Introduction: Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book Uncle Tom’s Cabin was an amazing read that was truly inspiring. It was evident to me and clearly evident to others as well, that the book was written for a specific purpose. This purpose was to inform the American public of the horrors of slavery. The novel was set in the early 19th century. During this time period, slaves took up approximately 13% of the American population and for the most part worked on large plantations. Since very few people were plantation owners, or owned slaves for personal use, most of the American public did not have a great understanding of the hardships that an average slave had to go through. Through her writing, Harriet Stowe managed to illustrate perfectly what …show more content…
Even Mr. Shelby sees this characteristic, "Why, the fact is, Haley, Tom is an uncommon fellow; he is certainly worth that sum anywhere,—steady, honest, capable, manages my whole farm like a clock." Tom’s honesty is also shown during his time spent with Simon Legree. Simon was a brutal plantation owner who worked his slaves to death. Simon saw Tom as a potential overseer of the plantation and continuously beat Tom in attempts to harden him but Tom refused to change from his honest and kind ways. - The second characteristic Tom has is forgiveness. It is very difficult for Tom to hold a grudge. A great example of Tom’s forgiveness occurs at the end of the novel when he is being beaten to death by Simon Legree. Even though Simon was a horrible plantation owner to Tom and many other slaves, Tom forgives him right before he dies "There an't no more ye can do! I forgive ye, with all my soul!" -The final prominent characteristic Tom shows, is his faith. Everywhere Tom goes he spreads goodness and religious beliefs in hopes of helping other slaves deal with their hardships. Tom’s neverending faith prevails right to the end where he dies forgiving his killers. “These characteristics tie to the most basic form of persuasion, the appeal to human emotion.” All of Tom’s characteristics are positive and make the reader sympathetic when bad things happen to him. Second Body Paragraph: Secondly Harriet
Toms actions and behavior portray him as abusive and unloyal. Tom lives a life that makes him known as unloyal. It was no secret that he had a mistress. “ The fact that he had one was insisted upon wherever he was known (Fitzgerald, 24). Tom having a mistress shows that he is unloyal. The quote shows that he is known for being a cheater. The way Tom acts also shows him to be abusive
Tom is an immoral character. He is very unlikeable because of his uncivilized attitude. He is a very arrogant, dominating and boorish man who doesn’t cares about anyone focusing only on what he wants and looks down on poor, helpless people. Not only this, but he is also racist and a complete hypocrite.
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 never does anything without doing it to the fullest, good or bad. Tom has an overall extremely short temper, assertive,confident and aggressive nature. Tom’s wild, emotional, and uncaring attitude end up getting three people killed. Tom in the end is ultimately concerned with himself and his lavished ,intense, and high paced
Tom takes a big step forward in overcoming the adversities he’s faced with, showing that he’s maturing and making steady way through his journey of growing into the wider world.
The first characteristic is that of individuality. An individuality is a person who is selfish, greedy and only cares about themselves to fulfill their wants. Tom is one of them because all he cares about is money, he does not care about his relationship with his wife. He even made a deal with the Devil to receive money from the Devil, Tom did not
Through Tom’s search for a higher social standing, it makes him the least moral character in the movie because his maturity and moral development is naively egoistic,
As the novel progresses, Tom transforms from this selfish nature to become a caring person. Several examples of this transformation are seen throughout various chapters. When the Joads are traveling west to California with the Wilson’s, Tom offers to help them when their car breaks down. “Tom said nervously, ‘Look Al. I done my time, an’ now it’s done… Let’s jus’ try an’ get a con-rod an’ the hell with the res’ of it.’” Tom is showing a little more care for other people’s problems, however, he still has a selfish side because he still does not regret killing a man. He knew he had to pay for it by going to prison, but he still believes he did nothing wrong by taking a man’s life. By offering to help out with the Wilson’s’ car, he is on his way to becoming a less selfish person. As the book draws to a close, Tom stumbles upon Jim Casy again, who is murdered in front of his own eyes. As a result, he is thrown into a silent rage and kills another man which causes him to hide in the forest. He realizes that he is a danger to his family, so he sacrifices his safety in order for his family to be safe. ‘“Ya can’t do that, Ma. I tell you I’m jus’ a danger to ya,”’ (391). There is a clear transition from Tom acting selfish at the beginning of the book to him acting completely selfless at the end. This selflessness also contributed to him being a figure committed to bettering the
Abraham Lincoln is quoted as saying, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.” upon meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe for the first time. The book that the former president is referring to is Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a 1850s book about the moral wrongs of slavery. It has been said to be the most influential anti-slavery book that has ever been written. Harriet Beecher Stowe is an effective author. She uses numerous literary devices such as facile characters, character foils, and symbolism to highlight her abolitionist views and constructs a persuasive argument against slavery.
Her father, who intends to free Tom, also dies before he can free Tom. Eva’s crazy mother takes over the plantation, and sells Tom. Tom ends up in the hands of the villainous Simon Legree. He treats his slaves like maggots below the dirt. Tom, with his standing Christian morals, does nothing to retaliate. Legree is Tom’s final master because Legree will end Tom’s life. Tom dies a poignant death with his old master’s son, George Shelby, at his side.
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
Through the book tom has a lot of changes and the changes are for the better. Tom used to be lazy and not responsible and over all bad. But he changed and became a better person.
Tom Joad from the beginning of the novel can be seen as a very introverted character who seems to only be worried about his family and himself. In the second chapter we see Tom for the first time
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