Thursday, January 26, 2012
Let's get this started...So Uncle Tom's Cabin...
I must admit that I have read, Uncle Tom's Cabin before; however, it has been decades.The first thing that leaps from the pages is the continued reference to squadrons. From what I know of the south and early colonies most plantations and estates were populated by the help(African Americans) and the family(not African American) was the minority. Which usually implies that there is relations going on with the master and the help. This was very common and even our founding fathers partook in master-slave relations. I find the opening chapters very foreshadowing, from the clear class lines between slaves and even masters. The clues that show that selling their(Mr.Shelby) slaves is a must not a want. I look forward to re-reading Uncle Tom's Cabin and hope to be able to look deeper into it this go around.
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I found the relationship between Mr. Shelby and his slaves to seem more like a friendship. Mr. and Mrs. Shelby both seem to genuinely care about their workers.
ReplyDeleteEven though the Shelbys care about their workers, the slaves are still viewed as property that can just be passed along hoping for the best.
ReplyDeleteI have never really cared for Mr. Shelby. He appears to be such a loving, wonderful person who cares for the well-being of everyone yet he allows his slaves to be traded to one of the most notriously harsh slave-traders. I think redemption would be possible for him if he were to take up Mrs. Shelyb's offer to accept the gold watch as payment.
ReplyDeleteShelby's* (sorry)
ReplyDeleteMaria, I'm also having a difficult time feeling compassion for Mr. Shelby. I think he's really detestable. On page 37, when Mr. and Mrs. Shelby find out that Eliza is gone, Mr. Shelby expresses to his wife that his honor will be ruined. What honor??? How do you get rid of a man (Uncle Tom) that has been nothing but loyal and kind to you?? Mr. Shelby and Uncle Tom practically grew up together. Its super appalling how easily he can let Uncle Tom go. Its sad to think that Uncle Tom may have thought himself a part of Mr. Shelby's family, and now he has to abruptly realize that when compared to money, he is worthless in Shelby's eyes.
ReplyDeleteYeah--Shelby is kind of awful. (We talked about this in class a bit.)
ReplyDeleteThe quadroon/mixed slave issue is an important one in this book. Keep an eye on it, especially how the full-blooded black slaves are treated compared to the mixed slaves.