- Published: August 29, 2022
- Updated: August 29, 2022
- University / College: The Australian National University
- Level: College Admission
- Language: English
- Downloads: 44
Jerry Ciacho May 14, Uncle Tom’s Cabin Uncle Tom’s Cabin, written by abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, is one of the most influential historical fiction at the time and is among the greatest racial phenomenon throughout history. This anti-slavery narrative has helped place the underpinning of the American Civil War. Stowe, in this 632-page novel that was first published in 1852, highlights Uncle Tom, a selfless African slave whom the plot revolves around. This story begins with Arthur Shelby, a kindhearted slave-owner, who is no longer able to provide for all his slaves. This leads to his decision to sell Uncle Tom. After serving at the St. Clare’s for some time, Simon Legree, a pitiless man then buys him wherein he undergoes extreme difficulty and unjust treatment. Nonetheless, his faith in God and extreme good heartedness forever transforms and changes the lives of those who have mistreated him.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was written and published subsequent to the enactment of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law, illegalizing anyone in America to aid an escaped slave. The novel sought to criticize this act and the body it shielded, incessantly calling on the immediate liberation of all slaves and independence for all. Evidently, the underlying theme of the novel is the evil of slavery. Harriet Stowe did not propose these backgrounds to display enslavements evil as contingent. She sought to bare the immorality of enslavement even at its best and that the slave’s best benefit lies only in their independence.
I believe this book has indeed a powerful element that releases a strong effect on the reader’s view on slavery and equality. The book might have in the past appealed more to a limited audience of abolitionists and equality advocates, but today, it undoubtedly appeals to all.
Works Cited
Stowe, Harriet B. Uncle Toms Cabin. Fairfield, IA: 1st World Publishing, 2004. Print.