Eva And Topsy

Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a novel that was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. In her novel, Stowe uses two of her characters, Eva and Topsy, in order to create a juxtaposition that will help her prove her point. She highlights the differences between Eva and Topsy, and represents them as the “two extremes of society:” the privileged white person, and the oppressed black slave. She uses them because they are children, and will evoke pity on a white, female audience, and will help raise awareness for the cruelties of slavery.
Eva St. Clare is a white, young girl who shows kindness to everyone, despite their background. She also loves those around her, and sees nothing wrong with having slaves because “it makes so many more round you to love” (157).

She is black, and an oppressed little slave girl. She is wild, and always up to something. Miss Ophelia finds it difficult to handle her, and is driven crazy by Topsy’s mischievousness. None of the slaves at the St. Clare household wanted to help out Topsy. The neglection from her own kind made it worse for her situation. The importance of the neglection is that it added more to the idea of Topsy’s hardships. Life with her previous owners was horrible for Topsy because she would always be beaten with whatever object was at reach, no matter how much pain it would cause her. Being an oppressed and abused child, Topsy takes on habits like stealing and lying because she was never raise in a proper and loving environment. Since her arrival, her facial expression has been described as “an odd mixture of shrewdness and cunning” (202). Topsy’s tragic story emphasizes the hardships that slaves go through, and how it affects

She seems to not care about the consequences her actions bring because she was not raised to think properly. Augustine St. Clare gave Topsy to Miss Ophelia so she can “educate… and train [her] in the way she should go” (202). Not only does Topsy learn about Christianity from her mistress, but she also learns from Eva. Before Eva, Topsy never knew what love was because no one showed her any type of affection before. Eva tells Topsy that is she is good, then “ [she] can go to Heaven at last, and be an angel forever” (239). She wants to help her unlucky friend by talking to her about Jesus, so she can be motivated to be good, and follow His teachings. She also tells Topsy that skin is not a barrier when it comes to Jesus and His equal love for all. Eva’s kind words give Topsy some hope for herself, and she sees Eva as her