Uncle Tom's Cabin

Although there is debate over whether or not it truly happened, it has been said that when Harriet Beecher Stowe was introduced to Abraham Lincoln, the President greeted her by saying, “So this is the little lady who made this big war!”

No matter a person's opinions about the work itself, it cannot be denied that Uncle Tom's Cabin had a profound effect on American history. The book, along with its author, became a household name in the days leading up to the American Civil War. It served to draw attention to the already explosive topic of slavery and to further divide the North, who praised the work for revealing the atrocities of slavery and even claimed that it did not go far enough to demand immediate emancipation, and the South, who claimed the account to be an unrealistic, bias view of the institution.

When reading Uncle Tom's Cabin, the fact that the author was writing for a specific purpose is quickly obvious. Throughout the novel, Stowe will pause in the narrative to speak directly to the reader about some aspect of a character's emotions or reaction to the situation. Also, there are multiple times that two or more characters will sit down and discuss at length the various philosophies and practical elements involved with slavery and the slave trade. As a story, these make for a bit of drudgery to get through; however, as a whole, it gives a marvelous insight to the prevalent thoughts during that time period.

The characters are varied and lovable. Tom has three different masters over the course of the story, each one showing a different angle (some good, some bad) to how various owners treated their slaves. To the eyes of a 21-century reader, Stowe did an excellent job of fairly portraying both sides.

I was pleasantly surprised at how thoroughly God, religion, and the Bible were saturated throughout the story. In modern day literature, this classic would probably have been labeled as "Christian fiction." Tom's devotion to God throughout everything is a challenge to me as a Christian today. My one complaint is that the gospel was never clearly given, which left a vague impression of salvation by works. It was never stated that way, but several conversations seemed to give the idea of "trust Jesus and do good" without explanation as to what that meant. Meanwhile, the Bible which Tom and Eva dearly love clearly teaches salvation by grace and faith alone.

One other complaint I have is that of how long I had to wait at one point to return to the story of Eliza and George. I began to wonder if Stowe was ever going to tell us what happened. This, of course, is a minor thing overall.