloe, eliza, tom and sam as they appear in uncle tom's cabin

“ Uncle Tom’s Cabin” Character Analysis Proper use of characters makes a novel thrilling and further communicates the intended message appropriately. Many novelists have failed in proper allocation of roles in their works. Harriet Beecher Stowe has used characters effectively in his classical novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Through the characters, Harriet has provoked the American Civil war effectively. In addition, he has discussed slavery in details and shown how cruel it is. The themes that have been developed appropriately to focus on his main purpose of showing how the souls and feelings of African American’s are just the same as it is with other people has been achieved through the characters. To evidence how Stowe uses characters effectively, this paper will discuss the characters of Haley, Shelby, Aunt Chloe, Eliza, Tom, and Sam as they appear in his work of fiction. Uncle Tom is the protagonist of Stowe’s novel. As an old slave, Tom is presented to the reader as a faithful and God-fearing character. He forgives many wrongs committed to him in several occasion confirming how faithful he is. Further, he is seen to turn to God in many occasions especially when crisis find him. As presented by the author, he is a gentle character, devoted to God and the most trustworthy of all slaves by the manner in which Shelby trusts him with large sums of money. The faith of Tom is tested in many occasions especially when fiendish Legree commits to ensure that Tom is corrupted. The response he gives about his soul shows how committed as a Christian he is (Stowe 260). To support the themes of the novel, the character of Tom can be considered as a symbol of the support and sustenance derived from Christianity even when circumstances seem to be dire. Eliza Harris is another character who supports the themes of the novel. She is a maid in Mrs. Shelby’s place, married to George, and mother to Harry. She is presented to the reader as an intelligent and brave woman. This is supported by the action she takes in her spectacular escape on realizing that her madam, Mrs. Shelby plans to sell her son to Mr. Haley (Bloom 25). The manner in which she crosses the Ohio River proves to the reader of her bravery making it the most appealing theme in the entire novel. It is from her courage to escape that she later reunites with her husband. Aunt Chloe is married to the protagonist of the novel, Uncle Tom. Being a slave, she is presented as the head and best cook in Shelby’s plantation. Her husband is sold down south and thinks of a plan to get him back. With her cheery character, she uses her intelligence to sell pastries and accumulates money to buy her husband’s freedom back. Despite her effort, by the time the money is enough her husband is already dead (Stowe 218). This shows the love she had to her husband at takes a risk to have her love back. Mr. Shelby is the first master to Tom. From the start of the novel, he is seen to be uncaring since makes arrangements to have Tom sold to the slave trader Haley. However, the way he delays the plans and seems reluctant proves him a caring and a kind master. It is from the love and care he portrays to Tom that he is called a kind master in the slavery world. However, the financial constrains he has makes him finally make the decision to have Tom sold. Sam is a slave known for his comic public speaking, and presented to the reader as tricky. Additionally, he can be looked upon as a caring character. This is evident in the way he plays tricks in efforts to chase Eliza who escapes on realizing that her child will be sold. In their efforts with Andy to help Haley catch up with Eliza, he tricks Haley to have the chase slowed down and give Eliza more time to escape (Baym 901). This is because he understands the inhuman acts of being a slave and finds it better when one gets the opportunity to escape. Haley is the coarse slave trader who buys slaves. He is very violent and merciless. Although he considers himself caring and humane, this is contrary to his character since he mistreats the slaves. For instance, when Eliza Escapes with her son, Haley uses his dogs to pursue them across the Ohio River without caring the harm the dogs can cause on them. This shows how cruel he is to his slaves. In fact, it can be argued that it is unethical to buy and keep slaves. In conclusion, the discussed characters and others from the novel make up the plot and the themes of the book. The characters are rich and vibrant. The book, through the characters teaches effectively about slavery, a vice that affected thousands of Americans. It is a good historical book recommendable to reading. Work Cited Baym, Nina. The Norton Anthology American Literature: Beginnings to 1865. Manhattan: W W Norton & Co Inc, 2007 Bloom, Harold. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2008. Print. Stowe, Harriet. Uncle Tom’s cabin. California: university of California, 2008. Print.