This novel opens on the Shelby plantation somewhere in Kentucky before the Civil War. The Shelby’s own numerous slaves all of whom they treat as though they are family. Unfortunately, at the opening of the book it is understood that Mr. Shelby has gotten into some financial difficulties, and the only way out of debt is to sell some of his slaves. He is left no other choice but to sell his most faithful and hardest working slave, Tom, and a little boy named Harry. Mr. Haley, a slave trader comes to the Shelby plantation one afternoon to finalize the deal, but the transaction is overheard by Eliza, Harry’s mother.
She goes into a panic and swears that she will not allow them to take her child, so she tries to persuade Tom to run away with her and Harry. Tom refuses because, being the loyal man that he is, he knows that Mr. Shelby is only doing what he has to do. This does not discourage Eliza from doing what she has to do, running away. Due to the separation of these two parties, Stowe spends the remainder of the novel updating their progress in designated chapters.
Eliza and Harry leave the plantation as soon as they can get away, but their absence is discovered quickly, and this sends Mr. Haley searching for his property. At one point, Haley is so hot on her trail that Eliza has to miraculously run across blocks of ice on the Ohio River holding her son. When they reach the other side, they are taken in by a nice family that introduces them to a Quaker network that aides slaves in their pursuit of freedom. Like many other slaves at that time, Eliza is determined to reach Canada. Along the way, Eliza is reunited with her husband, George, and eventually the entire family reaches their destination.
Tom’s journey is not filled with so many fortunate situations. He is bought by a nice man, Mr. St. Clare who has a daughter, Little Eva. Eva has a great impact on the life of Tom and the other characters in the novel with her angelic qualities. Unfortunately, within days of each other, Eva and Mr. St. Clare die, and all the St. Clare slaves are left in the hands of Maria, the wife. She always hated the slaves and thought that her husband treated them too nicely, so when she gets this opportunity, she vows to teach them a lesson, and she sells them down the river.
It is here that Tom’s life takes a turn for the worst. He is bought by an evil man, Simon Legree, who prided himself on being able to “break” all of his slaves, but Tom is different. He is untouchable. Tom’s great faith in God taught him to be honest and good, and no matter what Legree does, these attributes remain part of Tom. This just angers Legree more, and he eventually has Tom beaten to a point which he never recovers. While Tom is trying to heal from this beating, he is introduced to Casey, another slave of Legree’s who desperately needs to run away.
She has lost all faith in God after being stripped of her children years ago and subjected to a life of hatred, but after talking with Tom she finally obtains faith, and with this new faith she is able to contrive a way to escape the deserted plantation with one of the other young slaves, Emmeline. The two of them escape victoriously, but since Tom will not tell Legree where the two have gone, he is beaten again, but this time he does not recover. The son of Mr. Shelby rescues Tom just before his death.
This is a hopeless feat, but Tom is able to tell George, the son, some final words for his wife, Aunt Chloe, and the others. After Tom’s death, Master George gives Tom a proper burial on his return home where he meets up with Cassy and Emmeline. It is here that Cassy discovers that her daughter, whom she thought she would never see again, is Eliza, so Master George brings the two girls to Canada where the family is reunited. When he finally returns home, George grants Tom’s final wish and emancipates all the Shelby slaves.
When he informs them of the news, he tells each of them to think of their freedom every time they pass Uncle Tom’s Cabin and let it be a memorial to try to live as honestly and faithfully as Tom with God as their leader. This statement comes at the very end of the book, and it is not until the end that the title of Stowe’s novel is understood by the reader. I found Uncle Tom’s Cabin to be a very well put book. It has opened my eyes to what life was like back in the time of slavery. I rate this book a nine. I found it well written and very worth reading.
The one thing that didn’t seem to give it that one-point to make it a ten was that some of the local color in the story was very difficult to understand and to read. If you have time to read a story whose dialect is hard to read at some points. This novel was rated a 10 for entertainment. There never was a dull moment in this novel. Whenever you turned a page something new was happening. The theme I rate in this book as a nine, also. The theme was Man vs Man. Overall, the book was excellence and would recommend it to everyone that is worth reading.