Stowe Goes Against the Grain

In and out of class, we have been creating theories and ideas to help us understand the use of children in children’s literature. Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin somewhat breaks down many theories that we had deemed as “normal” in 19th century American literature.

One of those theories refers to what children represented within literature. In previous excerpts we have read, children have stood for creation, hope, and innocence. For example, in Rip Van Winkle, childhood was something considered to be carefree and content. In Uncle Tom’s Cabin, however, children symbolize much darker things like fear, brokenness, helplessness, and complexity. Instead of showing the close relationship between mother and child like in The Wide, Wide World, Stowe describes children being torn away from their mothers. Pages 185-186 in Uncle Tom’s Cabin are a prime example of this. George is recalling in graphic detail the time that his entire family was ripped apart and says, “I saw my mother put up at sheriff's sale, with her seven children. They were sold before her eyes, one by one, all to different masters; and I was the youngest. She came and kneeled down before old Mas'r, and begged him to buy her with me, that she might have at least one child with her; and he kicked her away with his heavy boot.” From what I have read so far this semester, this blatant suffering of a child is very unusual to read in 19th century’s literature. Stowe’s interpretation of slavery and torment goes against the current of what is expected out of this time period. I am sure she used such graphic detail of family separation to make her point, but to use the innocence of children along with it may have been a step too far in the wrong direction for her audience.

The horrors of slavery in Uncle Tom’s Cabin definitely go against the morally sound themes of usual literature from the 19th century. By using children as a tool to shock and awe, Stowe reaches directly to the heart of her audience and inserts her opinion against the breaking up of families in slavery.