Comments on: Uncle Tom’s Cabin Quiz

By: Madeline F

Madeline F — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 23:57:17 +0000

Oh, hell, I screwed that up royally. I guess I should go read the book. Cripes. ::embarassed::

By: Madeline F

Madeline F — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 23:48:25 +0000

(Came here on your link from Making Light and scanned the front page, though I’ve been by several times before and see you on FemSF)

1 – Uncle Tom’s Cabin is about a young slave couple who are trying to escape and so they can be together.

2 – Uncle Tom: has a cabin. Turns the young couple in (they were hiding in his cabin?)

3 – Never read it. Picked stuff up from history books and “The King and I” movie.

4 – I know it was extremely influential in getting Northern White people to empathize with the sufferings of enslaved blacks, and work for abolition. Most books I’ve read from the 1800s have been too dry and old-fashioned for me, though, so I don’t have much hope of liking it.

By: Stentor

Stentor — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 02:03:37 +0000

Without looking it up on the Internet (or anywhere else), can you tell me what Uncle Tom’s Cabin is about?
Something about slavery.

Can you tell me anything about the eponymous character?
He’s a man, with one or more nieces or nephews (possibly metaphorical), and a cabin.

If you read the book, when did you do so? In school or on your own?
Never read it.

Based on your existing knowledge of the book, what opinion do you have of it?
I know it’s an Important Book In American History, but beyond that nothing.

By: Sylvia

Sylvia — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 18:34:36 +0000

To be honest, I liked the story of Eliza way better than that of Uncle Tom. I read the book on my own sometime in college after a friend gave it to me. I didn’t come away from the novel hating Uncle Tom on principle as I think some people do after reading the novel. His character was created to make a point — even if a slave did love being a slave, did love serving his master, did all his work, good heart, asexual, God-fearing and fiercely loyal, the institution of slavery destroys humanity on both sides of the relationship. And in Eliza’s story, what can be characterized as the human spirit — the idea of liberty, of motherhood, of freedom — can be preserved only by escaping slavery. It’s a very simplistic view of how the slavery problem and all of its vestiges would be solved; but you have to remember that this book was written from a white perspective.

By: Aireanne

Aireanne — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 18:32:29 +0000

Everything I learned about Uncle Tom’s Cabin I learned from the King and I, in which a white woman “teaches” the King of Siam about the evils of slavery in America.

And either the king’s kids or his harem (I can’t remember which) do an adaptation which is almost fully included in the movie.

So, what I know about Uncle Tom’s Cabin: there’s a character named Eliza (”Poor Eliza! Run! Run!) An evil dude named Simon, and some dogs.

By: tallullah

tallullah — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 11:42:51 +0000

I never read it. Since we’re not supposed to look it up for this poll, my impression of what it’s about is that it’s a smarmy romanticized portrayal of the hardships of slavery and the characters the author portrayed became stereotypes of black folks. White folks tell me that it is the best story evah about race!!!1 Maybe it’s good, I dunno, but I would rather read about black folks outta the mouths of black folks, as in written directed and acted in our own stories kthx.

Are you going to tell us what this poll is all about and give us your impression?

By: profacero

profacero — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 23:58:05 +0000

I used to find it simplistic and it is often said that it (like the Spanish/Cuban Gertrudis Gomez de Avellaneda’s _Sab_ is at least as much about the situation of women as it is about slavery). However: as noted above, Tom is killed because he will not rat on another slave, so he’s not really a wuss, and the book certainly does not skimp on showing the violence of the whole system.

By: Deoridhe

Deoridhe — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 21:35:10 +0000

I’ve only heard the story from “The King and I”, so this is probably hugely inaccurate.

I remember it had to do with a woman and her child and their trying to escape. I think they got to freedom. Uncle Tom was hardly even mentioned. I remember the way it was told oddly mimiced the sub-plot of the illegal/wrong love affair of one of the King’s daughters.

As for Uncle Tom, I’ve mostly heard it used as an insult, indicating someone who colluded with his oppressors.

By: mhayinde

mhayinde — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 12:22:00 +0000

I was supposed to read it at school, but I didn’t – we studied so little to do with black history, I think I kind of resented that this was the only thing. I was well aware of the negative stereotype of “Uncle Tom” – fawning and subservient – and I didn’t want anything to do with that.

I remember the teachers telling us this book was a turning point in terms of how slaves were viewed.(I live in the UK, by the way.)

By: Weetz

Weetz — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 09:21:42 +0000

I read excerpts from this book during my Survey of American Literature class when I was 19. Because I didn’t read nearly the full of it, and because the class packed so much literature into so short a time to study it, I apologize in advance for my limited memory.

What I recall:
That it included some nasty stereotyping.
That the writer wrote herself into the book as one of the “nice white people” who helps one of the characters in the story line.
The main character is forced from what I guess is supposed to be a “nice master” to a series of different people, the last of which had a reputation for “going through” slaves in about two years by starving and abusing them.
There was a strong presence of Christianity, shown by the main character especially.

As for my opinion on it, I don’t think I can really say without going back and reading it in full. I know that from what I read, it left me with kind of a bitter taste in my mouth due to it’s simplistic characterization. There was other anit-slavery literature from that time period that I read and liked a lot more, but I’d have to go back and look up what it was.