October 10, 2014
Abraham Lincoln said that this novel started the Civil War. The author was an abolitionist and writer, who apparently published many books. This is, of course, her best known, and it certainly was influential, as it called on American Christians to fight against the horrors of slavery. This novel is a classic, of course, and while it has its flaws, its influence cannot be ignored.
What I do wish, though, is that the story focused less on Tom, and more on the Harris family. See, Tom and little Harry were to be sold to pay off their financially irresponsible master's debts. Eliza asked Tom to go with her as she and her boy fled, but Tom did not want to "betray" his master. Right there, I could see why "Uncle Tom" has become a derogatory term, though it isn't true that Tom kowtowed to any white person, as seen in his showdowns with Legree. Tom drew his strength from Jesus; his story, heavily religious and loaded with melodrama, was definitely meant to stir the hearts of Christian readers. It got to be a bit much; as Lietenant Dan would say, it was all "Jesus this and Jesus that. Have you found Jesus yet?" Eliza, reunited with her husband George, is religious herself, but at least she and her husband had the grit to run, and made it to Canada. Tom's pious passivity grew tiresome, to one like me who isn't all religiousy.
However, the author makes a great point about slavery that might be applied to any institution that gives anybody a lot of power over people. The point is, people are flawed. Whether it's the devil's influence or just how we are, people tend to greed, selfish, sloth...Deadly Sins indeed. If we can't run our own lives, then nobody has the right to own anyone else's life, to control how they live. The author points out that most "Christians" are hypocrites who turn their backs on the true teachings of Jesus, and in that she is correct. I'm not all about quoting scripture, and I certainly don't attend church, but Jesus himself did know what was up. He, and others throughout history who acted selflessly, who sacrificed and focused on helping others, whether in the name of religion or just because they were more enlightened than anybody else. So whatever I may feel about the heavily religious overtones of the text, it at least has a very real message about human nature.
I should note, though, that I think it's pretty messed up that the author refused to support the publication of Harriet Jacobs's memoir Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Jacobs really lived it, her perspective was invaluable, and I'm very surprised that she didn't get the endorsement of such a self-described Christian abolitionist. So honestly, I feel like Jacobs's work is more worth the time to read than Uncle Tom's Cabin, if it came down to a choice between the two.
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