The Soul In Uncle Tom's Cabin, By Harriet Beecher Stowe

The soul is a complex idea. Harriet Beecher Stowe believed the soul needed to be clean and pure in order for someone to get into heaven. She also believed that everyone’s final goal should be to get to heaven. Since Stowe was a faithful woman, she used her religious views to demonstrate to her community that slavery, in its institutional ways, was sinful. However, while Stowe believed that slavery was sinful, she did not feel that black and whites should coexist equally. In her novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, she gave characters different ideals in order to show the disconnect in the white and black communities. The characters struggle to relate to other characters’ feelings who are of a different race than themselves. The characters’ incapability …show more content…
Aunt Chloe looks at the slave traders and owners, and questions how they could take a mother from her child, or a husband from his wife. She asks “…and all the while does they feel one bit…” (111). Aunt Chloe, who is a sentimental and religious character, portrays Stowe’s dislike of the institution of slavery. Stowe’s dislike of slavery is portrayed through the eye of religion because in the 1850s, women could not comment on political matters and be taken seriously. However, if the issue is portrayed through a religious scope, Stowe’s point is more likely to be received by the male community. While Stowe’s dislike of slavery may be seen as an anti-racist ideal on the surface, the reason behind her dislike casts a clearer light on her beliefs. Stowe is contemptuous of the institution of slavery not because African Americans are mistreated and abused, but because it is detrimental to the white slave masters. This view on slavery, while it asks for the same result as abolitionists’, does not have the same idea of equality behind it. This quote presented by Aunt Chloe is a representation of the neglect that white people showed to their slaves. Even the people, like Stowe, who wanted to end slavery, treated African Americans terribly. When not in the possession of a physically abusive master, …show more content…
Mr. Haley and Aunt Chloe highlight that Stowe, while she opposes the institution of slavery, does not think that whites and blacks are equal. The only reason Stowe is against slavery is because she believes the white people are sinning by owning slaves, and therefore diminishing their chances of getting to heaven. By viewing the world through a religious eye, Stowe is able to project her racism and anti-slavery views without being shunned by her community for participating in political debates, which are in a man’s domain. Utilizing the point of view of her characters, Stowe exhibits her racism, and fundamental ideal that white and blacks are