Uncle_Tom's_Cabin

Uncle Tom's Cabin Rarely does one work of literature change a society or instigate it towards disastrous controversy. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin quickly transformed into one of those works. Stowe describes her own experiences or ones that she had witnessed through the text in her novel. She grew up in Cincinnati where she had a close look at slavery. Some of the novel originated after she read abolitionist books and the rest came from her own observations of real slaves. She uses the characters to symbolize popular ideas of her time. Because Uncle Tom's Cabin contradicted slavery entirely, the novel turned into a factor in the clash between the North and South. Both the content and the sale of the book shocked thousands of people because of Stowe’s courage to publish a book that expressed her personal opinions of a highly notorious topic during that time period. When Stowe met President Abraham Lincoln, he said to her, “So you’re the little lady who wrote the book that made this great war.” Furthermore, this story had a great influence on its readers and went on to play a large part in our nation's politics. Henry Clay, a speaker who represented Kentucky in both the House and the Senate and well-known for his ability to bring others to agreement, had success in negotiating compromises on the slavery issue. He died on June 29, 1852, while the political parties had accepted all the measures of the Compromise of 1850. Therefore, Clay died with the satisfaction that his efforts had protected the country. However, on March 20, 1852, Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Both Henry Clay and the political conventions did not recognize the significance of the event, which tested the nation’s conscience. The Compromise of 1850, a series of controversial bills aimed at resolving the slavery issues, did not satisfy the North or the South. Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin basically as a protest against this compromise. The admission of California as a free state caused an uneven number of free and slave states. Later, a fierce agitation arose for the recovery of this loss of balance, which led to the Civil War, and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. Generally, Uncle Tom’s Cabin convinced the North to begin making attempts to abolish slavery, which connects the novel to the causes of the Civil War. The fugitive slave law, cruel, corruptive and part of the compromise, seemed to be an action taken to nationalize slavery and the North did not tolerate it. The South considered the compromise to have poor provisions and the South did not think the North would put the compromise into effect; therefore, the South did not accept the compromise either. The compromise seemed so controversial that almost a year after all of its measures were passed, Henry Clay and many senators and representatives joined in a policy announcing that they would not support a man for office who opposed any part of the compromise. Henry Clay, a nationalist, truly cared for the nation, and his life revolved around protecting it. Clay, eager to make nearly any sacrifice to preserve the Union, did not have any sympathy with the slavery system. Clay always put the Union before states’ rights and before slavery. However, he failed to see that the nation could not continue half slave and half free. He believed that the South would sacrifice the Union before it would sacrifice slavery, and, afraid of this threat, he begged the North to overcome its prejudices. In the novel, Stowe moves the readers with the theme of the degenerative effects of slavery on both the slave and the master. Stowe repeatedly brings up the issue in the novel. Even Mrs. Emily Shelby, the wife of Uncle Tom’s first owner, George Shelby, notices the corruption and says that slavery "is a bitter, bitter, most accursed thing--a curse to the master and a curse to the slave” (Stowe 45). Slavery continues despite the acknowledgment of the injustice of the practice. Many slaveholders in the novel feel sensitive to the issue. For instance, Mr. Shelby, Uncle Tom’s initial owner, feels unhappy with the idea, but he enjoys the cheap labor and the financial benefits. The novel also portrays slavery as ridiculous and controversial. For example, Mr. Shelby's actions contradict his statements. He claims to be a Christian man that truly respects his slaves. Yet the fact that he holds slaves opposes all that he says, and although his treatment of slaves is better than most masters, he still does not respect them. For instance, in the first chapter, Shelby and Haley, a slave trader who buys Uncle Tom and Harry from Shelby, discuss the slave trade, when Harry, the four year old son of one of Shelby’s slave, Eliza, enters the room and Shelby makes Harry dance around like a clown while tossing raisins at him. This example clearly indicates that Mr. Shelby did not exactly respect his slaves. Ironically, after George, the husband of Eliza and father of Harry, invents a machine to clean hemp the employer congratulates not George, but George's master for owning such a fine slave. Another example, the viewpoint of Haley about the proper treatment of slaves, effectively shows the strong contradictions of slavery. Haley, who buys and sells slaves, says that, "it’s always best to do the humane thing," and that it is good to have a conscience (Stowe 16). Stowe often mentions the elimination of Negroes in the law and the prejudice of the condition. According to the novel, the law considered Negroes not men, but property. But to the credit of the slaves, Stowe shows that, "the man could not become a thing"(Stowe 23). Even after all that the slaves endure, they continue to show hope by questioning the legitimacy of the situation. George recognizes the inequality and asks, "Who made this man my master'" (Stowe 27). And again, later in the novel, George does not want to accept the country’s laws as his own. He refuses to include himself as a part of the white man's country and only asks to be allowed to leave peacefully so that he can be a part of another country; one whose laws he will consider his own. From the examples above, Stowe illustrates the absurdity of slavery very well. Stowe also elegantly shows the fact that, "slavery always ends in misery” (Stowe 130). Stowe uses Eva St. Clare, the daughter of Augustine and Marie St. Clare, Uncle Tom’s former owners, in her novel to symbolize the idealism of a free society. Eva believes that God made everyone equal, and she wants slaves to be free. She wants slaves to receive education and to have open-minds to the workings of God. Eva's dreams subtly influence people in the novel, such as Eva’s father and Miss Ophelia, Eva’s cousin, to change for the better. In the same way, Stowe wants the readers to evaluate his or her personal view of Negroes. Eva's innocence makes her ideas persuasive. Stowe glorifies Eva so that her dream seems even more amazing. "While still retaining all a child's fanciful graces, often dropped, unconsciously, words of such a reach of thought, and strange unworldly wisdom, that they seemed to be an inspiration" (Stowe 384). Although her parents pamper her, Eva never seems spoiled because of her compassion and concern for others. Eva accepts each person the way God made him or her and includes everyone equally into her world. Although people notice the uncommon attitude of Eva, they do not know how to react to her ideas. They cannot see why she should involve herself so much in the troubles of others when she could apparently have everything. They do not notice Eva’s subtle view of a free and equal society. The childish side of Eva believes that her father can make everything right in the world. She asks him, "Papa, isn't there any way to have all the slaves made free'" (Stowe 403). Even though Augustine St. Clare, Eva’s father, feels powerless to help Eva’s misery and the troubles of society, her questions deeply affect him. On a larger level, Stowe uses Eva's questioning as a way to encourage people to do his or her self-analysis. Although he does not start dramatically changing, St. Clare slowly alters his life. Eva's determination makes St. Clare finally realize the immorality of carelessness. With this in mind, St. Clare starts attempting to free Tom after Eva passes away. In contrast, Eva’s mother, Marie St. Clare, remains stubborn and refuses to change. People such as Marie cannot accept the idea that God made everyone equal. When Eva asks her mother whether Topsy, a young slave girl, could be an angel, Marie brushes off the question as a "ridiculous idea" (Stowe 415), saying that worrying about such matters does not do any good. Regardless of her mother's feelings, Eva continues to worry. She believes that "Jesus loves all alike" (Stowe 410), and she serves as a Jesus figure on earth. On her deathbed, Eva rescues the slaves, just like her ideas, sent out through the novel, serves as their rescuer in the real world. Eva tells Tom, "I would be glad to die, if my dying could stop all the misery. I would die for them.” Eva dies to make a hope in the future. Eva has "no regrets for herself in dying" (Stowe 400). She has served her purpose in her family by convincing her father to change his attitude about life and Negroes. She serves her purpose in Uncle Tom's Cabin by showing the readers the way society should be. Stowe says about Eva's death, "Thine is the victory without the battle--the crown without conflict" (Stowe 429). Stowe realizes that the change that Eva’s dreams of change could never come easy, but through Eva, she attempts to fight her own battle. Eva peacefully passes away, but her dreams live on in her father and in the reader of the novel. By and large, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin developed into one of the first books to popularize in such a short time. "The thrilling story was eagerly read by the rich and poor, by the educated and uneducated, eliciting from one and all heartfelt sympathy for the poor and abused Negro of the South," stated Josephine Donovan. It was certainly a real shock to slaveholders, who felt that such a work would be dangerous to the continuation of slavery. “God wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin. All I had to do was pick up my pen and the words poured out,” stated Stowe.