Uncle Tom's Cabin or Life Among the Lowly

Published in two volumes in 1852, Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author, Harriet Beecher Stowe. It achieved wide popularity among the white readers in the North, by vividly dramatizing the experience of slavery. Uncle Tom's Cabin tells the story of Uncle Tom, a slave, depicted as dignified, noble and steadfast in his beliefs. While being transported by boat for auction in New Orleans, Tom saves the life of Little Eva whose grateful father then purchases Tom. Eva and Tom soon become great friends. Soon Eva's health begins to deteriorate and on her death bed, she asks her father to free all the enslaved people. He makes plans to do so but is killed by the brutal, Simon Legree, who is Tom's new owner. Tom is whipped to death after he refuses to divulge the whereabouts of certain escaped slaves. He maintains a constant Christian attitude toward his own suffering and Stowe attributes Tom's death with echoes of Christ's. This best-selling novel of the 19th century depicts the reality of slavery while also asserting at the same time that Christian love can overcome something as destructive as the enslavement of fellow human beings.