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Harriet Beecher Stowe |
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Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle
Tom’s Cabin, was born in Litchfield, Connecticut in the year of 1811. She was a
housewife of six, and wrote articles for magazines for a living. Stowe’s
sister, Isabella Jones Beecher, was furious from the passing of the Fugitive
Slave Law, passed as part of the Compromise of 1850. The law required all
Northerners to return runaway slaves to their Southern owners. The result of
the anger of the two sisters resulted in the production of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
When reading the book, it is quite obvious to an observant reader that the book
was written by a nineteenth century woman during the nineteenth century. The
opening scene of the book, where Mr. Shelby talks to Haley about Tom, is a
reference to Harriet Beecher herself. She is trying to portray that all themes
in this book about the evils of slavery are unfortunately true. There were some
bright points besides the evils of slavery. Stowe mentioned that slavery in
Kentucky was not so badly-off. This, however, angered abolitionists. Even
though, there were still many fears to worry about.
Another point is that Stowe makes Eliza and George, the parents of little
Harry, light skinned. Stowe remarks that light-skinned women, like Eliza, are
often especially attractive. This is one stereotype that whites have over
blacks. The stereotype is described fully in the description of the two
light-skinned story characters.
All of the characters in Uncle Tom’s Cabin are based on real acquaintances of
Harriet Beecher Stowe. Eliza is based on a young woman that Stowe had met in
Kentucky. The first indication of this is found in Chapter 3: The Husband and
the Father.
In this chapter, George Harris decides to run away to Canada and work to buy
Eliza and Harry’s freedom. Also in this chapter, George and Eliza possess
completely different thoughts about slavery.
All in all, most of the situations and characters in this book are references
to Harriet Beecher Stowe and the life she lived. It was not an easy period to
live in, especially for a black woman in a slave state. Uncle Tom’s Cabin is an
excellent example of what she had to deal with, and what kind of people that
the slaves and masters were like. Stowe deserves much credit for writing this
book, since she is coming straight out and expressing everything that she has
lived through , the hardships, the terrors, and the friends that she made.