Uncle Toms Cabin :: Uncle Toms Cabin Literature Papers

Uncle Toms Cabin Methodological IntroductionIn writing this essay, I was specifically interested in discovering what was behind the genre protest against Uncle Toms Cabin. Consequently, the brunt of my research has been historical -- seeking out criticisms of the refreshful, written immediately or shortly after its publication, that deal with the get it on of genre. Although this study is by no means general, I have attempted to do a general digest of the specific protests themselves, and then use this analysis as a means to demonstrate the shortcomings and advantages of fiction, specifically as seen in Uncle Toms Cabin, and how Stowe exploited them to her own purposes. The major limitation of this essay is a lack of comprehensive historical research. The research I was able to do within the limited scope of this project is only a scratching of the surface. That is why I margin my analysis general. As well, I have been fairly free in my application of this analysis as indicativ e of Stowe exploitation the genre of fiction. This has helped me appreciate the power of the novel more deeply, but may be more undergraduate conjecture than solid academic analysis. Essay The Little Lady Dost Protest Too Much, Methinks metaphor has enormous power. It can inspire those who read it to acts of great courage. Or it can incite them to destructive hatred. There are countless examples of the power of narrative. Jesus very much told parables -- pithy, fable-like stories -- to illustrate his teaching. According to St. Matthews Gospel, when Jesus told the Parable of the Vineyard the chief priests and Pharisees perceived he was speaking of them and sought to lay hands of him (21.45-46). Apparently the religious leadership understood the point directed against them by the fictional narrative and did not appreciate its meaning. When Harriet Beecher Stowe published her anti-slavery novel, Uncle Toms Cabin, in 1852, Southerners naturally took offense. Indeed, they were outraged . After all, the novel attacked the basis of their full way of life. Slave-run plantations were an essential part of Southern culture. Uncle Toms Cabin created a furor of controversy and even violent responses. The Southern Literary Messenger warned its readers that Stowe speaks for a hulking and dangerous faction that must be put down by the pen, else we may be compelled one day (God grant that the day may neer come) to repel them them with the bayonet (Duvall 163).