La Cabaña del tio Tom

Por Harriet Beecher

Protagonizada por un esclavo negro, el tío Tom, esta novela muestra crudamente cómo eran tratados los esclavos en Estados Unidos antes de la Guerra de Secesión. El poder absoluto que los amos tenían sobre ellos, la cruel separación de sus familias y los duros trabajos a que eran sometidos, aparecen en toda su humillante condición. La obra tuvo una profunda influencia en su época y sirvió para apoyar la causa abolicionista que desembocaría en la cruenta guerra civil que enfrentó a dos maneras de pensar sobre la condición humana.

• Idioma: Español
• Editorial: Zig-Zag
• Fecha de lanzamiento: 3 mar 2016
• ISBN: 9789561221611

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e-book I.S.B.N.: 978-956-12-2161-1

1ª edición: marzo de 2016.

Versión abreviada de Jaime Valdivieso.

Gerente Editorial: Alejandra Schmidt Urzúa.

Editora: Camila Domínguez Ureta.

Director de Arte: Juan Manuel Neira Lorca.

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Índice de contenido

Palabras preliminares

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Un hombre de sentimientos humanitarios

La madre

El marido y el padre

Reunión en la cabaña del tío Tom

Cuando se cambia de dueño

Descubrimientos

La lucha de la madre

Un complot

Un senador sólo es un hombre

Toma de posesión

En una hostería de Kentucky

Incidente en un comercio autorizado

En la morada de los cuáqueros

Evangelina

Los nuevos amos de Tom

La patrona de Tom y sus opiniones

¡Luchamos por nuestra libertad!

Opiniones de la señorita Ofelia

Topsy

Kentucky

La hierba se seca, la flor se marchita

Enrique

Presagios sombríos

El pequeño evangelista

La muerte

Dolor

La reunión

Los débiles sin amparo

El mercado de esclavos

La travesía

Lugares tenebrosos

Cassy

Historia de la cuarterona

Las prendas del cariño

Emelina y Cassy

Libertad

La victoria

La estrategia

El mártir

El amo joven

Una historia de aparecidos

Resultados

El libertador

Palabras preliminares

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Retrato de Harriet Beecher del artista Francis Holl.

La escritora estadounidense Harriet Beecher Stowe nació en Litchfield, Connecticut, en 1811 y murió en Hartford, Connecticut, en 1896. Nacida y criada en un medio puritano, su padre, el pastor calvinista Lyman Beecher, le dio una educación muy estricta y rigurosa.

En 1832 el pastor se trasladó con su familia a Cincinatti, Ohio, una ciudad que era fervientemente partidaria de la abolición de la esclavitud. Allí Lyman Beecher fundó el Seminario Teológico de Lane, transformándose en su primer presidente. Fue en ese lugar donde Harriet tuvo conocimiento de cómo vivían los esclavos afroamericanos. Y donde la horrorizó la ley de 1850 que obligaba a denunciar a las autoridades a los esclavos fugitivos, incluso en los Estados donde ya se había decretado su liberación. La honda impresión que todo ello le produjo la motivó a escribir La cabaña del tío Tom (Uncle Tom’s Cabin). Como generalmente se hacía en aquellos años, la novela fue publicada primeramente por entregas durante 1851 y 1852 en un periódico abolicionista: The National Era. En el mismo año 1852 se publicó como libro. La obra por entregas no tuvo mayor resonancia, pero sí el libro, que obtuvo un enorme e inmediato éxito y que, según sus coetáneos, se vendía tanto como la Biblia.

El libro fue un duro golpe para los partidarios de la esclavitud, ayudó a cristalizar los sentimientos en contra de ésta en los estados del Norte y aceleró el estallido de la Guerra de Secesión (1861-1865). La obra fue también un éxito en América y en Europa y se tradujo a muchas lenguas.

El protagonista de la novela es un esclavo afroamericano: el tío Tom. Éste tiene unos amos muy benévolos, que lo quieren y aprecian tanto a él como a su familia, pero que debido a malos negocios se ven obligados a venderlo. Desde ese momento el tío Tom será vendido una y otra vez, y su familia, desarticulada, sufrirá toda clase de dolores y persecuciones. A estos personajes se suman otros muchos que muestran dramáticamente el trato que se daba a los esclavos de las más distintas edades, desde la niñez hasta la ancianidad.

Cuando Harriet escribió La cabaña del tío Tom no había estado nunca en los Estados esclavistas del sur de los Estados Unidos. La gran acogida que tuvo el libro y la polémica que suscitó, la llevó a documentarse a fondo sobre la situación de los esclavos y a publicar Una clave para la cabaña del tío Tom (A Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 1853). Aunque esta obra entregaba una enorme cantidad de documentos que respaldaban su posición antiesclavista, no tuvo el éxito de la anterior. En 1856, Harriet volvió a la carga contra los detractores de sus obras e insistió sobre el tema de la abolición de la esclavitud con su segunda novela: Dred: relato de la gran ciénaga deprimente (Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp).

A las obras ya citadas hay que agregar otra buena cantidad de libros, ya que entre 1862 y 1884 la escritora publicó casi un libro por año. Entre éstos sobresale su novela romántica El galanteo del ministro (The Minister’s Wooing, 1859).

Harriet se había iniciado en las letras escribiendo algunos cuentos y novelas cortas. Su primer libro fue El Mayflower o Apuntes de escenas y personajes entre los descendientes de los peregrinos (The Mayflower or Sketches of Scenes and Characters Among the Descendants of the Pilgrims, 1834). Posteriormente, en 1835, publicó A Plea for the West, basada en un pretendido complot papal para convertir al catolicismo a Estados Unidos.

En 1836 Harriet contrajo matrimonio con Calvin Stowe, un pastor viudo, profesor de literatura bíblica y ardoroso luchador contra la esclavitud. Ella se había apartado ya del calvinismo ortodoxo de su padre.

La pareja tuvo siete hijos, cuatro de los cuales fallecieron a temprana edad.

Sus primogénitas, mellizas, habían nacido en 1836.

José Manuel Zañartu.

Grabado del libro publicado el año 1852 en Boston, Estados Unidos.

Un hombre de sentimientos humanitarios

Una tarde de febrero, en la ciudad de P., en Kentucky, conversaban dos caballeros en un elegante comedor, frente a una botella de vino. Los sirvientes ya se habían retirado.

Uno era un hombre pequeño y rechoncho, de rostro vulgar; de su chaleco pendía una pesada cadena de oro que agitaba ruidosamente. El señor Shelby, en cambio, parecía un gentleman. Ambos discutían animadamente.

–Deseo que el asunto se arregle así –dijo Shelby.

–Pero yo no puedo cerrar así ningún negocio –respondió el otro, levantando su copa.

–Sin embargo, Haley, mi Tom vale esa suma: es inteligente, activo, tranquilo y honesto.

–¡Tan honesto como puede serlo un negro!

∫–Le he confiado cuanto poseo: dinero, casa, caballos, y siempre me ha respondido fielmente.

–Hay gente que no cree en la fidelidad de los negros–dijo Haley–. ¡Yo miro la fidelidad en un negro como algo precioso si es sincera, pero no hay que equivocarse!

–Tom es muy fiel –respondió Shelby–. Siento mucho tener que separarme de él. Usted debería quedarse con él para saldar la deuda completa si tuviera un poco más de conciencia.

–Tengo mucha, pero usted me pide demasiado. ¿No tiene algún negrito o negrita que pueda cubrir la diferencia?

–Ninguno del que quiera desprenderme.

Un niño cuarterón¹ de unos cinco años entró en la sala. Era hermoso y su carita expresaba alegría.

–Bribonzuelo, ven acá –dijo el señor Shelby pasándole un racimo de uvas y acariciándolo–. ¡Ahora, Enrique, demuéstrale al señor que sabes bailar y cantar!

El niño empezó a cantar con voz clara, acompañándose de cómicos movimientos.

–¡Bravo! –gritó Haley, tirándole una naranja.

–Eso no es todo. Enrique, camina como el viejo Cudjoe.

Inmediatamente el niño deformó sus miembros y se puso a cojear apoyado en el bastón de su amo y escupiendo a derecha e izquierda.

–¡Bravo! –exclamó Haley–. Déme usted a ese picaruelo y cerremos trato.

Se abrió la puerta y entró una hermosa cuarterona de veinticinco años; sin duda la madre del niño. La perfección de sus formas no escapó al ojo experto del comerciante.

–¿Qué hay, Elisa? –preguntó su amo al verla cohibida.

–Busco a Enriquito, señor.

–Pues bien, llévatelo.

–¡Por Júpiter! –exclamó el gordo mientras la joven se llevaba a su hijo–. ¡He aquí una magnífica mercancía! ¿Cuánto pide usted por esa muchacha?

–No tengo intención de venderla. Además, mi esposa no se separaría de ella aunque le pagaran su peso en oro.

–Las mujeres siempre dicen eso porque no saben de cálculos.

–No insista, Haley.

–Entonces usted me dará al pequeño.

–¿Para qué quiere usted a ese niño?

–Tengo un amigo que busca niños hermosos y los educa para venderlos a las familias ricas. Artículos de fantasía.

–Me repugna separar a un hijo de su madre.

–Lo entiendo perfectamente. Siempre he detestado sus gritos. Generalmente alejo a las madres y vendo a los hijos sin que ellas lo sepan. Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente. No son como las blancas, que han sido educadas en la esperanza de conservar a sus hijos. Los negros, si se los educa bien, no tienen ninguna esperanza.

–Entonces temo que mis esclavos no hayan sido bien educados.

–Eso mismo creo yo; ustedes, los de Kentucky, hacen un flaco favor a los negros tratándolos bien. Cuando cambian de dueño echan de menos los buenos tratos. En fin, cada uno cree que su método es el mejor. Y bien –añadió Haley–, ¿qué responde usted a mi proposición?

–Quiero meditarlo y conversar con mi mujer. Vuelva hoy a las siete y le daré mi respuesta.

El comerciante se despidió.

¡Cómo me habría gustado obligar a ese miserable a bajar la escalera a puntapiés –se dijo el colono–. Pero el canalla conoce sus ventajas. Si alguien me hubiese predicho que yo vendería a Tom le habría respondido: ¿Acaso mi esclavo es un perro?... Y, sin embargo, es preciso que lo venda. Mi mujer me hará una escena.

El señor Shelby era un hombre bueno. Sin embargo, lanzado en arriesgadas especulaciones, había contraído grandes deudas. Sus pagarés habían ido a parar a manos de Haley.

Elisa hubiera deseado quedarse junto a la puerta para escuchar, pero su ama la llamaba. Creía haber oído que el negrero quería comprar a su hijo y estrechó al niño con vehemencia.

–Hija, ¿qué te pasa hoy? –le preguntó el ama cuando a Elisa se le cayeron el jarro de agua y luego el costurero.

–¡Oh, amita...! –respondió la esclava bañada en lágrimas–. Un comerciante está abajo hablando con el amo.

–¿Y qué te importa eso, tontuela?

–¿Cree usted, señora, que el amo quiera vender a mi Enriquito?

–No, locuela. ¿Acaso crees que todo el mundo está loco por él? Trénzame los cabellos como te enseñé y no escuches tras las puertas.

Elisa, tranquilizada, terminó de arreglarla con rapidez.

La señora Shelby unía a su inteligencia una elevada moral. Y como ignoraba las dificultades pecuniarias de su marido, no se preocupó más del asunto.

La

Comentarios para La Cabaña del tio Tom

[macdad-236140 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Harriet Beecher Stowe's book is one that I would classify as important rather than great. It's a powerful condemnation of slavery using the language of Stowe's Christian faith, and her moral outrage at it seeps through nearly every page. This I expected; what I didn't expect was how she developed her characters. While her African American characters are uniformly dignified and good, most of the slaveholders received surprisingly nuanced treatments, with some good (if hypocritical) characters among them and only the infamous Simon Legree really embodying in full the evil and corruption resulting from slavery. Yet for all the positive nature of her depiction of her slave characters Stowe cannot help but reflect the racial attitudes of her time, with descriptions that have not aged well. In this she demonstrates the limits of even antislavery activists in their attitudes towards African Americans, yet this is all of a piece in a work that arguably serves as the most historically significant novel in American history, one that helped galvanize opposition to the institution that was corroding the nation's soul.

[dele2451 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Whatever your race, gender, nationality is, just read it. What more can I say?

[clif_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

This is a book everyone has heard of, but few have read. The title has turned into a well know adjective that is intended to be uncomplimentary. It is an uncomfortable book for readers today because some the 19th Century ideas expressed by the characters (including blacks, whites, abolitionists and pro-slavery folks) in the book are frankly not politically correct under today's standards. Literary scholars don't give it high marks because they say it is too emotional, too sentimental, not complex enough, and too overtly religious. However, one can't understand the 19th Century without reading this book. I think this is the second best selling book of the 19th Century after the Bible. This is the book that (it can be argued) caused the the Civil War. I think it should be read and appreciated for the insight it gives into the heart felt emotions of Northerners in reaction to the Fugitive Slave Act that made it a federal crime to assist slaves who had fled from slave states. Another characteristic of this book is its emphasis on the heartbreak consequences of breaking up slave families. The book portrays several examples of the painful anguish caused by children being taken away from mothers. Some have suggested that this book may have never been written if slave owners had not been permitted to break up the family's of slaves by selling them to different owners. The story is painful for 21st Century readers to read even with the knowledge that the conditions described happened over 150 years ago. The book must have been even more unbearable for mid 19th Century readers since it described current happenings. Stowe's writing is clear and easy to read. I recommend it to all.

[lynnb_64 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

This is the first time I've read Uncle Tom's Cabin. Like almost everyone, I had heard of it, and was familiar with the characters of Uncle Tom, Topsy, and Simon Legree.By today's standards, the book would likely be judged too sentimental. The author includes 10-page chapter called "concluding remarks" in which she expresses her own views against slavery, and how it is incompatible with Christianity. This just isn't done in modern novels.In assessing the book against other literature of the period, though, a different perspective emerges: one of a sweeping tale, encompassing many characters with a strong story of good and evil. Like Dickens' works, it is a scathing assessment of the society in which it is written. In this way, and in the complex blending of good and evil within individual characters, it is a more satisfying than The Book of Negroes.I am also reading a biography of William Wilberforce, and found Ms. Beecher Stowe's work an enriching complement.

[paperbackpirate · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

I hear references to Uncle Tom's Cabin all the time but had never read it before now. It took me over a month to read but it was worth it.The story follows Tom, a slave in Kentucky who is sold after his kind masters hit some hard times and have to settle a debt. He has the opportunity to run away with 2 other slaves, but opts to be sold because it is the will of his master and Tom's mission in life is to do as his master asks. As he is preparing to leave his family and his cabin his wife cooks his favorite breakfast one last time. That entire scene left me crying my eyes out.I think this is where the phrase, "sold up the river," comes from because he is sold and moves up the river. Good or bad, his story continues from there.It made me consider what it was truly like to live in the south in the 1850s, when her story was written. In fact, the funnest part of reading it for me (if reading about slavery can be considered fun) was knowing that it was written before the Civil War. I learned that some say this book, which was actually not a book but a serial installment released in a magazine of the time, was like a rattling saber, "starting" the Civil War! Abraham Lincoln met her and said, "So this is the little lady who made this big war"!!! Can you imagine?!The end of the book gets a little too religious for my taste, but I am able to forgive it considering the time period it was written in.Harriet Beecher Stowe did a brilliant job exploring every persons' aspect of slavery through her tale, which is partially based on true stories.

[janemarieprice · Calificación: 2 de 5 estrellas]

While I understand the book’s historical importance and appreciate its message, I had a really hard time getting through this for a couple of reasons. First, the religious rhetoric was very difficult for me. The long passages of religious posturing seemed to go on and on without end. Second, the characters are extremely one dimensional and idealized. Even the quite evil Legree is said to somehow see the wrong he is doing and still choose the path of evil. Third, there are entirely too many happy or sad coincidences. Characters randomly happen upon one another by chance. It took me out of the story at times. I am glad I re-read it (it has been years), and I value the importance of the work. However, I don’t think I will be reading again.Note: Read through DailyLit

[laudemgloriae · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

A really stunning book... its engaging, heartrending, truthful... the characters come alive. I really was impressed how it shows the beauty of some of the characters, when they're in a situation that is so objectively ugly.

[smaarls · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

This is a great book for anyone who is inerested in the pre Civil War era and all the issues that accompany slavery. Published in 1852 and written by a woman who lived in a nothern state bordering the south, Harriet Beecher Stowe delivers a powerful story of life in a time of extreme contention. The harshness of cruel masters is depicted as well as the more compassionate individuals that treated their slaves as members of the family. The courage of the characters that decide to risk it all and plan an escape to the northern states and eventually Canada, just to have the right to be treated as a human being is heart wrenching and gloriously uplifting all at the same time. Anyone who enjoyed Alex Haley's "Roots" or David L Wolper's minseries "North and South", will enjoy this book.

[wikiro · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

It took a while to get into but I eventually found I couldn't put it down in certain parts. It seemed to me that she put a lot of interesting metaphors and interesting concepts that would strike a cord in varying social classes of that time period. I see that she went in the direction that Dante took only with an earth bound character. Also the subtleties were actually a bit remarkable in how she portrayed the characters. Though for those that hate Christianity I would not read this book. Even though that isn't the main point and 100% christian you would get frustrated. Though to me it was very ingenious so I have to give it 4 stars.

[velmeran · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

A very interesting and informative description of dark times that most of us might prefer to go through life not 'knowing' but must learn about in detail not in a glossed over history book.

[danielstj · Calificación: 1 de 5 estrellas]

Absolute trite garbage. One of the worst reading experiences I have experienced. This is religious sentimentality in its worst basest most soap-opera form. Pompous and self-aggrandizing. I would NOT recommend it to anyone unless you have to read it for your studies as a mandatory text.

[mhanover10 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

This book lies so heavy on my heart. There is one thing in our country's history that bothers me the most and that is slavery. This book was very hard for me to listen to. I can't wrap my mind around someone treating another person like dogs because of the color of their skin. There were many times that I wanted to smack several people for the things they said. I would like to believe if I had lived during times of slavery I would be one of the people who helped free slaves and stand up for their rights. I don't have time for hatred and it saddens me when people are abused.

[pzmiller_1 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

I have to admit that I only just read it for the first time. All I can say is that this book is amazing -- and that Harriet Beecher Stowe must have been a genius because of the way she manipulated the story to "preach" for her without preaching.

[wagner5sarah35 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

While hard to read at times (both due to the subject matter and the 19th-century prose), this book remains just as powerful as many readers found it upon first publication. Uncle Tom's Cabin traces the stories of several slaves as they navigate between masters, escape, freedom, daily toil, and faith. At the outset, Tom and another very young slave Harry are intended for sale to settle the debts of their master in Kentucky. Harry's mother Eliza discovers the plan and frantically runs away, braving the ice on the Ohio River to bring herself and her son to freedom. They are later joined by her husband George, while Tom is sold first to a kind master, then comes under the ownership of an abusive one. In each step of Tom and Eliza's journeys, they meet other slaves with tragic tales and white allies who maintain escape routes for runaway slaves. While slavery may be long past, this book remains a stark picture of how the United States once was and is still a powerful message about racism.

[gbelik_1 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

The story of Tom and his unflinching honor and kindness, the courage of Eliza escaping with her child across the river ice, the cruelty inflicted by the horrible Simon Legree, the efforts of the Shelbys and the St. Clares to live morally in an immoral system: these are great stories told well. The influence of the Christian religion on the author and thus on her characters is all-pervading and oppressive after a while. The book does read as a polemic and, no doubt, an effective one at the time. It is read now for its place in history rather than its intrinsic value as literature, I think.

[kamgeb · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

I felt I had to read the classic. The novel was interesting and kept my attention. I hadn't realized how religious it was.

[krista.rutherford · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

Although the character Uncle Tom has been criticized for being too meek and utterly subservient, and too gentle and religious when maybe a real person would have been bitter and rebellious instead, that's hardly the point of this book.Stowe, the daughter of a preacher, opposed slavery on the grounds of her faith. That is evident throughout the book, and regardless of the reader's religious persuasion, the truth about slavery and its inherent injustice is brought to light and boldly condemned.In this book, she represented an entire range of slaves and slave-owners, from the persistent superlative meekness and gentleness of Uncle Tom to the desperate rebellion of others, and from the kindness of one slave-owner to the insane cruelty of Simon Legree. She draws special attention to the tragedy of mothers and children being separated and the inability of slaves to protect themselves or their families, and even the futility of a kind master's good intentions.

[fuzzy_patters · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

I enjoyed reading Uncle Tom's Cabin in many ways, and I found the character of Uncle Tom to be one of the most heroic characters of whom I have read. It should also be pointed out that this was one of the most important novels written in American history because of the influence that it had on opening northern eyes to the horrors of slavery.However, the book does present some difficulties to the modern reader. For one, Stowe frequently refers to the races in stereotypical terms. To Stowe, people of African decent are all magnanimous, warm-hearted beings, which robs them of the humanity and ability to be unique individuals. I should probably give Stowe a pass for this, but it was difficult to get past as a modern reader. With that being said, the book was very well-written for a nineteenth century house-wife who was not a writer by trade. Considering her background, I was very impressed with her ability as a writer and am even more impressed with the guts it must have taken for a woman to speak out about injustice in a society that would not allow her the right to vote and have a say in how society was run. For this reason, Stowe's work is something that should still be read and admired by modern readers.

[ak_doug · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

Many portions of this book are difficult to get through, you have to sound out the accented phonic spellings and I found it more distracting then illustrative. If you enjoyed Huckleberry Finn, and the language there didn't bother you, then it won't here either. Both books bothered me on that front.

[jlcarroll · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

I was pleasantly surprised to find this book not only readable, but actually captivating. Even people in my book club who aren't history geeks described this as a compelling read. That's saying a lot for book that's more than 150 years old. I now understand better why Stowe's novel ended up being so pivotal in the years leading up to the American Civil War.

[cyderry · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

This book, written by a Northern woman, has been read by thousands and reviewed by many. Whether I can add any incite from this book, is hard to believe but here are my thoughts. The men say one thing and do another, i.e. slavery is bad but I'll still own slaves. The majority of the women in this story are the moral backbone of the families that they are members of. There is a strong Christian theme throughout from the slaveholders and the slaves. There also appears to be a great deal of symbolism in the book - Eliza's leap to freedom, Uncle Tom's Cabin, South as cruelty and North as freedom, Eliza's escape versus Uncle Tom's sale into deeper oppression.The Christian population of the North, this book ignited a flare against the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and slavery in general.

[pickwick817 · Calificación: 4 de 5 estrellas]

A very well written book. Easy to read and very interesting. It got a little preachy sometimes, and it was apparent that the author was trying to get her philosophy across through her characters. It would have been very interesting to have read this at the time it was written. By showing the lives of slaves at the time, both those who had good owners, and those who had cruel and inhuman owners, Stowe gave the public a firsthand view of what the institution of slavery brought on our country and its people.

[boundtogetherforgood · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Excellent book from which to learn about slavery and the times.

[whitewavedarling · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

Honestly, I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book. It was one of those classics that I felt I Should read at some point, so I finally picked it up. What I found was one of the most touching surprises I've found to argue against my expectations. This book explores the lives of various characters, white and black, free and enslaved, northern and southern. While it's obvious, particularly at the end, that the author Stowe has an agenda, the book reads as a masterpiece of fiction. It does not use heavy rhetoric to drive your opinion, but incorporates character, story, and religion to make you consider the circumstances and drive you toward your own opinions. Having read many other works that deal with slavery and race relations, I wasn't expecting this book to touch me quite like it did, but because the author lets the characters and story flow in a natural rhythm, and because she moves between them to naturally create suspense, a reader can't help but remain entranced in this book. It moves quickly, and though the length may look daunting, it flies by. I'd say that for a complete understanding of American history--or, as complete as could be possible, at least--this is the first novel I've read which would be absolutely required reading. It is a beautiful novel, complete, and Stowe never puts her agenda above the story she's following. I would argue that this might well be the most lasting work of American Literature written, and that this might be the quientessential American novel even beyond Huck Fin. For anyone, I'd strongly recommend this book. It may take some time to pick it up since it is long, but you won't be tempted to leave it aside once you do.

[estamm_4 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

When I read this, I was unprepared for it. I didn't realize how gripping the story would be, and how I would come to care for all the characters (well, the ones you are SUPPOSED to care about). I can see how this book could have started a war. Years ago, this book was required reading in high school. It really should be again. Recently, Michael Medved wrote an article about how slavery wasn't really so bad. Obviously he is clueless when it comes to American history.

[mrslee_1 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

Inflammatory to the extreme, but still an interesting, if heartbreaking story. Harriet Stowe wanted this used as a tool to end slavery. Whether it was effective or not is beyond my judgment, but I do know that it incited many to get involved in the antislavery movement. In many ways it is insufferably condescending, and naive, yet it should be read as one end of the extreme view.

[bookseller525 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

This is a re-read for me. It's one of my favorite pieces of American literature.Yes, I realize that there are many major problems with this book. It actually fairly drips with sentimentality. It's preachy. The characters are one-dimesional...either completely saintly and angelic or hideously villainous without a single redeeming quality. Not to mention the problem of racial stereotyping, and Tom's overt meekness and submisiveness to his masters and his situation. But I can't help but get caught up in this book. I care about the characters. And, in some respects, I see Uncle Tom as one of the strongest characters I've ever read, and I admire him. In spite of his apparent meekness and passivity, I think he displays incredible courage; incredible strength of character. Stowe's passion for the subject of abolition shows in this work. It drove this book, and it's that passion that speaks to me and draws me in.

[aiufjcf · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

This book is very moving. I almost cried at parts. I really enjoyed it.

[julied_425355 · Calificación: 5 de 5 estrellas]

I never knew that it was such a page turner! About halfway through the pace picked up so that I was avidly reading whenever I had a chance to see if George and Eliza would shake off their trackers, Uncle Tom would make it back to his family, what it would take to make Topsy reform and much more. How about that crazy Cassy, hmm? And poor Emmaline ... would someone save her before Simon Legree got his filthy hands on her? Wow!I never knew that Uncle Tom actually was a Christ-figure, a living saint. No wonder he is misunderstood by so many. They are not getting the whole picture.I never knew that so many sorts of people were represented throughout the book. The language can be rather stilted due to the style of the times but Stowe did a good job showing many different attitudes toward slavery and how people excused themselves under the flimsiest of excuses. One expects the broadly painted very good and very evil owners but not the more shaded in-between characters.It was fascinating toward the end of the book to see where many of the slaves wound up. One could discern what Stowe's ideas of a solution for the slavery problem were and, indeed, it was even more interesting to read her afterward where she discusses it specifically.I thought that Stowe included herself in the book as the maiden aunt from New England who thought she understood the problem until she came up against Topsy who demanded that she put her whole heart and soul into realizing that the slaves were real people. My daughter saw her as Mrs. Shelby, the kindly wife of Uncle Tom's original owner, who as soon as she got a chance absolutely did the right thing.

[kakadoo202 · Calificación: 3 de 5 estrellas]

interesting and eye opening account on slavery. but the fact that constantly new people were brought into the story confused me. i started to loose track of characters. and not so much was actually taking place in the " cabin". for sure a classic considering when it was written.