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A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin. Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U.S., and is said to have "helped lay the groundwork for the [American] Civil War".
- United States
- Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly.
- Hammatt Billings
- Overview
- Summary
- Reception and adaptations
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, published in serialized form in the United States in 1851–52 and in book form in 1852. An abolitionist novel, it achieved wide popularity, particularly among white readers in the North, by vividly dramatizing the experience of slavery.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin tells the story of Uncle Tom, an enslaved person, depicted as saintly and dignified, noble and steadfast in his beliefs. While being transported by boat to auction in New Orleans, Tom saves the life of Little Eva, an angelic and forgiving young girl, whose grateful father then purchases Tom. Eva and Tom soon become great friends. Always frail, Eva’s health begins to decline rapidly, and on her deathbed she asks her father to free all his enslaved people. He makes plans to do so but is then killed, and the brutal Simon Legree, Tom’s new owner, has Tom whipped to death after he refuses to divulge the whereabouts of certain escaped slaves. Tom maintains a steadfastly Christian attitude toward his own suffering, and Stowe imbues Tom’s death with echoes of Christ’s.
Simon Legree, the principal villain in the story, represents greed and brutality, a man who chose sin over reform. Legree forces enslaved persons into different roles in his life. A woman named Cassy is forced to live with him. When Legree buys Tom, he also buys a 15-year-old girl named Emmeline, whom he intends to keep as a replacement for Cassy. Through punishment and reward, Legree turns Quimbo and Sambo into his companions and enforcers. The two men are coerced into beating other enslaved people at Legree’s command. It is Quimbo and Sambo who whip Tom to his death; as Tom lay dying, they express remorse and shame. Tom forgives them before he dies.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was an immediate sensation and was taken up eagerly by abolitionists in the North, while, along with its author, it was vehemently denounced in the South, where reading or possessing the book became an extremely dangerous enterprise. Nonetheless, some 300,000 copies of Uncle Tom’s Cabin were sold in the United States during the year after its publication, and it also sold well in England. Stowe was enthusiastically received on a visit to England in 1853, and there she formed friendships with many leading literary figures. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was adapted for theatre multiple times beginning in 1852; because the novel made use of the themes and techniques of theatrical melodrama popular at the time, its transition to the stage was easy. These adaptations played to capacity audiences in the United States and contributed to the already significant popularity of Stowe’s novel in the North and the animosity toward it in the South. They became a staple of touring companies through the rest of the 19th century and into the 20th.
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Uncle Tom’s Cabin later was adapted to film, beginning in the silent film era in the first part of the 20th century. The popularity of the story at that time meant that it was easier for audiences to understand. Later attempts at film production in English failed due to protests against race-based discrimination, although it eventually was adapted as a made-for-television drama in the 1980s. The story also was adapted to film in other languages, including German, and was recreated in various animated productions, including cartoons produced by Walt Disney and Warner Brothers.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
George Shelby returns to the Kentucky farm, where, after his father’s death, he sets all the slaves free in honor of Tom’s memory. He urges them to think on Tom’s sacrifice every time they look at his cabin and to lead a pious Christian life, just as Tom did. A short summary of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
- Harriet Beecher Stowe
- 1852
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Jan 13, 2006 · Read or download the classic anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe for free. Choose from various formats and languages, including EPUB, Kindle, HTML and plain text.
Dec 2, 2019 · Learn about the anti-slavery novel that made Harriet Beecher Stowe famous and influenced the nation. Explore the historical context, the impact, and the criticism of Uncle Tom's Cabin.
A comprehensive guide to Harriet Beecher Stowe's social novel about the evils of slavery and the fight for human rights. Learn about the plot, characters, themes, symbols, and literary devices of this classic work of American literature. Find historical and literary context, biography of the author, and related books.
Learn about the abolitionist novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that depicts the brutalities of slavery and the resilience of Tom, a devout enslaved man. Find a plot summary, important quotes, and an in-depth analysis of the novel with SparkNotes Study Tools.
