Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was one of the most influential novels in the 19th century, selling 300,000 copies in 1852, the first year after it was published. It contributed significantly to the spread of the anti-slavery ideas in America. Despite of its political influences, the novel is also considered as a representative work of modern American literature.
Stowe's political objectives affect the style and formal aspects of the novel in a great degree. Stowe is a strong supporter of slavery abolishment, since, in her Christian opinion, everyone should be treated equal and loved. To expose the evil of slavery, the author focuses very much on the description of the characters', both slaves' and owners', emotions or their behaviors that can reflect feelings. For slaves, they always live in fear and helplessness, while the slave-owners' minds are filled with gold and cash. …show more content…
Firstly, slavery is inconsistent with the Declaration of Independence which says that "all humans are created equal", because slaves were always mistreated physically and financially. Secondly, slavery aggravated the division of the United States. Since the southern states were mostly based on agriculture which consumed a large amount of labor resources, while the northern states depended on trades, slaves were highly concentrated in southern regions. This not only brought great difficulties to the representative system - the tree-fifth amendment for example - but also separated the economic system into two parts that were scarcely relevant.
As the first widely read political novel in the United States, Uncle Tom's Cabin significantly stimulated the emancipation of slavery. Just as Lincoln said to Stowe at the start of the Civil War," So this is the little lady who started this great
Stowe's political objectives affect the style and formal aspects of the novel in a great degree. Stowe is a strong supporter of slavery abolishment, since, in her Christian opinion, everyone should be treated equal and loved. To expose the evil of slavery, the author focuses very much on the description of the characters', both slaves' and owners', emotions or their behaviors that can reflect feelings. For slaves, they always live in fear and helplessness, while the slave-owners' minds are filled with gold and cash. …show more content…
Firstly, slavery is inconsistent with the Declaration of Independence which says that "all humans are created equal", because slaves were always mistreated physically and financially. Secondly, slavery aggravated the division of the United States. Since the southern states were mostly based on agriculture which consumed a large amount of labor resources, while the northern states depended on trades, slaves were highly concentrated in southern regions. This not only brought great difficulties to the representative system - the tree-fifth amendment for example - but also separated the economic system into two parts that were scarcely relevant.
As the first widely read political novel in the United States, Uncle Tom's Cabin significantly stimulated the emancipation of slavery. Just as Lincoln said to Stowe at the start of the Civil War," So this is the little lady who started this great