Uncle Tom's Cabin

Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 1.01: Little Lady, Great War

Meanwhile, we can't even get our own friends to retweet us.
(Source)

Protip: the subject of slavery can be pretty painful to discuss. Add to that Beecher Stowe's tendency to take a rather circuitous road to get to her point, and to rely on some seriously outdated ideas, and we've got ourselves a doozy.

We're really selling you on this book, aren't we?

Don't get us wrong. Uncle Tom's Cabin is a VIB ("very important book"), and a historically significant one at that. Its influence as an anti-slavery novel cannot be overstated. Heck, we even talk about Uncle Tom's Cabin in Shmoop's AP U.S. History course—that's how crucial it is. And its deliberations upon the themes of freedom and discrimination are still relevant today, as we continue to grapple with them even in a post-slavery America.

But we'd be doing the book—and historical retrospect—a disservice if we didn't draw attention to the controversies that UTC has incited from the beginning, even as we uphold its value as a historical and literary artifact. How many other novels have you read that have helped "[start a] great war," as Abraham Lincoln himself put it?

Not many, is what we're saying.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.01: Down the River

The sermon-y style and the dialect that Beecher Stowe employs when crafting certain characters may seem a little stilted at first, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be cruising right along, we swear.

We know Beecher Stowe comes across as rather preachy at times, and this is deliberate—this text was crafted to change the hearts and minds of Christian readers, so it makes sense that Beecher Stowe would draw influence from a genre that her audience was familiar with, i.e. sermons. So get ready for

• repetition of ideas to hammer a point home.
• long lists of examples to prove a point.
• moments in which Beecher Stowe breaks from the narrative to make a direct address the reader. Sort of like when they break the fourth-wall on TV, except instead of winking cheekily at the audience she's advocating for the abolition of slavery. Hmm, seems like a pretty good use of fourth-wall-breaking, if you ask us…

Got it? Get it? Great. Watch Shmoop's UTC video to build hype.

Excited? Good. We're going to be covering Chapters 1 to 5 of the novel today. Since that's a fair amount of reading, you'll only have to read Chapters 1, 3, and 4 yourself. You're welcome to read Chapters 2 and 5 as well on your own time, but if you don't have time, make sure to check out our Shmoopy chapter summaries instead:

• Chapter 2
• Chapter 5

As you read, consider:

• Why does the slaveholder Mr. Shelby think of himself as humane? In what ways do Mr. and Mrs. Shelby give themselves away as, well, not humane?
• How do Haley and Shelby differ in how they talk about the people they are buying and selling?
• Even slaves who keep their heads down and do as they're told are in danger of being punished (e.g. George). What is Beecher Stowe saying about slavery through these examples?
• How and why do Eliza and George's views on slavery differ?
• Uncle Tom refuses to run away after Mr. Shelby sells him to Haley, arguing that he cannot betray Mr. Shelby like that. Um, okay. Why might readers find this level of devotion to a slaveholder problematic?

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.01a: Background Check

Part of appreciating Uncle Tom's Cabin is understanding its historical context, i.e. what the heck was going on in the world while Beecher Stowe was writing this text.

Since you did some heavy textual lifting today, we thought we'd be nice and present these historical deets to you in video form.

You're welcome.

• First, watch this PBS video on Beecher Stowe, and what motivated her to write this book.
• The first video was a bit biased towards Beecher Stowe, so here's a contrasting viewpoint.
• Then, watch this short video on the Fugitive Slave Acts, which were a really big deal.

Done? Now answer the following questions in 100 to 150 words, in light of what you just watched:

• What personal and political events inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe to write this novel?
• What are some of the positive and negative reactions to the novel?

For instance, we might begin:

The writing of Uncle Tom's Cabin was influenced by historical events (i.e. the Fugitive Slave Act) and in turn, it influenced other key events (i.e. the Civil War, the rise of anti-slavery sentiment). However, though it has done a lot of good, it's also been critiqued for its use of racialized stereotypes…

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.01b: Trading Cards

Step One

Beecher Stowe has assembled quite the cast of characters in this novel, both enslaved and free, both pro-slavery and anti-slavery. And it's one of those novels where you never stop meeting new characters, up until almost the end of the novel. Suffice to say it's probably a good idea to start keeping track of them from the very beginning.

And what better way to do that than via character trading cards? Like baseball cards, but please don't put these in the spokes of your bike (or just don't tell us if you do).

Here's the deal: you'll be completing these cards for certain characters (not all, we're not that mean), based on what you know about them so far. Since these characters will come up again and again, you can treat these cards as a running tab—if you read something important about them later, you can keep adding to the cards. That way, you'll have an ever-evolving file on some of the key characters in the novel.

Each card will have two components:

• Appearance/personality
• Important things they do/say

And here are the characters you'll be making cards for.

• Uncle Tom
• Aunt Chloe
• George
• Eliza
• Mr. Shelby
• Mrs. Shelby

Step Two

You can dress up your cards any way you want—with images, funky borders. Or you can keep them simple, like a table that can be split into cards:

Step Three

But how to begin actually filling your cards out? Let Shmoop guide the way…

Let's say we're looking at Chapter 4 for deets on Chloe. Starting on page 39 of our copy of the text, Beecher Stowe begins describing Chloe, noting that, "her whole plump countenance beams with satisfaction and contentment from under her well-starched checked turban." So under appearance/personality, we might note that she is pleasantly plump and content.

Later, on the same page, Beecher Stowe writes about Chloe's skills as a cook; "she would shake her fat sides with honest pride and merriment, as she would narrate the fruitless efforts that one and another of her compeers [peers] had made to attain to her elevation." Under appearance/personality, we might write that she is a skilled cook and takes pride in her work, and then put the page number we found this information on in parentheses (67).

Notice how we didn't simply copy the text onto our cards, and how we kept the notes themselves very short. You should be doing the same. This is a way to keep track of a large number of central characters, without getting bogged down.

For the time being, shoot for at least one key detail related to appearance/personality per character.

Step Four

When you write something important a character says, you can either quote directly or paraphrase, but don't forget to note the page number.

The author makes it pretty obvious whether she intends for the reader to sympathize with her characters or not, so make note of the dialogue or action that reinforces this.

When you're ready, submit your draft set of cards below.

For the time being, shoot for at least one key detail related to things said/done per character.

Sample Lesson - Activity