Uncle Toms Cabin Chapters 1-2 Book Review

Uncle Tom’s Cabin was produced in 1852 written by Harriet Beecher Stowe as an anti-slavery novel. It became the second bestseller of the nineteenth century, following the Bible and was said to be a huge factor in the anti-slavery feeling in the English-speaking world. This includes some white people within the South as well. It is a famously influential “protest novel” in American literature, although criticized for stereotypes, it still succeeded in influencing great works to come such as The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. This work was so influential that it is reported that when Abraham Lincoln met inspiring Harriet Beecher Stowe, he said “So this is the little lady who started this great war.” There is immense stereotyping within this novel that inspired the usage of “Uncle Tom” as a term for a person who is subservient beyond reason. There is disturbing language that is blunt within the novel to get the author’s message across of the institution of slavery and the reality of the evils within it.

Chapter 1 of Uncle Toms Cabin immediately introduced stereotypes of the prospect of separating slave families and how black women are unlike white women in that they will not be disturbed for too long by their children being taken if they do not see it with their own eyes. Mr. Shelby, a gentleman and slave owner, is in debt and needs to sell his favorite slave, Uncle Tom, in order to stay afloat. Despite being a gentleman and supposed “nice guy”, by the end of the chapter he is pretty set on selling Eliza’s, a slave of his, child. The stereotype furthers in the notion that the wife of Mr. Shelby is not only unaware of his plans of selling slaves but also that they are even in debt at all. She unknowingly reassures Eliza that her child is safe on the plantation and will not be sold. At this time women were not seen to be equal to men in their respective positions. Men were the head of the house who maintained all of the financial responsibilities and controlled all of the decisions for the family. Women were best for child bearing and taking care of the household and children. This chapter plays on the stereotype that the man is the head of the household handling all of the financial aspects without the wife’s knowledge of such as they were deemed useless in that realm. Mr. Haley plays the typical grimy slave buyer, always looking for extra money and caring little about the slaves he buys and sells. Throughout the chapter we watch his manipulation of gentleman Mr. Shelby for his own personal gain, as slave buyers were perceived at the time. This chapter introduces the reality of the separation of black slave families during this era and not only how emotionally damaging this was but also the perception of this process from the white perspective. Mr. Haley especially makes it clear that he sees black women as much less human and sentimental than white women and insists that as long as Eliza does not see her child being taken away and is exchanged an item for the loss, she will recover quickly. During 1852 this opened the eyes of readers to how inhumane slavery was and forced white readers to imagine themselves in the shoes of Eliza, which worked to further push the anti-slavery agenda.

Chapter 2 allows the exploration of Eliza’s background. It furthers the stereotype of families being separated and we learn that Eliza was separated first from her husband, George, who was hired out at a nearby factory. He was hired out due to his invention of a machine that sped up cleaning hemp which caused the factory manager to be impressed, unlike George’s master. His master used the excuse of laziness to credit the invention. We learn that due to this George and Eliza only see each other on rarer occasions, but even more heartbreaking we learn about the loss of two prior children for this couple. Harry, Eliza’s child now, is the only child she successfully produced, making the emotional relationship with her child that much deeper. This pushes the anti-slavery stance immensely as the reader has no choice but to feel strongly for this mother and her broken up family. The reader has to put themselves in her shoes and try to imagine how destroyed Eliza will be if Mr. Shelby does sell Harry. It is clear that Harriet Beecher Stowe pushes stereotypical stories and characters in order to provide accurate reporting of the evils of the inhumane practice of slavery. As an anti-slavery piece, it makes sure that the reader does not leave the book without reflecting on the institution and the evil it employs.