Harriet Beecher Stoowe Character Analysis

Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a book that addresses one of the most controversial issues of all time— slavery. Born into a family of theologians and preachers, Stowe grew up in Connecticut, and she had very little contact or knowledge about the reality of slavery in the South. Stowe was soon exposed to its severity in Cincinnati, a place she lived in for several years, which is where she began to see firsthand how poorly slaves were treated. The more Stowe was exposed to, the more horrified she became. Stowe was then inspired to write about the crimes that she was witnessing. Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin uses Evangeline St. Claire, a young girl, to persuade innocent and not yet

Unlike most white characters in the book, Eva treats everyone in the same friendly and kind way. Eva even goes as far to say that she would “die for them, if dying could stop all this misery.3” Eva has such a passion for what is right. On the other hand, Marie St. Clare is the opposite of Eva; she is an individual who “never had possessed much capability of affection.”4 While Marie St. Clare distances herself from the people of other races, “Eva somehow always seems to put herself on an equality with every creature that comes near her.”5 Stowe uses Eva to demonstrate the defiance of her class’s stereotypically racist attitude towards African Americans. She believes that we are all God’s creatures and should be treated equally. Eva’s open-mindedness allows her to be a good role model and moral guide for children. Furthermore, Marie, who is very racist, states: “There are things about her so singular: she isn’t like me, now, a particle.”6 This shows that Eva is an unprejudiced and ethical character. Additionally, Eva embodies Stowe’s opinion on slavery through her nonviolent attitude by showing that one does not need to be forceful to receive what one desires. After her cousin Henrique hits his slave for not listening, Eva responds by saying, “You frighten him into deceiving, if you treat him so,”7

Stowe interprets the Bible to mean that God believes everyone is equal, therefore making slavery something that goes against Christian values. While her immediate objective is advancing the cause of abolition, it is imperative for Stowe to target younger audiences because doing so changes the opinions of future generations. Through influencing and persuading the younger generation that slavery is wrong, the future generations will share Stowe’s opinion on the previously controversial argument. Stowe wants future generations (such as ours) to be influenced against racism and hate of African Americans, from the book. Though, on a wider scale, Perhaps Stowe wants to encourage the children to use their education and the “power of the pen” to change and fight unjust social values. Education is a powerful tool in influencing society, so Stowe wants the children to become upstanders, people who stand up for what they believe is right, and fight against what they do not believe is right, even if their parents