A book that will not leave you indifferent – “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”

The days of segregation and oppression of the African American people are long gone with apartheid. But the horrors that happened less than a hundred years ago must not be forgotten in order not to make the same mistakes. Today we will consider the heartbreaking story of a black slave – Uncle Tom.

Author
Harriet Beecher Stowe was born in 1811 in Connecticut. At the age of 5, she lost her mother, was brought up by a pastor father with fanatical Puritan inclinations. Harriet received a good education, in her writings she opposed slavery and fought for a decent education for women.

In 1836 she married Calvin Stowe, a seminary professor who later became a priest. 7 children were born in the family, their life was complicated by many troubles, poverty, financial security often depended on the writer’s fees. In life, she experienced many tragedies, such as the suicide of her brother and the death of a child.

In the 1930s, the Beecher family moved to Cincinnati, which bordered Kentucky, a slave state. Later, Harriet lived there with her husband until 1950. It was there that Harriet first came into contact with slavery. After the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law, Harriet could no longer remain silent. She began work on her most famous novel.”Uncle Tom’s Cabin”

Here are some interesting facts about the novel:

• Uncle Tom’s Cabin became the best-selling novel in the 19th century;
• The book was second in sales of the century after the Bible;
• The novel had a great impact on the public, not only in shaping attitudes towards slavery, but also in creating generally accepted stereotypes about African Americans;
• The novel is an opponent of another literary giant – “Gone with the Wind”;
• As a reaction to the publication of the novel, a literary trend appeared, the so-called. Anti-Tom literature;
• Uncle Tom’s Cabin is based on a true story.

Plot
The novel immediately introduces us to the main character – the slave Tom, whom his master Shelby wants to give as payment for his debts. Along with many other slaves, Shelby also employs the family of George and Eliza with a small child who they want to ransom along with Tom. Eliza decides to escape and calls Tom with her, but he refuses, because. resigned to the role of a slave.

Ferrying on a steamboat to a new place of work and residence, Tom rescues a girl who has fallen overboard. As a token of gratitude, the father redeems the slave and takes him to his place in New Orleans. Tom is treated very well in his new family. The girl fell in love with Uncle Tom so much that she takes the word from her father to let him go free. He agrees. Soon the girl dies of consumption, and her father dies in a fight, never fulfilling his promise about Tom. It is sold to other people.

Eliza and George struggle to escape and end up in Canada. Meanwhile, Tom is under the rule of the cruel and oppressive Simon Legree.He wanted to make Tom an overseer of other slaves, just as cruel and inhuman, but Tom remains unchanged by his principles, for which he will soon pay.
At Legree’s house, Tom meets an elderly slave named Cassie, who soon arranges a demonstrative escape. Enraged that no one could be found, and Tom did not want to confess to anything, Legree orders Tom to be beaten to a pulp. Finally, his good old master, whom he had been waiting for, Shelby, returned for Tom. But it turns out too late and Tom dies in his arms.

On board the ship, Shelby meets the escaped Cassie, as well as George’s sister. They are looking for spouses in Canada and Cassie recognizes Eliza as her daughter, once sold into slavery. The family is reunited, Shelby dismisses her slaves, leaving only Uncle Tom’s cabin, which served as a reminder of a good man and terrible times.