After finishing Uncle Tom's Cabin, I've seen a few topics run throughout the entirety of the book. Morality is the topic that stuck out most for me. During the last several chapters, Tom is becoming more and more of a admirable character, making me like him even more. Most likely derived from his faith, Tom's morals are unwavering, despite the horrific experiences he's had in his lifetime. He states that he would rather "cut off his own hand" than kill Legree for Cassy, despite the despicable things Legree has done to his slaves. I find the ending to this book validating; Tom's death finally makes someone see slavery for how cruel it is. George's determination to try to end slavery is the best homage to Tom's life that I can think of.
My second Discussion "Topic" (nothing ever comes out as a question) is the topic of Mr. Simon Legree. I envision him to be a tall lanky man with a cane and a constant sneer, and he's probably creepy to everyone who comes across him. Though haunted by his mother's death and her final plea to stop being such a jerk (my words), he is insistent of being as cruel as humanly possible to his slaves. It seems like the worse his nightmares get, the worse he treats his slaves. It bothers me how he treats his slaves as disposable; he works them until they die, then buys more. I understand being tortured, but I've never seen such a bad ending for a bitter character. There is no enlightenment for him, no shining moment for him to realize what a crappy human being he's been. Although I do think that Tom's morality did rub off of him in some way, it wasn't enough to save his life.
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