8 of 13
Major characters
Eliza Harris wife of George Harris, is a relatively privileged slave of the Shelbys and a devout Christian. Although her life has been one of bondage, her mistress has been kind to her, her marriage has been pleasant, and she trusts that God will take care of her if she obeys her master. But when she discovers that, contrary to his promises and the demands of human decency, her master is going to sell her young son Harry to the unscrupulous slave trader Mr. Haley, she immediately decides to run away. Gathering a few possessions, she disappears one night and heads for the Ohio River, hoping to make it across the border from Kentucky into Ohio – the South to the North – slavery to freedom.
6 of 13
Plot Summary
Tom is not so lucky. He is taken away from his wife and children. Tom is sold first to a kind master, Augustine St. Clare, and then to the fiendish Simon Legree, at whose hands he meets his death. Near the end of the book, after George Shelby frees his slaves, he tells them that, when they look at Uncle Tom’s cabin, they should remember their freedom and dedicate thems -elves to leading a Christian life like Uncle Tom’s.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Group Members:
1 of 13
5/15/2014
Introduction to Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896)
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American author and active abolitionist . Her novel Uncle Tom‘s Cabin (1852) was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom. It energized（激励） anti-slavery forces in the American North, while provoking widespread anger in the South. She wrote more than 20 books, including novels, three travel memoirs, and collections of articles and letters.
9 of 13
Major characters
The five-year old Litter “” Eva is characterized as a beautiful, angelic child. It is a female character that can’t be ignored. Eva’s name is “Evangeline St. Clare”; “Evangeline” symbols the ideal image of an angel. In Bible, angel is sent by God to help and save those who needed. The little Eva is full of love and friendliness to others. She tries to do her bit to help others. In this way, she is just like an angel sent by God. Somehow she always tries to put herself on equality with every creature that comes near her. Tom and her become best friends, and they are bonded by the common love they have for those around them.
5 of 13
Plot Summary （又名：黑奴吁天录）
Tells the stories of three slaves — Tom, Eliza, and George — who start out together in Kentucky, but whose lives take different turns. Eliza and George, who are married to each other but owned by dቤተ መጻሕፍቲ ባይዱfferent masters,manage to escape to free territory with their little boy, Harry.
《汤姆叔叔的小屋》题解 Dred, A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp 《德雷德阴暗大沼地故事》
The Minister's Wooing 《部长的求爱》
3 of 13
Writing style：
In fact, Stowe's best writing is about village life in the New England's states in the 19th century. Her settings were often described accurately and in detail. In this sense, she was an important forerunner to the realistic movement that became popular later in the 19th century. . Uncle Tom's Cabin,like most of Stowe's novels,is rambling in structure（漫无边际的结 构）,but rich in pains and dramatic incident. It is one of the best examples of the socalled sentimental fiction (感伤小说)that enjoyed popularity in the United States during the 1800s.
4 of 13
Background of Uncle Tom's Cabin
Stowe was partly inspired to . create Uncle Tom's Cabinby the autobiography of Josiah Henson（乔赛亚·亨森）,a black slave who escaped slavery in 1830 by fleeing to the Province of Upper Canada (now Ontario安大略省), where he helped other fugitive slaves arrive and become self-sufficient, and where he wrote his memoirs.
10 of 13
Major themes 1.Slavery is an evil institution. 2.Faith in God sustains and ennobles the oppressed 3.True courage does not require violence 4.The human soul is neither black nor white 5.No human being has the right to deprive another human being of freedom. 6.Little children are blind to adult prejudice.
2 of 13
Partial list of Works：
1834 1841
The Mayflower 《五月花》
Mark Meriden 《马克·梅里登》 Uncle Tom's Cabin 《汤姆叔叔的小屋》
1852 1853 1856
1859
A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin