Uncle Tom's Cabin

I finally finished Uncle Tom's Cabin yesterday. It's taken me a long time to get through it. I've enjoyed it, but it's not too fast moving and I've been busy.

The book has be criticized for being sentimental, unrealistic, stereotypical, tedious, and boring. But I liked it. If nothing else you have to give the book credit for its historical significance: Abraham Lincoln said that this book started the Civil War which put an end to legal slavery in the American South. Harriet Beecher Stowe does get a little soft sometimes, but that reflects her perspective on humanity and her desire for readers to feel attached to her characters—she knew that was the power of her story. There are more coincidences than are probably possible, but that's just fiction. It is a slow-moving story, but I found it intellectually gripping the whole way.

Beecher Stowe did craft one of the most well-known stereotypes in American history in the character of Uncle Tom, the loyal, pious slave. These days we like to jump all over stereotypes without hesitation; they're not true, they're misleading, they're damaging. But in this case, I think it's important to look at Beecher Stowe's purpose in writing the book and the valuable role this stereotype played. Her purpose was to call people to action, particularly northerners (and moderate southerners) who wanted to turn away and let slavery be someone else's problem. Throughout the story she introduced a variety of characters from different places and in different positions and we see that none of them are without fault. Whether they're tyrant masters, non-slave owners who turn their backs and hold misconceptions, or slave owners who think it's enough just to be kind to the people they've purchased—no one's hands are clean.

The character of Uncle Tom humanized a dehumanized people. He had a heart and soul and strong character that were evident to all around him. He forced people, particularly in the North, to put aside their previous misconceptions and grapple with the issue of the gross abuse of human life. While he was a kind and obedient slave, he lived his life away from those he loved and died painfully in the worst situation of his life. The character of Uncle Tom reached out to the readers of the time and showed them that something had to be done. That is incredibly valuable.

Today, though, with a more complete view of slavery can see that Uncle Tom is just a character, a slice of a very diverse group of people in a very complicated place in history. That doesn't mean we should throw out everything he stood for; it just means that we have a broader lens through which to see his significance, flaws and all.