Theme Of Death In Uncle Tom's Cabin

Eva’s death is crucial in understanding Eva as Christ in Uncle Tom’s Cabin . Her death is a very hotly debated subject by literary critics. One critic, Isabella White, in her article, “The Uses of Death in Uncle Tom’s Cabin offers several possible explanations for why Stowe had Eva die in the novel. One of her theories is that “Eva’s death is a condemnation of a world which has caused her too much pain.” (White 9) She states that Eva was simply too good for the world she lived in, and Stowe has her die as a result of that. However, I disagree with that claim because even as White admits, Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin in protest slavery (White 1). So, if her reason in writing this novel was to protest slavery, and persuade America to outlaw …show more content…
This aspect of Eva’s death also shows her connection to Jesus, because Jesus' death led to the salvation of humans in a spiritual sense. In the Gospel of John, John writes, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16) According to Christian tradition, God sacrificed his son, Jesus, for the betterment and salvation of humans. That is essentially what Eva does in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Eva’s parting wish is for Tom to be set free, and St. Clare is willing to oblige. Soon after Eva dies, St. Clare is all set to let Tom go free. Immediately it appears as though her death has directly led to Tom’s freedom. Unfortunately for Tom, St. Clare dies very suddenly, before he gets the chance to legally make Tom free, and cannot follow through on his promise to free Tom. (Stowe 270) Had St. Clare not died so suddenly, Tom would have certainly been a free man because of Eva’s death. Again, that obviously does not work out for him and as a result of St. Clare’s untimely death, Tom is sold to an evil man, …show more content…
One may be that the other hero of this novel, Tom, does not get his freedom from her death, but instead suffers a brutal death. My response to this objection is something touched upon earlier in this paper: that Eva wants show slaves religion, so they can get eternal life. That is the reason that it is not as tragic that Tom dies without ever being freed from slavey. He is all ready deeply religious, and his death leads to greater freedom for him, in the sense that he becomes the freest anyone can be, as he dies and goes to heaven. Another possible objection could be that George Shelby only frees his own slaves, and at the end of the novel all of the freed slave end up moving to Africa. How could Eva’s death been a sacrifice that gives slaves freedom when there are slaves, like most of Lengree’s, that aren’t freed, and all those who do become “free” move away? Now, I believe that this is a valid objection, but its answer leads to my final main point; that Eva’s sacrifice is not complete by the end of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Stowe’s ending is intentionally dissatisfying, and is certainly intended to be poignant. It is an appeal on the emotions of the readers. No reader would be happy with the way this novel ends. All these great, moral, African Americans leave America, and move to Africa. Interestingly, Stowe herself does not like the Liberia Solution, and