Voice In Uncle Tom's Cabin
Voice. We all have one, but it is what we can do with ours is what matters. Our voice has the power to change minds and influence decisions. In Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe used her voice to attack slavery, altering the minds of the American people. In 2016, Beyoncé used her voice to energize the Black Power Movement. Subsequently in 2017, poet Laura Kasischke suggests the power of a voice in society to empower people. These three powerful women use their voice to illustrate different messages in exhilarating ways. Everyone can impact society, however women are better because they make their voices relatable to connect and influence the minds of people. Stowe’s female characters in Uncle Tom’s Cabin have revolutionary ideas about
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The maternal voice allows women to connect to society. In the article Heroines in Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Elizabeth Ammons, Ammons proposes that women as well as some of the male slaves have the maternal voice. Uncle Tom has the most noticeable maternal voice among the men in the novel. As a result, “that deliberate feminization of Tom, and the way Stowe links him to a constellation of mothers, [both] black and white,” allows Tom to obtain the maternal voice (SOURCE B). The connections of characters is significant because they all have similar qualities. Stowe purposely gives Tom “a voice as tender of a woman’s” to connect him to the women (SOURCE A). The womanly voice makes Tom appear innocent and harmless. Similarly, Ammons states that characteristics including “empathy, compassion, comfort, practical assistance, [and] psychological support” are shared by Tom and the women (SOURCE B). The characteristics above prove that Tom and the mothers share the same maternalistic voice because they all react similarly in situations with children and the men. Tom embodies these traits, he is always willing to do whatever he can to support and save his children. The maternal voice of Tom and the women makes them more alike than different, and allows them to connect with
The maternal voice allows women to connect to society. In the article Heroines in Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Elizabeth Ammons, Ammons proposes that women as well as some of the male slaves have the maternal voice. Uncle Tom has the most noticeable maternal voice among the men in the novel. As a result, “that deliberate feminization of Tom, and the way Stowe links him to a constellation of mothers, [both] black and white,” allows Tom to obtain the maternal voice (SOURCE B). The connections of characters is significant because they all have similar qualities. Stowe purposely gives Tom “a voice as tender of a woman’s” to connect him to the women (SOURCE A). The womanly voice makes Tom appear innocent and harmless. Similarly, Ammons states that characteristics including “empathy, compassion, comfort, practical assistance, [and] psychological support” are shared by Tom and the women (SOURCE B). The characteristics above prove that Tom and the mothers share the same maternalistic voice because they all react similarly in situations with children and the men. Tom embodies these traits, he is always willing to do whatever he can to support and save his children. The maternal voice of Tom and the women makes them more alike than different, and allows them to connect with