Uncle Tom's Cabin By Harriet Beecher Stowe: Literary Analysis

Mightier than the Sword by David S. Reynolds was written to help readers understand why Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe was such an influential novel in America during it’s time, as well as today. Reynolds is a well-known author and professor originally from Rhode Island who “in the field of criticism,… argues that America’s classic literature is defined by its radical openness to biographical, political, social, and cultural images…” (Reynolds, 2016). Mightier than the Sword summarizes going into depth about the lasting effects of author Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. “The issues at the heart of Uncle Tom’s Cabin—race, religion, gender, law, morality, democracy—are just as vital today as they were in Stowe’s time.
Exploring such questions, gets to the very heart of the national experience” (Reynolds, pg. xiv). Harriet Beecher Stowe was the seventh child born to preacher father, Lyman Beecher, and mother, Roxana Foote, on June 14, 1811 in Litchfield, Connecticut.
Stowe married a leading biblical scholar, Calvin Stowe on January 6, 1836 whom she had seven children with. She was very religious and believed she was a visionary, she could see angels and God spoke to her and through her. Stowe felt as though, “blacks had the capacity to outshine whites in what counted most—true religion and richly human expressiveness” (Reynolds, 39). She was very passionate about blacks and their capabilities, which could be why many southerners were upset when her book was published. “Altogether, Uncle Tom’s Cabin went a long way toward winning Christianity for the antislavery cause” (Reynolds, 41). Winning Christianity for the antislavery cause was not an easy task, as many had found examples of slavery in the Old Testament and it was never frowned upon in the New. Bringing race and religion into one issue stirred up many questions among more places than just the United States. Nations such as Russia, France, and Germany had revolutions fueled by Uncle Tom’s Cabin; the novel was even banned in Russia for a few
years. More than anything, Reynolds used accounts of other significant authors, theorists, religious promoters, and close family members and friends of Harriet Beecher Stowe and her time period to make his argument clear. He uses both primary and secondary sources in order to provide a better understanding with more resources. Reynolds, along with many others, claimed Uncle Tom’s Cabin molded public opinion like no other work in American history, proving his argument by writing about other important people of that time period and their contributions, such as Jim Crow, Karl Marx, and George Lippard.
“Lippard and Stowe shared a vision of America as the place God had chosen to restore social equality” (Reynolds, 74). He gives examples of whom also agreed with her thoughts and helped to mold the public opinion to be more like her opinion. Reynolds also gives specific examples of how it molded public opinion like no other work when it was published as well as today. “Actually, the influence of Stowe’s novel had grown exponentially since the Civil War and would continue to expand in the twentieth century, with its effects still widely felt today. If we trace the history of Uncle Tom’s Cabin over this period. We see that its cultural power resulted not only from the novel but also from its many spin offs—particularly plays, songs, and films—that swayed millions who never read the novel” (Reynolds, 173). He lets his reader know that even without reading the novel, many were influenced by the things that came from
it. Mightier than the Sword gives a detailed recap of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Reynolds does support his argument fairly well with examples and other people’s accounts of the time period. The significance of Uncle Tom’s Cabin is still being brought forth today when we look back on history and what made our country the way it is. Someone who is looking to further understand the impact made by Uncle Tom’s Cabin and its author would most likely enjoy and benefit from Mightier than the Sword.