Critical Commentary

>>My Theme: Sexual Slavery
>>What I Read: Who Gets to Create the Lasting Images? The Problem of Black Representation in Uncle Tom's Cabin by Sophia Cantave

Right off the bat, we’re posed with an important question, one I still find myself asking: How did Stowe, as opposed to Mary Prince and Harriet Wilson (Who wrote The History of Mary Prince and Our Nig  respectively), get her novel to be the one that became, as Cantave describes it, “the proverbial shot hear around the world” or slavery? How did a white, free woman’s take on slavery become the benchmark and overshadow two actual African American writers with arguably truer experiences? While she acknowledges the importance of the novel, as does just about anyone who criticizes it, she brings u the question of how Stowe got the chance to “study” the subjects of her novel. (Stowe has been sited saying “My vocation is simply that of a painter, and my object will be to hold up the most lifelike and graphic manner possible Slavery, its reverses, changes, and the negro character, which I have had ample opportunities for studying”) We have to consider the negative impact all of this had on the movement of popular US culture, whether Stowe intended it or not. The biggest point, in essence, is the fact that Stowe was a white woman stirring the pot she may not have necessarily been qualified to stir. “A first, a return to Uncle Toms Cabin feels like a return to a crime scene with too many nagging questions left unanswered.”

Another point is that Stowe did her best in using what she had at hand, for example the different ways blacks would interact with other black, or how blacks interacted with whites. “By mixing the tragic and the laughable, Uncle Tom’s Cabin gives white people and black people a way to read slavery together…Thus the joking relationship and the various and the various uses of the comic exist as one of the earliest acceptable signs of black subordination and one the slaves continuously manipulated. But the comic interactions as Stowe uses them do not so much subvert as reinforce the existing order.” But this did more harm than good by reinforcing the fact that slavery did not make for “good art”. It was a messy subject, and its almost like Stowe was trying to make a more critically consumable version of it, rather than the raw truth of it all. 

Here’s where I see a tie- in for my theme: “…Stowe gives herself the power to draw the veil when writing on slavery.” This is absolutely a constant throughout the story. Stowe likes to pick and choose which parts she chooses to show, which ones will be most impactful. In a way, this works for her. It must have, the novel has held up to the last 150+ years. But at the same time she slits her own throat in the proper portrayal that gives the most “fair” representation. Slavery was not neat. It wasn’t anything close to it. But Stowe chooses what makes good art for her, and the experiences of the slaves she writes about, and in a way writes for, suffers because of it. She discounts the actual experiences of enslaved people by banking more on her own experience of what will make the best kind of art, father than staying true to a matter she honestly doesn’t know much about. And even today, some of the images she enforced with her writing are still holding fast. 

She goes on to compare Stow’s writing to Wilson’s, in the way that Wilson portrays her main character Fredo. In focusing more on the characters themselves rather than the circumstances of “white benevolence” like  Stowe did, her narrative is ultimately more powerful and successful in the portrayal of black slave life and the effects it had on those involved. And even those who weren’t. In Wilson’s novel, Fredo’s husband feels like he has to play the role of former slave to get support from abolitionists in the North. This also bring sup the raw truth that northern abolitionists, though supportive, could have done so much more with their free voices than they did. They only seemed interested in helping the currently enslaved, rather than trying to free any and all blacks that could possibly some under fire. But, that’s a different novel entirely. The point is, Stowe didn’t do it correctly, which isn’t entirely surprising, given she was a privileged white woman  as opposed to the actual black voices that lived through the horrors of slavery. 

This is something I can get behind. I’ve had a feeling since the beginning that this wasn’t the way things should have been handled. The idea of a white woman writing a narrative for slavery, as great as it was for the time, never sat well with me. It’s important to understand what I mean when I say this. Uncle Tom’s Cabin has undeniable impact and range in it’s subject matter. Stowe didn’t completely drop the ball, she did a lot of it right. It furthered the cause of abolitionism and is credited with helping to start the Civil War. But it’s undeniable that there was a lot of problematic imprints left behind with it as well, some even seen today. 

A man named Albion Tourgee conducted a fifteen year long study where black slaves read or were read to from Uncle Tom’s Cabin and their thought were recorded afterwards. The dichotomy was either nervous silences or complete agreement with Stowe’s words. But one slave was recorded as saying that Stowe “didn’t know what slavery was so left out the worst of it.” I think that’s still the biggest problem with the novel. Stowe was maybe a little afraid to include some of the rougher aspects, or maybe just plain didn’t know about or understand them. Product of the times or not, it definitely suffers for it in the long run. It provides such a toothless, watered down version that it ultimately hurts the purpose of the narrative. But boiling everything down to “white benevolence” like mentioned above, rather than the raw truths of runaway slaves, ended up hurting the narrative even with actual slaves. 

I’ve agreed with just about everything I read in this essay. It’s put into words what I’ve been feeling reading the entirely of this book, and that’s the fact that it only hits the target about half of the time. It’s like treating the symptoms, but not ultimately the cause (even though the cause was resolved later on, after all of this.) Cantave says it best early on: “Thus, despite her best intentions, Uncle Tom’s Cabin betrays her overwhelming race and class privileges and the way she herself helped to further limit African Americans’ access to the dominant language and their own literary portrayal of slave experience.”

Reader Response

>>My Theme: Sexual Slavery
>>Comment threads taken from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Goodreads   

Average Barnes and Noble Rating- 3.9

((Let me tell you guys, did anyone else have trouble finding all the good revies on the BnN page? Half of them just had a star rating and no actual description, or a very brief one. Oh well.))

Right off the bat, this is one of the first reviews I come across; It calls Uncle Tom's Cabin "historical[ly] important, but at the best tedious to get through." One of the biggest complaints I saw was that the language was hard to get through, though that's to be expected because of when it was written. I have to agree with this one, because we just don't speak like that anymore. Years form now someone is probably going to have a hard time reading all of our contemporary works as well, because that's just how it is. Language changes. But that's a fairly common and ultimately benign problem. 
Another one I saw a lot of was the mention of the spirituality in the book and how Stowe uses it as much as she can. The review I quoted above argued that Stowe could have gone without it, like Mark Twain did with his novels, but I have to disagree with that one. “I strongly recommend it for Christians to read, because we do sometimes forget how to hold onto our faith, when times are bad.” This was a pretty common thread throughout any of the reviews that mentioned spirituality at all. And I tend to agree; it was paramount at the time for Stowe to include Christianity, because of all the revivals that were popping up all over. And especially because some people were using it as an excuse for slavery. It hadn’t changed much in the modern day, you’ll still see people using the Bible as an excuse for a lot of things. This part of the narrative holds up especially well, it seems, in the modern day.
Everyone says it’s hard to read, but everyone also agrees on how historically impactful and ultimately important it is. It’s hard to disagree with the visible impact it’s left behind on American history, and how it ultimately shaped our country. I didn’t find many reviews here I disagreed with.


Average Goodreads Rating- 3.8

People over here feel a little more strongly, or at least leave stronger reviews. One such review called it one of the worst pieces of American literature ever written, and I have to be honest, I laughed a little at how scathing the review was. It was ridiculous, PLEASE read it below. Unlike BnN though, that was common thread in these reviews. A lot of people were saying that the book was bad; not necessarily the material itself, but Stowe’s writing A lot of people criticized the way she writes, and not just the fact that it’s an old narrative point. One review puts it very eloquently. “Important? Yes. Good? No.”
One specific review has been my favorite so far; They talk about how Stowe’s characters fall into specific archetypes, that that it hurts the narrative for her to oppose slavery but also include bits of “romantic racism”. What I think they mean by that, from my interpretation, is that the characters are so easily moved by the sentiments that people like Eliza and Tom are laying down. Like we said in class, it was pretty slim pickings for characters that weren’t moved in some way by them. It seemed a little too convenient at times, and that kind of sounds like what they may be talking about,. Like it painted them all as good Christian people, despite everything that happened. Not one of them holds on to their previous sentiments, or really answers for anything that they did. They just see the light and that’s the end of it. “I wrote about ten pages of analysis of this book for my Social Protest Literature class. During that time I could not help but compare it to the Dove Real Beauty campaign. Dove promotes body positivity, and at the same time it over-emphasizes the role of beauty and discounts a lot of diversity. Stowe opposes slavery, and she also includes sentiments of romantic racism and overt Christian bias in her book. If you read Uncle Tom’s Cabin, I would recommend approaching it from a critical lens; it did a lot to progress racial equality, while still enforcing a slew of problematic ideas we still see in today’s discussion of race.”
It’s also interesting to note that some people are citing an even bigger impact after the Presidential election that may or may not have upset some of us.


Average Amazon rating- 4.5

Reviews with Amazon were a lot more easygoing than either of the sites before. Already we’re at 4.5 out of 5 stars, whereas it barely missed 4 stars before. Reviews also tended to be much longer here. It was a little harder to find a lower than 5 star review in the first few pages, which had been pretty easy for me to find before. There was also a lot more mentions of spirituality than before. For one review, that was all they really concluded with it. “Beautifully written, this book brought out so many emotions but the most surprising feeling was how it uplifted my faith. This book could be written about current events as easily as it was slavery because the truth, and what this book reminds us all, is the power of God.” While I agree that the narrative was definitely improved with all the Christian overtones at the time, it seems a little harder to hold up now. What it does is expose the hypocrisy of people using the Bible to justify certain thoughts or actions. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a testament to the power of God, more a testament to the power of humans and their capacity for evil as well as good. Boiling the narrative down to just the Christian tones is a bit of a disservice to some of the other, arguably more important, aspects of the book.
Someone actually brought up the current impact it had in the twentieth century, rather than just alluding to how it still connected. “How could anyone get through the American public school system without having read this very important classic. I was raised at the height of the sixies civil rights movement, and as a white middle-class Westerner, I alwys had a heart for my Black friends' struggles, but didn't know why. Now, having read Uncle Tom's Cabin, I have a partial glimpse into the Black struggle in America and elsewhere.” I think this is more of an impact than the spirituality. Now more than ever. We’re seeing what is essentially a second Civil rights movement, especially when you look at the Black Lives Matter campaign. It’s important to remember how far we’ve come from the way it was, how hard so many people have fought to get and keep the rights they have. And we still have such a way to go. If there’s one thing that should carry over from this past generation to ours, it’s the importance of racial equality more than the power of spirituality. After all, people have a choice to be good or not. It doesn’t matter how Christian they claim to be, in the case of this book.
And then we come back to the argument I’m seeing more of and starting to agree with even more that Stowe’s writing is weak, but the sentiment behind it is what matters. “The book isn't great as literature, but as a propaganda piece, it's pretty effective. As literature, much of the book is overly dramatic and sentimental. The characters are two-dimensional, and the story wraps up pretty neatly. The writing is decent. There's never a moment, though, in which you forget that the story is the carrier for the message, rather than the other way around..” At first, I felt kind of bad for agreeing with these reviews. Don’t get me wrong, as a narrative piece on the wrongs of slavery, it’s exactly what it needs to be. But Stowe’s writing isn’t what makes it so impactful. It’s the message behind it. I kind of covered before how her characters fall neatly into archetypes nine times out of ten, and how that hurts the narrative of some characters, as well as the impact they have (at least for me). As a piece of literature, its not spectacular, but it’s the message that counts. The fact that it’s held up in some ways and not others is a big indicator of how well it was written and how it translates into the modern day. It’s a sad fact that some of the issues here are still issues, but that’s just how it is. Maybe that’s why I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I was expecting to At first I felt guilty, but now I feel pretty good in justifying it properly.







Read the reviews I sited in full down below!

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/reviews/uncle-toms-cabin-harriet-beecher-stowe/1116705392?ean=9781593081218
 

((Apologies for the formatting on the first one, that’s just how the review was))

1. I’ve observed that persons reading this book fall into one of two categories. The first group consists of individuals having enthusiasm and amazement with a gripping story that vividly describes the horrors of slavery in 19th century America. These folks note that even Abraham Lincoln recognized the importance of this book (based on the apocryphal story of Mr. Lincoln saying to Harriet Stowe words to the effect, ‘So you’re the lady who started this war.’ The book’s historical and social impact can’t be questioned. The other group of readers, which include myself, find the book filled with too many sermons, characters who are like cardboard cut-outs (predictable, one-dimensional), language that is unbelievably stilted and a writing style that can only be characterized as maudlin in the extreme. This group of readers finds the novel to be of great historical importance, but at best tedious to get through. One particularly set of awful chapters describe the death of Little Eva, an angelic little blonde girl who reads the bible, chides her parents for not being more Christian like and describes with anticipation her death after which she’ll be in heaven. Her final request is that locks of her hair be given to her close friends and family, including the slaves. If not for its inclusion in this historically important novel, I would nominate these chapters as entries for competition as the worst literature ever written. It was also hard to believe that, according to the characters in this book, the only persons who could possibly behave in a decent way were God fearing Christians…the rest of them were going to hell. Contrast this with Mark Twain’s writings on slavery which argue that slavery is an intrinsic evil with no need to refer to any religion at all. Remember the scene on a raft in Huckleberry Finn where Huck decides not to write to Jim’s master about helping Jim escape, accepting what the ministers said and concluding “All right, then, I’ll GO to hell” This kind of humanism is entirely missing from “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. I give this book high marks for its historical importance, but low marks as a piece of good writing. And would direct readers interested in this period of American history to the novels and essays of Mark Twain.

2. I loved this book. I will admit that it wasn't an easy read. But I was determined to finish it anyway. It had so many valuable life lessons that I don't have the space or time to mention them all. I strongly recommend it for christians to read, because we do sometimes forget how to hold on to our faith, when times are bad. I laughed and cried, and I feel so much more enlightened now about faith and love. I hope I'll never forget the teachings in this book.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46787.Uncle_Tom_s_Cabin

3. Important? Yes. Good? No.

4. This book launched the Civil War, and at what cost? In her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe writes about the plight of enslaved individuals, and she relies on religion to advance her argument that slavery should not exist. The characters often appear as nothing more than archetypes. Stowe's writing comes across as propaganda more times than not. And yet the story of Uncle Tom's Cabin itself possesses an undeniable power, a strength fueled by outright sentimentalism and moralist rhetoric.

I wrote about ten pages of analysis of this book for my Social Protest Literature class. During that time I could not help but compare it to the Dove Real Beauty campaign. Dove promotes body positivity, and at the same it over-emphasizes the role of beauty and discounts a lot of diversity. Stowe opposes slavery, and she also includes sentiments of romantic racism and overt Christian bias in her book. If you read Uncle Tom's Cabin, I would recommend approaching it from a critical lens; it did a lot to progress racial equality, while still enforcing a slew of problematic ideas we still see in today's discussions of race.

Overall, an important book in our nation's history and one I would encourage people to read if they possess an interest in the institution of slavery or social protest literature in general. Not the most eloquent book ever written, but revolution does not always require a lot of eloquence, as evidenced by this story and many others.



https://www.amazon.com/Uncle-Toms-Cabin/product-reviews/B001I7RS40/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_paging_btm_2?pageNumber=2
 
5. ((When I went back to find this review, I couldn’t for the life of me locate it, I’ll update as soon as I track it down!!))

6. How could anyone get through the American public school system without having read this very important classic. I was raised at the height of the sixies civil rights movement, and as a white middle-class Westerner, I alwys had a heart for my Black friends' struggles, but didn't know why. Now, having read Uncle Tom's Cabin, I have a partial glimpse into the Black struggle in America and elsewhere. Getting past the "slave" and Southern dialect was the hardest comprehension part for me. Getting past the joy and sorrow of the story was upper most in this book for my emotions. It is a story about human suffering as well as triumph, of graciousness as well as anger and hatred. It is good -v- evil in spades. Every American as well as others should read this to further their edification.

7. For some reason, I never got around to reading this when I was young. When I found it as a free download, I thought I might as well do it now.

Generally, I agree with many of the other commenters. The book isn't great as literature, but as a propaganda piece, it's pretty effective. As literature, much of the book is overly dramatic and sentimental. The characters are two-dimensional, and the story wraps up pretty neatly. The writing is decent. There's never a moment, though, in which you forget that the story is the carrier for the message, rather than the other way around.

On the propagandist front, Stowe makes a very good effort at showing several sides of the key issues: religion and slavery. There's no question which side she is on, but there are nuances even among the slave owners, and she castigates Northerners just as thoroughly. All in all, it's a very effective piece of anti-slavery propaganda, often through fairly direct argument to the reader. If anything, she's light on the horrible effects of the slave trade, focusing most often on emotional disruption.

Unfortunately, while consciously fighting the evil of slavery, Stowe often relies heavily on stereotype (blacks are naturally generous, credulous, and good cooks; women are emotional and not naturally suited to business). That's largely a sign of the time, of course, and she was much more progressive than most, so it doesn't grate as much as it might otherwise.

Equally troubling is the inescapable religious message. Stowe is clearly a Christian, and the solution to just about everything in the world is just for people to accept Christ into their lives. Do that, and you can die happy, even as a beaten, tortured man who's been ripped from his own family and several others. Conversely, in the final chapter - a direct appeal to readers - she suggests that only Christian Americans have a responsibility to do anything about slavery; atheists apparently get a free pass. To her credit, Stowe offers a reasonably balanced portrait of an agnostic in the book, but her underlying message about Christianity is hammered in, page after page. She never considers that 'Africans' might have their own beliefs, but that's pretty much true for everyone else she describes as well.

All in all, worth reading for its historical value as an argument against slavery at a crucial time in the United States, if not as a work of dramatic literature.

* It seems unfair that the book is associated with the term 'Uncle Tom'. While in some ways the usage is accurate, the Uncle Tom in the book acts the way he does in part because he's a pious Christian, and he's only one of a range of slave characters shown. More to the point, despite Tom's obedience, he doesn't come out of things very well.