Uncle Tom's Cabin (Townsend Library Edition)

Uncle Tom's Cabin was a book I KNEW about, but only as a historical artifact--a story that helped ignite the Civil War....but little else. The trivial fact that it was the first American novel to sell 1,000,000 copies was tucked away in my mind, and the disparaging label of someone being called an "Uncle Tom" was about the extent of my knowledge of Stowe's masterpiece.Now, having read the entire book, I am ashamed at having never taken the time before. The power in the narrative and the characters in the story is enough to keep you turning the pages to see what happens next! To my surprise, even though it is more than 150 years old, it was not difficult to understand...UTC essentially tells two stories at once--two slaves are set to be sold from a Kentucky plantation/farm they have lived all their lives. One is the older, well-respected Uncle Tom, and the other is the young, pretty Eliza. Tom accepts his fate, confident in his faith that God will protect him. Eliza, fearful of losing her child (with good reason) decides to run away to Ohio, where she hopes to find freedom.Along the way, both of these good souls have trials and tribulations...times of fear, hope, friendships and pain. Nothing is guaranteed for them....and sometimes their travels through life are blessed, and sometimes they are shook by sudden, unexpected pain.Tom's journey from Kentucky is primarily south; to a land where generally slaves are subject to much rougher conditions than in his native border state. Eliza, of course, is going north to Ohio, and eventually, she hopes, to Canada. But fugitive slaves are still hunted in Ohio, so there are no guarantees.The most difficult part of the reading for me was getting acclimated to the style in which Stowe portrays the conversation of the slaves. Because the language is more coarse, uneducated and casual, it took a little while to completely understand what a slave was saying. At times, I had to stop and "sound out" what the words were, just to get the jist of what was meant. After a little while, though, this became easier.The most surprising aspect of the story...and perhaps this explains the current absence of Stowe's novel in the modern mind...was the unambiguous and unapologetic Christian timber replete throughout the pages. Stowe rightfully believed that true Christianity did not endorse the idea of one man being the property of another. In her day, some religious leaders excused slavery in the states by creating contrived arguments supposedly developed from the Bible. Stowe challenges those preposterous notions headon!UTC is filled with direct references to Scripture and Christian hymns. Even one of the most irreligious characters, a one-time owner of Tom, Augustine St. Clare, is able to see how the slave trade is altogether UN-Christian, though he also finds it difficult to give up his "servants".The deeply religious Quakers, who help run the fugitive slaves to freedom, are also portrayed as true followers of Jesus. Most touching is how they even tend to the injuries of an evil bounty hunter--a man who would have killed them if it meant recapturing a slave.Uncle Tom's faith is described in great detail, and his ability to endure in times of want reminds one of the Old Testament story of Job. He strives to maintain trust in his Savior.My review ends here; to give away the ending might discourage someone from picking up the story and reading it for themselves. The time spent absorbing Stowe's novel is well-spent. One can fully understand how it shook the conscience of the nation in the 1850s.

I re-read this book because I was taking a course on capitalism and slavery and I wanted to compare it to some other sources. I was especially interested in comparing Simon Legree to other plantation slave owners we are studying. I had always thought that he was extraordinarily cruel--but I have found that there were many like him.It is a very emotional book, and was very popular in its day. I went with the flow and enjoyed the wide variety of characters that Stowe created--some very kind and some very funny. There are some life-or-death moments and some unlikely heroes. I cried all over again when little Eva died, even though I knew she would. Uncle Tom has been very controversial over the years--personally I thought his decision was very moving and heroic on a very special scale.The good--There were many characters that were complex and entertaining. They also presented different perspectives and attitudes towards slavery: The old master who sells his faithful slave to save his plantation, and his wife who would have stopped him if she could. Aunt Chloe who is so proud of her family and her cooking, the politician who is softer than his bluster, the Quakers who are courageous and kind, the St. Claire's and Ophelia, Simon Legree and Cassy populate a book that is memorable and alive.Also in this reading I was interested in the business of slave trading---the warehouses, the dealing, the economics of driving slaves on a cotton plantation. What she wrote is consistent with what I had studied and also what I read in "Twelve Years a Slave" and the story of Charles Bass. It is absolutely horrifying and absolutely true. The book woke up those who had not been abolitionists to what was going on in the deep South and was one of many causes for the Civil War.What I didn't like was all the editorializing. I thought she overdid it as a narrator, talking about how this kind of person does this or that. That was especially annoying at the very end when she should have just finished her story instead of preaching. Still, as a Christian novel, the martyrdom of Uncle Tom is something I am still thinking about.The Kindle edition was fine. There are page numbers, which I liked.

Slavery : the dark side of American History.From Uncle Tom ' s destiny to Barack Obama ' s , America is improving.

Many of the classics are difficult to read with a modern brain. Not this one. This book is a very entertaining read, slightly heavy on the God thing, which I don't mind as a believer. No need to hark on further as this book is already well known.

perfect!!!

La cruda realidad de los esclavos en el siglo XVIII y XIX. Aunque la esclavirud despues fue trasladada a los paises del tercer mundo