Chapters 34-38

This forum is for the discussion of Uncle Tom's Cabin, Chapters 34-38

As readers we get another taste of the horrors of slavery with Tom. Legree sees that Tom has a strong will. He wants to break it. He forbids religion and Tom's faith is stronger. He beats him and is put in the gin house. Cassy helps him afterwards and tries to heal him. She has a story too. She has children and they are all taken away. She finally has one last child and can't bear to have the child grow up in slavery so she kills it at 2 weeks. How awful.

Legree is a terrible person and is going to try to break Tom. Legree is getting paranoid and sees a ghost in the fog. Tom is starting to loose faith, but after singing a hymn he sees Jesus Christ. There is nothing that can harm him now. He is also given the opportnity to flee with Cassy and doesn't. He talks her out of killing Legree. Stowe shows us that religion is a strong part of Tom's life.

We are back with George and Eliza. Stowe is showing us that people did succeed to get to Canada and find their freedom.

I believe that the contrast between George and Eliza's story and Tom and Cassie makes both the victory and the horrors seem even more extreme than they are. We often have seen the parallels between characters and stories through out this book.

SparkNotes made a good point, that the book has also created a geographic division. Begining in the middle (Kentucky), and the more North the characters travel, the kinder the people, closer to freedom, free from opressors. The farther south you travel, the more oppressed, mean, hateful, trying.

Could you imagine living in Kentucky or Ohio where you have to choose a side daily. That must have been horrible. Get a merchant angry and he won't provide services for you, etc.

Cassys story is evealed to us as also being a quadroon who is betrayed by bother her white father and her white lover in New Orleans. She is beaten down by her life and has pretty much given up, though she hold some power over Legree. She is inspried by toms passive resistance and her ned to try and save Emmaline from the kind of life she herself experienced. she plots an escape based upon Legrees gulit and fear over something that occurred in the upper reaches of the house.
Tom seems to be gathering strenght form his internal committment to God and Legree and his men tke it as a sign he is planning to scape. Cassy tries to get Tom to kill Legree after she has given legree a sleeping draught, but Tom won't committ murder even when it could set them all free. He continues to say he forgives his enemies.