Analysis on "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
Analysis on “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”
By: Luis Alberto Frausto Vicencio
Course: North American Literature
Facilitator: Margarita Hernandez Macias
Date: August 11th, 2011
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” may have been one of the first novels that portrayed the cruel reality of slavery. It created a real image of what life was like for slaves in the United States. This literary piece of work is sometimes even considered as a historical realistic novel. In this essay, I will exemplify Hochman’s idea of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” as a piece of history. This essay will include reasons for why “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” can be referred as a historical novel and how it could have interfered shaping today’s America. Many people consider “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” as a historical piece of literature. I agree with them as well. This novel showed people of that time the cruelty that slaves went through, being separated from their families, being sold from owner to owner with an uncertain future laying ahead. It expresses the characters’ feelings, touching one’s heart while reading it. As a matter of fact, includes a great deal of realism portraying American life in the 1850’s. In the example provided below, one can clearly see the realistic descriptions of fears and feelings slaves went through:
“…..I used to live in daily fear and dread. I tried to make the child respectful;—I tried to keep them apart, for I held on to those children like death; but it did no good. He sold both those children. He took me to ride, one day, and when I came home, they were nowhere to be found! He told me he had sold them; he showed me the money, the price of their blood. Then it seemed as if all good forsook me.” (Stowe) 1852. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” contains a real picture of America at that time. It is said that this novel helped trigger the Civil War. It opened the eyes of the northern side of the country, showing them the cruel society in which they lived. Even Abraham Lincoln is said to have reckoned that
By: Luis Alberto Frausto Vicencio
Course: North American Literature
Facilitator: Margarita Hernandez Macias
Date: August 11th, 2011
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” may have been one of the first novels that portrayed the cruel reality of slavery. It created a real image of what life was like for slaves in the United States. This literary piece of work is sometimes even considered as a historical realistic novel. In this essay, I will exemplify Hochman’s idea of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” as a piece of history. This essay will include reasons for why “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” can be referred as a historical novel and how it could have interfered shaping today’s America. Many people consider “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” as a historical piece of literature. I agree with them as well. This novel showed people of that time the cruelty that slaves went through, being separated from their families, being sold from owner to owner with an uncertain future laying ahead. It expresses the characters’ feelings, touching one’s heart while reading it. As a matter of fact, includes a great deal of realism portraying American life in the 1850’s. In the example provided below, one can clearly see the realistic descriptions of fears and feelings slaves went through:
“…..I used to live in daily fear and dread. I tried to make the child respectful;—I tried to keep them apart, for I held on to those children like death; but it did no good. He sold both those children. He took me to ride, one day, and when I came home, they were nowhere to be found! He told me he had sold them; he showed me the money, the price of their blood. Then it seemed as if all good forsook me.” (Stowe) 1852. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” contains a real picture of America at that time. It is said that this novel helped trigger the Civil War. It opened the eyes of the northern side of the country, showing them the cruel society in which they lived. Even Abraham Lincoln is said to have reckoned that
Bibliography: Stowe, H.B. (1852). Uncle Tom’s Cabin Retrieved from: http://micampus.udavinci.edu.mx/file.php/1263/U4/Optional_Redings/Uncle_Toms.htm Hochman, B. (2008). Sentiment Without Tears: Uncle´s Tom Cabin Retrieved from: http://micampus.udavinci.edu.mx/file.php/1263/U4/Mandatory_Readings/Sentiment%20Without%20Tears.pdf