Chapters 14-16

This forum is for the discussion of Uncle Tom's Cabin, Chapters 14-16.

Tom wins the trust of Haley and is able to roam the river boat unchained. He befriends a little girl named Evangeline. They become friends. Eva, as she is called, doesn’t know the difference of black and white skin. She is pure and honest. She speaks her mind. Without having an opinion about slavery, one can see that there is no argument about Eva’s loving feelings toward mankind. Tom saves her from drowning and wins her heart. Eva’s naïve openness shows the reader that there are good natured people even from the South. Stowe is using this book to portray the horrors of slavery but does display some objectiveness in this situation. Eva is mostly raised by her father who is a gentle southern man. With all the opportunities Eva has she displays strong character to speak her mind, no matter who it is with.

Stowe does a wonderful job with the discussion of North and South when Miss Ophelia, St. Claire and Marie sit down and discuss Sunday church and slavery. We are set in the deep south and there are many different opinions about slavery. Marie is a very unhappy, hypochondriac who is pathetic in her attempts to get her own opinion known. Miss Ophelia is from the North and has lived without slaves just fine. St. Claire is a bit of a mystery. He is passive about the treatment of slaves, and does treat them well. I conclude that he could live with them or live without them. Eva blew me away when she stated that she would rather live in the south with slavery because there was more people to love around her.

I also thought that this was an interesting contrast in views regarding slavery.

Eva- clearly sees beyond the skin, and acts only on her love of people, though she is aware of the way things work, since she encourages her father to "buy him for me"

Marie- holds the 'cliche' southern view, that slaves need their place, and that they are better off slaves than free

Ophelia's- views are clearly put by St. Clare when he points out that she likes the ideals of freedom and equality, but hasn't acted on them, as she still retains prejudices. "You would not have them abused, but you don't want to have anything to do with them yourelf."

St. Clare's- view is described "I could sooner show twenty what were good to be done, than to be one of the twenty to follow iin my own showing." and "I am one of the sort that lives by throwing stones at other people's glass houses, but I never mean to put up one for them to stone."
Similar to his cousiin, he likes the ideals and treats his slaves very well, he continues to perpetuate slavery by owning people.

St. Claire doesn't have the strength to do with is clearly right. I can't say I condone his actions. We do see that the "nicer" slave owners want to help, but their peer pressure stops them.

Stowe does show us one side of slave owners. We will see in the future that life is not all happy. I really don't think there were many of the nicer owners.

I was surprised at the cost of the slaves both here and in the early chapters. This was at a time when earning a dollar a day would have been something and buying slaves for hundreds of dollars must mean the traders carried large sums of money. Just think what the cost of Tom to Mr. St. Clare must represent, and yet Mr. haley took it as a 'loss' when lucy jumped off the boat and drowned. I was surprrised he didn't try and make the Shelbys responsible when eliza ran away with harry and make them give him a different child for the loss of harry.I enjoyed reading about the journey down the missippi and all of the desrption Ms. Stowe used about how the masion the St. Clares live in. She can really make me see her charcters, too. Her narrative stylehas been good, too.
I think Eva represents what many kids are like when they are small in that they don't see people in terms of skin color.They just recognize them as 'oh, that's a person.' Like 'Oh, that's a dog.'or oh, that's a flower', not a rose, or a jonquil, or a tulip. they have to be taught that there is some kind of difference or persieved difference, either by their family members or by their peers. Do you remember that from being a little kid at grade school, and not knowing why nobady sat next to 'glenda'? Well, hello, she was a 'mexican'.... that happened to me in the third grade. I was really confused.

I was raised back east in NJ and we had every culture and race. I don't think much of the skin color. I am more mindful of how the area we live in now is very sensitive to issues of immigration.