Critical Analysis of Uncle Toms Cabin Free Essay Example, 1000 words

Stowe’s family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio on the banks of the river of the same name just across Kentucky, a slave state. Consequently, she came across many a story from across the river, tales that also formed the foundation of the Abolitionist discourse in Ohio. However, though it seems rather inconceivable when one reads the brilliant portrayal of the slave community in the chapters of the novel like ‘ An Evening in Uncle Tom’s Cabin’, Stowe did not have any first-hand knowledge about them. She did visit the towns of Kentucky occasionally but had never been to any plantation run by slaves. (Hedrick, 112) But what she lacks in the field of practical experience, Stowe makes up with her unquestionable passion for the great cause of the long-suffering children of humanity. Her humanitarian creed is splendidly displayed in the novel especially in the parts where she rises even over the specific context of the slave-system to identify the suffering of her characters with the universal misery of mankind: elevating the specific suffering of Eliza to the universal suffering of motherhood, Stowe writes: If it were your Harry, mother, or your Willie, that were going to be torn from you by a brutal trader†¦how fast could you walk? We will write a custom essay sample on Critical Analysis of Uncle Tom's Cabin or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now How many miles could you make in those few brief hours, with the darling at your bosom, - the little sleepy head on your shoulder – the small soft arms trustingly holding on to your neck? Although Stowe’s motivation for writing the novel was declaredly, a propagandist one, her methodology of voicing the multifarious discourses about the slave-trade prevalent in the country with relative impartiality saves the novel from being a mere propaganda for the abolitionist cause. She works with a huge canvas and each and every character in the novel has his or her unique position in the debate over slavery that broke the country down into pieces. This honesty and sincerity in the voicing of the multitude of discourses, leaving the judgment in the hands of the readers, allows her to explore the subtle shades of her subject. The America she portrays is not a black and white world of the Civil War days. Side by side with the dark and explicitly d evilish characters of Tom Loker and Haley (in fact Tom Loker takes a comparison with the devil as a complement and the true nature of these slave traders is underlined precisely by the author in the profusion of the animal imagery in the chapters dealing with them e. g. ‘a bull-dog come unto man’s estate’, ‘lithe and catlike in his motions’ etc. ) we also find some brilliant characters who are neither pristinely white nor devilishly black.