Silence In Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin
"Out of silence," said the Unitarian theologian Carlyle, "comes thy strength."[1] I believe Carlyle is describing one of two kinds of silence. On one side, silence can be negative and harmful. This is the silence of oppression, a controlling force which leaves victims voiceless and the needy helpless. This is not what Carlyle means by his silence. He is invoking a different force. His silence has agency; it is the silence of resistance, of overcoming, and of strength. Today I will examine the sophisticated silence of which Carlyle writes and, contradictory to the dominant archetype, show how silence can become our strength. Many of the characters in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin are
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Two factors contribute to Tom's silence being positive. That we know Tom's thoughts is crucial in this scene. His silence is not empty; there are substantial and honorable thoughts that he holds within. If Tom did not have those potentially expressible thoughts, there would be no contrast. Secondly, it is possible for Tom to speak to Haley, but he chooses not to. He does not lower himself by begging for the freedom he knows he could never be granted nor does he grant Haley's desire for dialogue to break the uneasy quiet. Under this awkward surface silence, only Tom is comforted by religious words which "stir up the soul from its depths, and rouse, as with trumpet call, courage, energy, and enthusiasm."[4]
Ken Sawyer, a contemporary Unitarian minister, addresses a silence which stirs the soul in his sermon "And in the Stillness, a Light."[5] Sawyer's arguments for a "greater freedom and ability to be still, to maintain silence, (and) to wait,"[6] stress the same kind of stillness and patience to wait for heaven that get played out in Tom's actions. In this sermon, Sawyer admires Jesus and Buddha for their silent natures. The characteristics which he admires in Jesus and Buddha (Guatama) are characteristics which Tom shares. Sawyer's description of the Buddha being pressured to speak contains many parallels with Tom and Haley's trek by carriage.
Guatama, faced with those big questions many of our
One of the first things that causes Tom to be disconsolate is when he is forced to leave the bear in the mountains. Blue Elk says, “If you do not tell the bear to go away, we will go back and leave him chained to that tree” and then after they get back to the school it says, “The boy did not talk, and he walked as though he was in a daze” (64). One of his teachers, Miss Ellis, says, “Thomas is an unhappy boy and hard to reach” (66)… Another thing that happens is when he tries to run away and finds that his lodge has been purposely burnt down. “He stood among the ashes and whispered his sorrow chant… For small griefs you shout, but for big griefs you whisper or say nothing. The big griefs must be borne alone, inside” (70). Then he heads back down the valley, and meets Benny Grayback at the foot of Horse Mountain. The only thing he says is, “I will go back” (71) and it is in English. The next thing that contributes to Tom being completely numb is when he has to make the bear go away a second time. Winter is over, and the bear is wandering the school grounds in the moonlight looking for him. At first, when Tom tries to tell the bear to go away he is screaming at him, but all of a sudden Tom puts an arm around its neck buries his face in its fur, and cries. Then he yells at the bear, “Go, or they will kill you. They do not need guns to kill…
On a superficial level, Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe is a fictitious, narrative about slavery. Yet, the truth is that the novel is filled with propaganda. A narrator, Stowe, breaks the third wall to directly address the issues of slavery with the reader. The novel ends with revelatory remarks that there can be no possible justification for owning slaves, and beyond the condemnation, action needs to be taken to end the horrible enterprise. Beyond direct statement through the narrator and characters, the characters themselves hold a type of persuasions in their actions and thoughts. This novel is more than just a casual read. There can be no mistake, the novel is a form of propaganda with the ultimate goal of influencing its readers
At the onset of the book, Young Tom has just been released from prison and is interested in making up for lost time and enjoying himself. He is a strong family support during the journey but is among the first to begin reaching out to a larger family. At the end he has focused on the plight and abuse of all the homeless farmers and recognizes that they must
Tom goes into hiding after killing George and also for his broken nose, knowing that deputies will look for him. He tells his family not to worry about him and tells Ma that he plans to unify everyone together and have them all rebel at the injustice. In Grapes of Wrath, Tom says “ I’ll be ever’where- wherever you look. Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever they’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there” (Steinbeck 537). He tells Ma that even if he gets hurt or killed, his soul is part of a big community of souls and he’ll be wherever there is injustice to the migrant workers, fighting for their
At first, Tom only cared about himself and how he would succeed. Pretty soon, he has the same line of thinking as Preacher Jim Casy. “[sic] I’ll be ever’where-wherever you look. Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever they’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there” (Steinbeck 537). Tom is talking about how he wants to organize a strike like what Casy did. He believes that if everyone joins together, then the cops can not touch them. He forgot about what is best for
A. Harriet Beecher Stowe was born in 1811 in Litchfield, Connecticut, which surprises many of her readers. Stowe writes so passionately about slavery that it seems that she must have been raised in the South. Stowe was born into a strong Christian family, which explains why her novels have a strong Christian basis.
As the novel begins, Tom has a completely independent outlook on life; concerned only with returning home from prison to indulge his own comforts and wants. It is only later after he has endured the hardships of the journey, in Jim Casy’s death, and his own exile, that he has time to think and realizes that it is united we stand, and divided we fall. He thus sacrifices his personal concerns and safety and leaves the family to go out into the larger community and help his people. He will go out and work to complete what Jim Casy had started. Whereas Jim Casy was too much of an idealist, Tom will try and put his plan into action: “Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever they’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there.” (537)
“There was nothing you could've done; nothing anyone could've done. Tom died because God said it was his time to
Published in the early 1850’s, Uncle Tom’s Cabin had a huge impact on our nation and contributed to the tension over slavery. It was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, a woman who was involved in religious and feminist causes. Stowe’s influence on the northern states was remarkable. Her fictional novel about slave life of her current time has been thought to be one of the main things that led up to the Civil War. The purpose of writing it, as is often said, was to expose the evils of slavery to the North where many were unaware of just what went on in the rest of the country. The book was remarkably successful and sold 300,000 copies by the end of its first year. It is even rumored that
After meeting Jim Casy and traveling to California with his family, Tom starts to change his idea of see others and the world. Well walking to his father’s house, Tom encounters Jim Casy a former preacher he knew. Tom takes a break and they catch up with what is going on with their lives. This is one of the first examples of how Tom is starting to be more social after being in prison for four years. During their talk Casy gives Tom the idea that,”Maybe all men got one big soul ever'body's a part of.”(Steinbeck 33) Casy tries to explain to Tom that he believes that everyone in the world are just one big family. This simple idea later makes Tom leave his family so he can go help others in need. Without meeting Casy Tom wouldn’t of become the man we see at the end of the novel. Another example of Tom changing as a character is in chapter 16 where he meets a one eyed mechanic. Tom feels bad for the guy and decides to
As many people say history was written by the victors, we need to remember there would be no victors without the struggle and turmoil of those that lost. This is what Harriet Beecher Stowe’s compelling novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin has taught us in regards to the war on slavery. In the midst of the 1800’s, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote her best-selling novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, to address the various issues regarding race during this century. Throughout her novel, readers learn the lives of slaves, slave masters, and their families, which leads to the understanding of a unique lifestyle among the characters. As her novel is important in today’s society, it made an even greater impact during the nineteenth century as it portrays the ideology of the Civil War and the abolitionists.
The thing that you hear the most throughout both books is religion. That subject is a very important to both men. It was one Tom's dominant characteristics, even though he wasn't the best reader in the world he reads the Bible and leads prayer meeting. He did this so that everyone around him will
It is extremely difficult for the modern reader to understand and appreciate Uncle Tom’s Cabin because Harriet Beecher Stowe was writing for an audience very different from us. We don’t share the cultural values and myths of Stowe’s time, so her novel doesn’t affect us the way it affected its original readers. For this reason, Uncle Tom’s Cabin has been heavily scrutinized by the modern critic. However, the aspects of the novel that are criticized now are the same aspects that held so much appeal for its original audience.
While Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin overtly deals with the wrongs of slavery from a Christian standpoint, there is a subtle yet strong emphasis on the moral and physical strength of women. Eliza, Eva, Aunt Chloe, and Mrs. Shelby all exhibit remarkable power and understanding of good over evil in ways that most of the male characters in Stowe’s novel. Even Mrs. St. Claire, who is ill throughout most of the book, proves later that she was always physically in control of her actions, however immoral they were. This emotional strength, when compared with the strength of the male characters, shows a belief in women as equals to men (if not more so) uncommon to 19th century literature.
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a novel written in times of unrest where slavery was a controversial topic and women 's rights were still suffering. Uncle Tom’s Cabin showed the grim reality of slavery and showed the importance for women to gain a societal role beyond the domestic domain. The reading contains a number of major characters throughout the novel. The two most notable characters we will discuss is Mrs. Shelby and Marie St. Clare. Throughout this paper we will compare and contrast these two characters and give specific examples to illustrate the similarities and differences between these two unique individuals.