Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom's Cabin is a novel by American abolitionist author Harriet Beecher Stowe which treats slavery as a central theme. The work was first published on March 20, 1852. The novel soon became the best-selling novel of the 19th century (and the second best-selling book of the century after the Bible)http://www.enotes.com/uncle-toms/ and is credited with helping to end slavery in the United States. Despite this, the book also helped create and spread common stereotypes about African Americans, many of which endure to this day.

Criticism and Stereotypes

When Uncle Tom's Cabin first appeared, it was roundly criticized by Southern slave owners and others who supported slavery (see the Anti-Tom literature section below for more information). In more recent years, readers have criticized the book for what is seen as condescending racist descriptions of the book's black characters, especially with regard to the character's appearance, speech, and behavior and the passive nature of Uncle Tom in accepting his fate.

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The novel's creation and use of common stereotypes about African Americans is important because Uncle Tom's Cabin was the best-selling novel in the world during the 19th century http://www.enotes.com/uncle-toms/. As a result, the book had a major role in permanently engraining these stereotypes into the American psyche.

Related Topics:
Stereotypes - African Americans

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Among the negative stereotypes in Uncle Tom's Cabin are:

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• The "happy darky" (in the lazy, carefree character of Sam);
• The light-skinned tragic mulatto as a sex object (in the characters of Eliza, Cassy, and Emmeline);
• The affectionate, dark-skinned female mammy (in the character of Mammy, who is a cook at the St. Clare plantation).
• The pickanniny stereotype of black children (in the character of Topsy);
• The Uncle Tom, or African American who is too eager to please white people (in the character of Uncle Tom).

In addition to the book's stereotyping of black people, some critics highlight Stowe's paucity of life-experience relating to Southern life, which lead her to create wrong descriptions of the region. For instance, she never set foot on a Southern plantation. However, Stowe always said she based the characters of her book on stories she was told by runaway slaves in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Stowe lived. It is reported that, "She observed firsthand several incidents which galvanized her to write famous anti-slavery novel. Scenes she observed on the Ohio River, including seeing a husband and wife being sold apart, as well as newspaper and magazine accounts and interviews, contributed material to the emerging plot." http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/Library/special/exhibits/clastext/clspg149.htm

Related Topics:
Cincinnati, Ohio - Ohio River

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In the last few decades these negative associations have to a large degree overshadowed the historical impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin. From the viewpoint of history, the book was a vital antislavery tool that helped turn public opinion against slavery in the United States.

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