Uncle Tom's Cabin

In Uncle Tom's Cabin, we come across a new issue within this novel that we have not yet seen: slavery. The problem with this is that there are major complications when you are talking about slavery because it is not a light hearted issue to discuss with anyone. These were times of heartache and pain for hundreds of years for African American families. So what message is Harriet Beecher Stowe trying to send out to her readers with this novel? Perhaps that the reader needs to look closer into seeing that family and God are held above everything else, and that it makes no difference what is going on in your life.

The reader first learns about Eliza, and how she is running away from her 'master' with her young child. Both her and young child were to be separated in the morning, however Eliza could not stand the mere thought of parting her young one and decides that running would be the better choice. In my opinion, the message was loud and clear at this point: never separate from your loved ones. Eliza did just that, and although she is struggling and scared for both of their lives we learn that her child is truly the one thing that keeps that 'fire' in her going because she wants to bring both of them to safety...together. This is not like the typical literature from the 19Th century that we have been reading so far. Stowe wanted to make clear that not everything in life is simple and easy, but that there are dark times and moments when you want to just want to give up. However, we also see another character in the novel, Tom, who is also a slave, but comes across as the 'Christ like figure' in the novel. We learn that Tom is the father figure to his own master, and that they even have a close relationship compared to most 'slaves' and their 'masters'. I would say that Tom is the foundation of this novel when it comes to his religious views and beliefs. He never wishes anything bad upon anyone, no matter what they have already done or what is in their past. On page 105 in the text we learn that Tom is scolding the children for wishing evil upon their tormentors, and tells them that they should be praying for them instead. Stowe uses Tom as a strong hearted character to show the reader that even if you are placed in a bad position that God will still be there no matter what happens to you. I see a few similarities with this reading and the others that we have read, but in Uncle Tom's Cabin I felt more pain while I was reading than I did comfort.

"A career is wonderful, but you can't curl up with it on a cold night." - Marilyn Monroe