"So you're the lady whose book started this great war." Abraham Lincoln said this to Harriet Beecher Stowe upon meeting her in 1862. This quote shows the great influence the novel had on the minds of its readers and on a nation in turmoil. At the height of racial tension in nineteenth century America, Stowe revealed the sufferings and hardships the slave was forced to endure. Stowe used passionate and sometimes exaggerated thoughts and stories in the book in an effort to prompt abolitionist action. In the novel, Stowe used strong-minded women that sent a message to female readers that they also can take action against slavery. Although Stowe was on the side of the slave, she sometimes exhibited a paternalistic attitude that made her seem somewhat racist. Uncle Tom's Cabin is "profoundly feminist in its implications" because of the opinionated female characters that voiced their beliefs and showed moral superiority over their male counterparts. Stowe established that both women and slaves were victims of male domination, and she depicted women in the novel that were led to their abolitionist views by their moral and Christian beliefs.
. . .
These powerful women preached that slavery was wrong according to the bible, and swayed or tried to sway their husband's beliefs. By comparing whites to blacks, Stowe contradicted her main theme of the novel, equality. "Now, John, I don't know anything about politics, but I can read my Bible; and there I see that I must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the desolate; and that Bible I mean to follow (89).
Stowe established that both women and slaves were victims of male domination, only to different degrees. " Through their devoted Christian beliefs, Mrs. On the other hand, Miss Ophelia was a strong-minded woman filled with traditional Christian beliefs. Bird altered her husband's mind-set by forcing him to realize that slavery was not a Christian form of behavior. Although writing in defense of slavery, Stowe sometimes used stereotypes and a paternalistic attitude to exhibit racism.
In the novel, the feminism exhibited by the female characters paved the way for their abolitionist views, but it also showed that feminism and abolitionism are not directly related. The most horrid is the cruel treatment of Tom by his final master, Legree.
To Conclude, Uncle Tom's Cabin is a truly passionate novel that swayed the hearts of many readers. Many females were ignited by the separation of families that was so often explained. "It's a shameful, wicked, abominable law, and I'll break it, for one, the first time I get a chance; and I hope I shall have a chance, I do! Things have got to a pretty pass, if a woman can't give a warm supper and a bed to poor, starving creatures. Yes, he is! Well, his mouth's shut up, at last, that's one comfort (447).
Approximate Word count =
1303
Approximate Pages =
5 (250 words per page double spaced)
Simply subscribe to view this paper, and 100,000 others.
| CREDIT CARD |
ONLINE CHECK |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
JOIN BY PHONE
|
|
|