“So, you’re the little lady whose book has caused this great war!” Abraham Lincoln supposedly greeted the famous Harriett Beecher Stowe with this statement after the uproar of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Although there were many factors that played a part in the start of the Civil War; Stowe’s book was one of the main catalysts that started the war. In this case, it split and divided the United States of America. Her characters were easy to empathize with and her stories were so vivid that her intended audience was appalled, yet wanted to take action after being inspired by what they read about in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Harriet was constantly influenced by the anti-slavery mentality growing up and she became an abolitionist for the cause (Thornburg).
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Her audience could sympathize more with a name and personality rather than a group of people. Therefore, Uncle Tom, the main character, became a phenomenon because of his loving name and face the readers were given in order to picture while reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The strength, courage, and faith that Uncle Tom exemplified through his journeys, presented a proud man of character to the reader. Whether a master or slave, black or white, Uncle Tom did not allow that to change his faith or define him as a man. Stowe wanted to make sure her characters were relatable because it made the story, even though fiction, authentic (Thornburg). She knew who her audience would be, and created experiences that white people would go through, but was able to create a world where a dark-skinned slave could encounter the same types of experiences which made it very relatable (Thornburg). For example, Stowe wrote how Eliza, another slave on Uncle Tom’s plantation, was very attached to her son Harry because she had already lost two of her own children previously (Stowe 24). This plausible story between the bond of mother and child allowed white women to empathize with black women. The emotion that came with burying a child was very hard for women back then, so in addition to the loss of a child, Stowe applied the same story in the life of Eliza to …show more content…
Civil rights were another aspect. This topic was a popular conversation, so much so, that Stowe touched on the subjects in conversations between her characters. They talked about the Fugitive Slave Act freely when conversing and the readers were presented both viewpoints on slavery. One side of the argument felt the best thing they could do was treat them well (Stowe 101). On the contrary, others said that it was their right to treat them the way they were treated (Stowe 395). Color was a racial division in the South, and by mentioning a popular topic of the time, Stowe made her audience realize that the stories and events that took place in the book occurred during that
Her audience could sympathize more with a name and personality rather than a group of people. Therefore, Uncle Tom, the main character, became a phenomenon because of his loving name and face the readers were given in order to picture while reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The strength, courage, and faith that Uncle Tom exemplified through his journeys, presented a proud man of character to the reader. Whether a master or slave, black or white, Uncle Tom did not allow that to change his faith or define him as a man. Stowe wanted to make sure her characters were relatable because it made the story, even though fiction, authentic (Thornburg). She knew who her audience would be, and created experiences that white people would go through, but was able to create a world where a dark-skinned slave could encounter the same types of experiences which made it very relatable (Thornburg). For example, Stowe wrote how Eliza, another slave on Uncle Tom’s plantation, was very attached to her son Harry because she had already lost two of her own children previously (Stowe 24). This plausible story between the bond of mother and child allowed white women to empathize with black women. The emotion that came with burying a child was very hard for women back then, so in addition to the loss of a child, Stowe applied the same story in the life of Eliza to …show more content…
Civil rights were another aspect. This topic was a popular conversation, so much so, that Stowe touched on the subjects in conversations between her characters. They talked about the Fugitive Slave Act freely when conversing and the readers were presented both viewpoints on slavery. One side of the argument felt the best thing they could do was treat them well (Stowe 101). On the contrary, others said that it was their right to treat them the way they were treated (Stowe 395). Color was a racial division in the South, and by mentioning a popular topic of the time, Stowe made her audience realize that the stories and events that took place in the book occurred during that