汤姆叔叔的小屋论文
哈尔滨商业大学毕业论文
论《汤姆叔叔的小屋》中黑奴汤姆悲剧的必
然性
学 生 姓 名 杨玉婷
指 导 教 师
专 业 英 语
学 院 外语学院
2015年 5 月 30 日
Harbin University of Commerce
Graduation Thesis
On the Inevitability of Uncle Tom’s Tragedy
Student Supervisor Specialty School
May 30, 2015
毕业论文任务书
毕业论文审阅评语
毕业论文答辩评语及成绩
摘 要
美国作家哈利特•比彻•斯托的代表作《汤姆叔叔的小屋》被誉为废奴小说的经
典, 在小说所有的人物当中,黑奴汤姆叔叔这个人物给读者带来了巨大心灵震撼——一个友善、博爱、无私、忠诚和具有救赎精神的黑奴最后的结局居然是悲惨的死亡。汤姆的死亡给小说蒙上了一层浓厚的悲剧色彩。通过以汤姆为代表的奴隶们的悲剧,斯托夫人成功地揭发和控诉了美国南方蓄奴制的罪行, 激发了人们对奴隶的同情和对奴隶制的憎恶, 继而把废奴运动推向了高潮,因此,小说被誉为美国南北战争的导火索之一,具有一定的历史地位。
本文从社会、历史以及汤姆本人的人物性格分析着手,多方面探讨汤姆悲剧的必
然性,致力于全面深刻理解小说的主旨一奴隶制的罪恶。
关键词:哈利特•比彻•斯托 ;黑奴汤姆;奴隶制;悲剧;必然性
Abstract
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, published in 1952, which was written by the Harriet Beecher
Stowe, the well-known masterpiece of Mrs. Stowe is the greatest anti-slavery work of America in the 19th century. Among all the characters in this work, Uncle Tom who was full of kindness was the true hero in the history of American novels. This work analyzes the characteristics of unselfishness, loyalty, kindness and generosity embodied in Uncle Tom who was a real believer in Christianity. However, such a kind man end up with a tragic death under merciless treatment of his slave owner in this novel, the ending of Uncle Tom has made a strong tragic atmosphere throughout the whole novel, which stresses the slave’s miserable life under the unfair slavery system. Tom’s death , which made the people in the south stand up to fight against the slavery sustained in the South of America. This work also gave a true account of the miserable fate of the slaves in the South and woke up the sympathy of the white people to the black slaves. In addition, Tom’s tragedy assists Mrs. Stowe successfully in exposing and accuse the essence of the brutality of the slavery to the maximization, and giving more criticisms to the slavery system, finally, pushing the movement of fighting against slavery system to the climax. .
Keywords: Uncle Tom’s Cabin; Uncle Tom; tragedy; inevitability; slavery
Contents
摘 要 ................................................................................................................................... i Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Contents ............................................................................................................................. iii
1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1
2 tragedy ............................................................................................................................ 3
2.1 The origin and development of tragedy .................................................................. 3
2.2 Uncle Tom's tragedy in the novel ............................................................................ 5
3 Factors Leading to the Inevitability of Uncle Tom's Tragedy................................. 7
3.1 slavery in world context .......................................................................................... 7
3.1.1 The long existence of slavery in world context ........................................... 7
3.1.2 Slavery in American context ........................................................................ 8
3.2 Religious beliefs of Tom ......................................................................................... 9
3.2.1 Uncle Tom’s Obedience from His Religious beliefs.................................. 10
3.2.2 Uncle Tom’s Christian Love for Humanity................................................ 11
3.3 Tom’s characters .................................................................................................... 12
3.4 The failure of the slave owners to be a savior ...................................................... 15
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 17
Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 18
Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................. 20
1 Introduction
Harriet Beecher Stowe(1811-1896), was one of the greatest figures in 19th-century
America writer, was born in a ministerial family in Litchfield, Connecticut, on June 14, 1811. Both her father and brother are well-known minister in congregational church and latter she married Calvin Stowe, a minister and professor, so Mrs. Stowe was deeply influenced by theology throughout her life, and she had a distinct understanding to the Christianity culture . Mrs. Stowe was interested in literature when she was a little child.
Harriet’s favorite room was her father's study. She liked flipping through
Lyman’s books as he sat at his desk, working on his Sunday sermons. Many
of the books were scholarly works on religion, but there were a few that
excited the girl’s imagination. She particularly liked the exotic stories in
Lyman’s volume of Arabian nights. (Sonnebom, 2009:15)
This novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Mrs. Stowe is the masterpiece of American
emancipation literature in the middle of 19th century. It flintily exposed the atrocity of helotism, therefore, people in the north were stirred by righteous wrath which led to the American Civil War in the 1960s. This novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin holds pretty high historical value and literature significance. The Fugitive Slave Act passed in 1850, which announced that it is illegal for anyone in the United States to give assistance or support to runaway slave. The novel served as a immediately response to the Fugitive Slave Act. It strongly attacked this law and other institution it protected. According to this act, the Southern slaves who escaped to the North must flee to Canada to get the real freedom. So in this novel, Mrs. Stowe kept calling for immediate emancipation of the black slaves and freedom to all people.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was widely accepted as one anti-slavery novel which was one of
the blasting fuse caused American Civil War. When Abraham Lincoln met Mrs. Stowe in 1862 in White House, he said, “so you’re the little woman who wrote the book that caused this great war.” This novel by Stowe directly exposed the brutal essence of the southern slavery system, and intensify the contradiction between the south and the north , finally made the American Civil War. The great success Stowe achieved no doubt is that it successfully aroused people’s hatred toward slavery and sympathy to slaves. In addition, it is widely thought Uncle Tom’s Cabin as an anti-slavery literature eventually brought about the end of slavery.
In this novel, Mrs. Stowe through two clues described the miserable fates of the
south slaves. On the one hand, the main characteristic Tom in this novel, was a kind and loyalty black slave, but he eventually was plunged into the abyss of death by the brutal slavery system and indifference of those slaves owners. Tom’s death was a miniature of miserable fate of other numerous slaves at that time. On the other hand, simultaneously Mrs. Stowe represented another slave, Eliza, her fate was entirely different from Tom’s, because she chose to set herself against for her owner’s decision that sell her son to another brutal owner. Exactly , her courage of resisting slavery system was out of natural mother love. Finally, the family of three people had got a happy ending. Mrs. Stowe came up with her proposal through this two different ending of slaves, only slaves have the courage to resisting slavery , can they get rid of the tragedy and have a good ending. So this work undoubtedly is one anti-slavery novel.
2 Tragedy
“What is tragedy?” It is the first question we need to answer at the beginning of this
chapter. It is necessary for us to learn about the origin of the word tragedy, and we need to understand tragedy just is an art form as well as many new forms, like novel, TV shows, film etc. In addition, tragedy, as the highest form of art can easily inspire the maximum emotion which combined with many kinds of complex feelings, such as happiness, encouragement, excitement and sympathy. All of these feelings can more easily strike people’s soul and arouse their resonance from the bottom of their hearts.
This novel written by Mrs. Stowe is in this kind of art form, “tragedy” as a special
art form which played a significant influence on arousing sympathy for miserable fates of the black slaves and vehement hatred of slavery system. Finally, we need to focus on the tragedy in this novel and make a deeper research on the theme .
2.1 The Origin and Development of Tragedy
“Tragedy”, originated from Dionysian sacrificial ceremony in the ancient Greek. It
derives from a Greek word which means goat song. Subjects are mostly taken from myth, so as to reflect the real life and express their opinions on a variety of things. Aristotle, was the first person offered the definition of tragedy in his Poetics, he said, “Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude.” He thinks that every tragedy will contain six elements, they are plot, character, thoughts, words, image and songs. He also said that, “ tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of an action and of life.”
There are three of the most famous ancient Greek tragedy poets, respectively are
Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Who have different understandings about tragedy.
The first emerged is a famous playwright of three. Aeschylus who was known as the “the father of tragedy”. As a representative writer of the tragedy formation in ancient Greek, because of his destiny , he regards fates as specific Gods and emphasizes that fates dominate everything, including God’s. for example, all characters in his trilogy known as The Oresteia , consisting of three tragedies Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers and The Eumenides, together with Prometheus Bound are controlled by their different fates. Aristotle’s work had focused on the tragedy of fate and possessed a strong moral and religious meaning.
The second outstanding tragedians, among the three, is Sophocles. He was good at
writing tragedy, wrote a total of more than 120 plays, but now only seven existing in a complete form: Ajax, Antigone, The Women of Trachis, Oedipus the King, Electra, Philoctetes and Oedipus at Colonus. Sophocles, had made a great contribution to the development of drama in Greek. In his view, the fate is an irresistible , unknown , ubiquitous and mysterious power, but more important is the person with the spirit of free will and actively struggle to face such powerful force. Therefore, those heroes who dare to fight the fate are worthy of sympathy and praise, although the final is a tragedy. For instance, Antigone and Oedipus the king, the two tragedies are masterpieces of Sophocles, which were a new interpretation for the development of tragedy.
Euripides , among three tragedians, who was the youngest one. There are eighteen
woks of him is still in complete survived in modern days. Among these works, it is no doubt that Hippolytus, The Trojan Women, Hecuba, and the Phoenissae as famous representatives. At times of Euripides, tragedy as an art, it has developed in a perfect form, and in the hands of Euripides, tragedy had experienced an innovation, which different from predecessors, Euripides tragedy is no longer around the hero of the most favorite, but tragedies of ordinary people such as civilians, slaves, farmers, taken from
everyday life, and the victims of the society even including the female who was for the first time became the focus of it in which Euripides demonstrated his great sympathy towards them., and the adoption of language is common, is very easy to understand, but this is clearly greatly violate the traditional Greek aesthetics, so accompanied by the works of Euripides is often suspicion and blame.
Tragedy also had experienced a significant progress later. So in modern time,
“tragedy” not only appeared in drama, but also was presented in various forms in our life. Although tragedy in literary work was known as an art form, but in our daily life, both sad things and those miserable fates can be called tragedy.
2.2 Uncle Tom’s Tragedy in the Novel
Uncle Tom’s Cabin as one anti-slavery novel has achieved such a great success in
literature world and had a significant influence on accelerating the abolishment of slavery system, brought the brutality to the light and in exposing the essence of slavery society and indifference of slaves owners. This novel caused concerns of all walks from all over the world because the writer, Mrs. Stowe showed us a heart-shaking tragedy of Uncle Tom.
It is well known that the “tragedy” as the highest art form which really aroused the
people’s deeper sympathy to those poor slaves and indignation to slavery. Uncle Tom, we can easily found out throughout the whole article he was a kind , loyalty, warm-hearted man , above all he is a devout Christian, but he eventually ended up with being tormented to death by his brutal slave owner, Simon Legree. Although Uncle Tom died, but his tragedy had made others rethink themselves profoundly and ensured his dignity and nobleness in others hearts. He becomes a tragic hero.
There is a proverb said in China, “virtue is its own reward”, but Tom’s tragedy let us
down, his kindness and self-sacrifice not be rewarded with happiness and good ending,
but death, Tom’s tragedy cannot was thought just as an individual tragedy, it is also a tragedy of the society at that time. Kind people should have a well-off life and evils should be attached, but under the brutal slavery system controlled, this principle was subverted. The eventually consequence was nobleness suffering tragedy. Evils flee away from their deserved life, and even used violence and power to oppress poor slaves. Tom’s nobleness doomed his ending was tragic, he extremely like the God with nobleness, he toleranted and forgave anyone even those once hurt him deeply. He chose to use his kindness and universal Christian love to redeem those slave owners’ soul escaped from the abyss of evils. For instance, Simon Legree, a merciless and murderous-looking man who owns a cotton plantation, both Uncle Tom and Emmeline were bought by him, as well as two other men. He also has one slave woman, Cassy. In this new plantation, Tom works laboriously and tries his best to help other black slaves. one day, Tom helps two other women slaves to finish their work. The overseers see the slaves cooperating and report it back to Legree. When Tom and other slaves come back, Legree asks Tom to whip the women, but Tom firmly and unhesitatingly refuses to do that. His Christian love help him with his finally decision. However, his kindness not be rewarded with appreciation, but be cruelly beaten. In result, Tom was dragged outside by the two overseers, where they beat him nearly to death. This even is an obviously example for showing Tom’s tragedy.
Under the brutal slavery system controlled, Tom’s tragedy just was a miniature of a
number of slaves’ tragedies which happened everyday in the American society, this miserable phenomenon successfully and fully to expose the tragedy of the American
society and the essence of the brutality of the slavery system and injustice of that time.
.
3 Factors Leading to the Inevitability of Uncle
Tom's Tragedy
Uncle Tom’s Cabin as one well-known anti-slavery novel by Mrs. Stowe which had a great influence on people’s soul with a tragic ending. However, what are those important reasons to a large extent leading to the tragedy of Tom, a man of kindness, universal love , honesty and Christian belief? This chapter we will explore social context and history at that time Tom lived, and his own characteristic to find out the factors that caused Tom’s tragedy.
3.1 Slavery in World Context
slavery system was the absolutely necessary precondition in this novel. Undoubtedly Uncle Tom’s Cabin as an anti-slavery work was finished under a social context with slavery system existence. We are clear that slavery was the most important factor caused Tom’s tragedy at that time. Because slavery system has been carried out widely in most of places in the world and it was a worldly atmosphere that reinforced and compelled the emergence of America which eventually brought about the Tom’s tragedy.
3.1.1 The Long Existence of Slavery in World Context
As we all known, slavery system was a history, prohibited prohibited or abolished by law, but it still exists in the world now. How was the slavery defined at the beginning of that time. Professor Kevin Bales, “the leading scholar on the issue” (Allain, 2008: 239) whose research on slavery has been widely accepted, estimated there are 27million people under slavery now. “Slavery as a social and economic relationship has never ceased to exist during recorded history, but the form that it takes and its definition have
evolved and changed.” (Bales, 2001:18). By researching some scholars opinions about slavery, we can conclude that so-called slavery form was thought that all the rights of those people were expropriated by any whose status or condition over them. With the slavery evolving the slavery was given a new definition by Professor Bales “the loss of free will where a person is forced through violence or the threat of violence to give up the ability to sell freely his or her own labor power.” (Bales, 2001:32)
3.1.2 Slavery in American Context
In this novel, in order to expose slaves underlying evil , Mrs. Stowe has spent a lot of time in exploring morally ambiguous forms of slavery. Now, however, Stowe at last tears the mask of gentility off the slave system and shows what can happen when slaves live with cruel masters. What’s more, Stowe offers an emotional appeal against slavery based on the power of shock and moral outrage, Tom’s death. The comparison of Tom’s kindness and his tragedy brought a heart-shocking in readers.
American slave system formed in the seventeenth century, the colonial creation period, which was not destroyed by the fire of the civil war until 1860s. The slave system was a very dark and cruel exploitation system, which early existed in British colonies in North America. This system, combined servitude with racial oppression, was gradually developed and perfected during the process of torturing slaves. Under the slave system, the slave’s political, economic and social status was low, and slaveholders forced the implementation of slave code to strengthen the control of black slaves. It needs to be emphasized that American black slave was the possession of slave-owner. Hence, it is no doubt that the relation between two is unequal.
At the age of slave system, the slaveholders deprived freedom from the black slaves and fully squeezed them to obtain greater benefits. So the black slaves just were regarded as the lifeless money machine. There are several American presidents had tried
their best to improved the living condition and social status of the black slaves. For example, Thomas Jefferson, who proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal.” and Patrick Henry, famous for his cry, “give me liberty, or give me death!" An appeal has been made for helping those black slaves who struggled at the bottom of social ladder and suffered miserable lives.
In the slave system in the American context, the black slave was weaker. Therefore, Tom, as one of those black slaves, his miserable fate was inevitable.
3.2 Religious Beliefs of Tom
Though we all known that the brutal slavery system was a key factor that eventually lead to Tom’s Tragedy, but Tom’s religious belief also was one of necessary condition that caused his tragic ending. Uncle Tom as one of devout Christian. No matter how many difficulties and setbacks he had encountered at that time, even under the worst condition, he never forgot his belief. He always prays to God and finds a way to keep his faith. He is a man with the spirits of redemption, like God, was full of sympathy to both the black and the white. Therefore, his religious belief was embodied in his nobleness. Christian love for everyone, both poor slaves and those indifferent slave owners. For example , in the novel, although he had known that a unfair trade had being conducted between his owner Mr. Shelby and another slaves trader, but he still chose to obey his owner’s willing and had no word to complained it to his owner. This event fully reflected Tom’s loyalty. Moreover, He was requested by his religious belief to have a spirit of redemption, not only for those victims, the blacks, and slavers but also for evils, the whites and slave owners. It is quiet easily for us to find some details which obviously show Tom’s nobleness and universal love. Later, Tom suffered the cruel treatment at the hands of Simon Legree, at the same time, his belief in God was threatened seriously, but Tom finally chose to sacrificed his precious life to defend his faith. Thus, he became a
pious martyr.
3.2.1 Uncle Tom’s Obedience from His Religious Beliefs
From this anti-slavery novel by Mrs. Stowe, the black slave, Uncle Tom’s obedience had left a deep impression on all readers. As we all known, black slaver Tom was a pious Christian, he believed that slaves should be loyal to their owners and without complaint to follow the master’s commands. In this novel , we can find Tom’s loyalty in this event. At the beginning of this novel, Tom’s first master, Arthur Shelby, when he was plunged into the business trouble, he decided to sell several black slaves to save this crisis. Although Tom was told this bad news and he had enough time to escape from miserable fates, but Tom worry about that his owner will encounter a bigger trouble if he left, so he would like to exchange his freedom with Shelby’s profits. Due to his loyalty and obedience, he experienced a series of pains in the future life. Tortured by a more brutal master and eventually lost his precious life.
Under the brutal slavery system controlled, the black slaves was cruelly treated by those slave owners, they suffered from the loss of freedom and even have to be forced to live away from their family. But some of them want to get rid of this unfair fate. For example, Eliza, as well as a black woman slave, whose ending is entirely different from Tom’s. why? Eliza, as a great mother, has the great courage to contend against the slavery system in order to changing her son’s miserable fate. Eliza and her husband, George lost two young children, making Eliza is very protective toward her only surviving son, Harry. So when she overhears conversation between Mr. Shelby and his wife. Realizing that his only son, Harry and Uncle Tom will be sold to raise money. She does not hesitate to decide to take her son escape from here. She immediately takes him, tells him to be quiet, and carries him to Uncle Tom’s cabin, Eliza tells Tom what she has heard. But Tom says that he don’t want to escape. Finally, Eliza takes her child flees to
Canada. At the ending of this novel, Eliza and her family overcome all difficulties and eventually live together. Uncle Tom and Eliza suffer from the same encounter, but their endings are opposite. Mrs. Stowe makes it very clear that Tom’s obedience is an important factor that caused his tragedy by comparison of their endings. She think the black slaves only bravely struggle against slavery system just like Eliza, can they change their domed fates, instead of submissively following the orders of their slave owners, whether those orders are or not reasoned. Thus, Tom’s obedience dooms his final tragdey.
3.2.2 Uncle Tom’s Christian Love for Humanity
After finishing reading this novel, we could easily find that Tom was a man with various nature, such as loyalty, honesty, kindness, forgiveness and so on, but the most influenced one is his Christian love for humanity, not only for the blacks and the whites, but also for the slaveholders and his enemies. Uncle Tom just like a miniature of the God, as a devout Christian, he possesses all the characters a Christian should posses. Because he love all the people in the world, both friends and enemies , the blacks and the whites. Although at the ending of this novel, he lost his life, but he had won respect from others. Firstly, we can pay attention to his love those poor black slaves. It is well-known that Tom lived in an age of slavery system, and he was at the bottom of the social ladder, with no rights to speak of. However, this hard situation did not stop him to love others. For instance, Cassy, a female slave in Legree plantation, she had experienced great torture by her owner, Tom couldn’t help giving her mercy. he firmly refused when Tom was ordered to give a whip on Cassy by Legree, although he knew he would pay the price, he still chose to give a hand to the poor. He helped her ground beans for dinner. Another woman he helped was Eliza, Tom encouraged Eliza to escape from the plantation to reunited with her husband. What’s more, Tom was most willing to exchange his own life for Lucy
and Eliza’s freedom. Under his selfless assistance, the two women could successfully get away from Legree’s control.
Tom believed that the Christian doctrine is to love all, so to be a devout Christian, he try his best to give his love to everyone, and even gave forgiveness to those evils once hurt himself. For example, Legree, who was the evilest slave owner that treated slaves badly and brutally, among those poor slaves, Tom was the most miserable one, but Tom chose to forgive and save Legree’s soul. Moreover, Uncle Tom always adhere to Christ’s command to “love thine enemy.” Tom refused to compromise his Christian faith in the face of many trials he experienced at Legree’s cotton plantation. So it is not startling for us to found that at the last moment before Tom died, he said he glad to give his heart’s blood to save Legree’s precious soul and forgave the other two overseers . Tom’s attitude to Legree fully expressed that his Christian love be equal to humanity, both the poor and evils, the blacks and the white race.
In a word, Tom’s Christian love for everyone made him be a great hero in others’ hearts, which compelled the evils realized their brutality and heartless. But those evils at the top of the social ladder and they had more rights than the black slaves. And it is impossible for those evils to committed their ruthless. What’s the most important is that these brutal slave owners feel a deep fear of Tom’s spiritual power. So they chose to destroy nobleness to achieve balance in their hearts. That’s why Tom as a man with nobleness who cannot survived in world where was controlled by evils. Hence, Tom’s tragedy is inevitability.
3.3 Tom’s Characters
Slave Tom is main characters in Uncle Tom's Cabin, he was a man with integrity, honesty, kindness, enthusiasm, faithfulness and devotion, but he also a resigned slave, without any resistance to endure the torture and inhuman treatment, he gave up the
opportunity of being free, finally died tragically. In this paper, through the analysis of Tom's personality and freedom, Stowe reveals his characteristics is also one of the causes of his tragic endings.
Firstly, the most obviously personality traits of Tom are honesty and trustworthiness. At the beginning of this novel, slave owner in conversation with a slave trader points out Tom’s main characteristic of personality. “ Tom is not an ordinary slave, he is a good servant, work steady heavy, honest and kind, reasonable and efficient, and the mind is also very flexible, but also believe in God devoutly. Tom actually had a lot of opportunities for escaping from the control of his owner , for instance, Eliza overhears her owner’s conversation, realizing that her son and Tom are going to be sold, and Eliza tells Tom and Chloe what she has heard. However, Tom says that he will not try to escape. This detail shows that Tom’s honest nature enables him to resist temptations from external factors, he has never deceived or cheating behavior. In Tom’s view, the owner’s infinite trust is an intangible bound to him, Tom always was very proud of his honest and well-behaved, second master St. Clare had regretted: “people like Tom, it is the miracle of morality.”
Secondly, Tom’s passivity owes not to stupidity or to contentment with his position, but to his deep religious values, which impel him to follow these religious doctrine, to be a man with the fear of God, passivity to his owner and so on, instilled when he was a little boy. So Tom accepted all his owner’s orders and requirements without complaint. He would rather choose to be sold, don't want to disappoint his master; Tom thought that there is no freedom for granted being slaves, he should have no resistance to accept all the unfair treatment. He is very satisfied with as a slave, so he is negative, no rebellion consciousness. These weaknesses in his character finally let him lose the opportunity to get free for many times.
Thirdly, Tom was a man with kindness, integrity. His religious values enable him to love all everyone around him, whether it is the black or the white, and selflessly endure his trials. Everywhere Tom goes , he manages to spread some of the love and goodwill of his religious beliefs, helping to relieve the pain of slavery and enhance the hope of salvation. In the novel, he supports Eliza’s escape, as well as that of Cassy, and Emmeline from the Legree plantation. In addition, he gave his kindness and warm heart not only to those who are suffering oppression, but also to evils, brutal slave owners. However, it is because of his love which regardless of race deeply exposed the evil of the heart of the slave owners. The comparison of Tom’ nobleness and slave owner’s evils is not be allowed, so that is also a direct factor which leading to Tom’s death under excruciating treatment from those hypocritical slave owners.
Last but not the least, Uncle Tom was embodied with another marked characteristics, that is tolerance to everyone in the world, both slaves and evils. But the most valuable for Tom is that he can forgive all people even those once had hurt himself. And not only that, he even pray for them. “Lord, forgive them, because they don't know what they're doing?” This honest, kind man chose to firmly believe in almighty god, his purity soul like a child allows him to forgive others. “I am in the palm of God, I want to appreciate him, it's me, not someone else is sold to the south, more serious disaster can only to me, but I know God will help me survive the disaster.” When brutal slave owners, Simon Legree beating him, "he said.
“Mas’r, if you was sick, or in trouble, or dying, and I could save ye, I’d give
ye my heart’s blood; and, if taking every drop of blood in this poor old body
would save your precious soul, I’d give’em freely, as the Lord gave his for me.
Oh, Mas’r! don’t bring this great sin on your soul! It will hurt you more than’t
will me! Do the worst you can, my troubles’ll be over soon; but, if we don’t
repent, yours won’t never end!”(Stowe, 2001, 145)
Above words was Tom speaks to Legree as he implore not to beaten for refusing to disclose information about Cassy’s escape. Tom ask Legree think carefully again, not for Tom’s sake, but for Legree. Tom says, he will died and go to the paradise, so his trouble will over, but the damage Legree does to him will be cursed. If so he will lose the forgiveness of God. These words reveals how selfless and kind Tom is. Although was threatened by a brutal slave owner and was badly treatment, what’s worse, his life is in danger. But the first thing in his mind is for saving the soul of the oppressor. He even tells Legree that he willing to use his “heart’s blood” to save him. Tom’s such behavior seems to prove one of the Christian doctrines ”love your enemy” is correct.
Tom was born with honest, kind, and forgiveness, which is the Tom's sad place,
just this sad place led to Tom’s finally tragedy.
3.4 The Failure of the Slave Owners to be a Savior
It is no doubt that Uncle Tom’s nobleness and slavery system are the two major causes for his tragedy, but indifference from others, both slave owners and slaves themselves, also was an factor that led to his tragedy cannot be neglected.
In the first place, the brutal slaveholders pay no attention to the lives of the black slaves although those slaves who are loyal and kind. For instance, like Mr. Shelby, he was a kindhearted slaveholder and he unwilling to sell his slaves. But when he was involved in the business trouble, he decided to sell his slaves and neglected the fates of sold slavers in the future, and even turned a blind eye to the behavior which led children separated from mother, the husband from wife. The main reason for kindhearted Mr. Shelby finally be a merciless slaver trader is like other slaveholders that he take for granted that slaves are their possession. Therefore, the slaveholders have no
consciousness of evil of slavery is a factor caused Tom’s tragedy.
Secondly, we can focus on the slave trader, Haley, who lived for nothing but for seeking profit maximization with an cold-blooded and merciless nature. He sold slaves like selling lifeless goods. So under the slavery system, he never regarded his slave trade as a brutal and inhuman business, and he never felt sympathy for miserable fate of those black slaves which caused by his inhuman business, There is a precise description of Haley from Mr. Shelby: “why, not a cruel man, exactly, but a man of leather, —a man alive to nothing but trade and profit, ——cool and unhesitating, and unrelenting, as death and the grave. He'd sell his own mother at a good percentage.” (Stowe,2001:50). Hence. the slave owners ignored the humanity of slavers finally led to Tom’s death.
Last but not least, the Tom’s last owner, Legree, who was a more ruthless and hard-hearted plantation owner than the other two, and even is the king of evils. He brutally treated his slaves like animals without thought. He was crazy about forcing the poor black slaves to work hard for his plantation garden till their death. Due to Tom’s nobleness, Legree realized his brutal nature from the Tom’s behavior, as a miniature of God. but he unwilling to admit his evils, so he wanted to destroy Tom’s nobleness and aim at making Uncle Tom as an evil man as himself, that’s why although Tom had suffered torturing trial, Legree could find Tom’s trouble from everything and everywhere and further tormented him. Finally, his brutal treatment caused Tom’s death. From Legree’s behavior we to some degree can concluded that slaveholder’s selfish and merciless nature caused Tom’s tragedy.
To sum up, in the brutal and inhuman slavery system context, the slaveholder’s nature and their attitude for slavery had made a great influence on the slaver’s fates. However, in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, slave owners brutal and indifference to slavery is a key factor which led to Tom’s tragedy.
Conclusion
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a significant work that deserves special attention. It was not only through a daily story to explore the problem of the society but also arouse the kindness from the bottom of people’s heart. Based on the analyses of reasons that led to the inevitability of Tom’s tragedy. We can further conclude that under the brutal slavery system controlled, slaves, was deprived of everything. So it is not surprised that Uncle Tom ending was tragic. Tom was helpless and cannot escape from the inevitability of his tragedy but his miserable fate was doomed when he met all these factors came up with above.
First and foremost, as an individual and slave, Tom’s inevitability of tragedy was caused by two main factors, social background and his own character. On the one hand , a that time, the ideology of slavery was deeply rooted in the economy of colonial America and still has significant influence. That’s why slavery system is difficult to be abolished. On the other hand, Uncle Tom was kind ,loyalty, generosity Christian, he was confused by his nobleness and the brutal slavery, Tom just like an image of Jesus. The only way for Tom’s escape from the miserable life is to be a common people like other slavers, rather than a hero, a spirit God, thus, for it was impossible for him to change the evil of the slavery society or give up redeeming those who are suffering pains. As a pious Christian, he wishes to be a man with universe love, the spirit of redemption and dignity. Such spirit doomed he cannot give up helping others or even detest those evils who once hurt him seriously, or do harm to anyone including vicious. In a word, his nobleness was the main reason that led to his eventually tragedy, death. What’s more, due to his nobleness he had lost a lot of chances to get freedom and avoid his tragedy.
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Acknowledgments
During my composition of the thesis, I have accumulated a number of intellectual debts that I would like to acknowledge here.
I am greatly indebted to my supervisor, Mr. Xi Xinyuan for his enlightening instructions, for his generosity in spending his precious time discussing with me the questions involved in my thesis. He helps me refine my thesis again and again patiently. During this process, I gradually have a deeper understanding about this novel and about literature, and I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart. What’s more, I am grateful to my other teachers, who give me a lot of valuable suggestions about my thesis. Last but not least, my thanks go to my roommates, who help me a lot in finding the reference books and other materials. I really appreciate their help. Without them, I cannot finish this thesis smoothly.