Harriet Beecher Stowe Analysis

Macy Clevenger Harriet Beecher Stowe is trying to convey the message of how morally wrong slavery is to her readers. It is mostly aimed towards people in the North, to make them understand what is going on in the South. Stowe shows the horrors of slavery by using irony, contrast, and disparity. Stowe begins the story with massive irony using two men. She talks about one man, Mr. Haley, in a cold way and explains that he is not a gentleman. However, when she describes Mr. Shelby, he is a fair and honest man who cares about every one of his slaves, but is in financial trouble. He decides to sell his hardest working slave, Uncle Tom, to Mr. Haley to relieve his struggles. However, Mr. Haley demands another slave, a small child, along with the trade. When he sees Harry, the son of Eliza, he …show more content…
Stowe uses irony in these first few chapters in the form of Mr. Shelby. Stowe includes the conversation between the two men in which Shelby tells Haley “the fact is, sir, I’m a humane man, and I hate to take the boy from his mother, sir” (pg. 7). This is, however, exactly what he agrees to do. Stowe aims to inform the reader that a humane slave owner does not exist. She continues to do this throughout the book. For example, Stowe also mentions a woman who she calls Miss Ophelia. Miss Ophelia is an abolitionist from the North. Her cousin, Augustine St. Clare, a slave owner, gets her a little girl about nine years old to train. St. Clare then makes the little girl perform. He calls her like a dog to get her to sing and dance for Miss Ophelia. Stowe includes the statement about the dog as a chilling fact that she uses to persuade readers that slaveowners are cruel people who care little about others not of their skin tone. In fact, Miss Ophelia does not even want Topsy. However, Augustine tells her of how she has been beaten and abused, tugging at Miss Ophelia’s heart enough until she eventually agrees to keep her. Over time,