The authors of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl put slaves as the main characters. In those days, it was legal, but it only led to suffering and unhappiness. People in such a situation were forced to endure humiliation all their lives, did not have their own will and worked hard. It is described on almost every page of both books in different variations. Slaves were considered property, and their masters treated them accordingly. They could beat, rape, take children away and do whatever they wanted. The works of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl are trace themes such as the inhuman attitude toward slaves, the choice to resist or accept, and the oppression of women.
The topic of attitudes towards slaves is controversial since, throughout the history of both heroes, different masters fell. Uncle Tom was initially with a kind man who was forced to sell him for his debts (Stowe 24). Linda Brent was born into a good family, and until the age of six, she knew only about the life that her parents showed her and were happy. Then Uncle Tom fell into the hands of the slave owner Leri, who gave the hardest work and beat him, and Linda was forced to back down from her principles despite the owner’s will. He tried to seduce her from an early age, and she found another white man who promised to take care of her children. Both heroes find peace at the end of the work, Linda unites with the family, and Tom finds peace in faith. The negative of slavery is expressed in a detailed description of the cruel actions of evil masters.
Those deprived will have the choice to accept or resist their position. In Uncle Tom’s Cabin, there is greater resistance from the slave girl Eliza with the child and her husband George. They both flee, hoping to save the child and to be together someday. This work tells the stories of several slaves who were forced to endure many different difficulties, regardless of resisting or resigning. Eliza is presented as a special girl because the author describes her syntax as a master, not as a dialect of slaves (Jamieson 337). The second story’s author and main character also decide not to put up with the situation and run away when the owner wants to sell her children (Brent ch. II). All heroes are in a difficult position on a particular part of their path, but the goal makes them move on.
The oppression of women as slaves is the main burning topic of the stories, since in addition to suffering, on an equal basis with men, they were subjected to sexual violence. Hosts could insist on copulation from an early age and then sell their children. The separation of a mother from a child is the most terrible event in a woman’s life, which the slave owners skillfully manipulated. The women tried to defend themselves and taught this to their daughters, but they could not be protected from abuse, violence, and even death (DiAngelo 40). Additionally, choosing between death and trying to save children, they chose the latter (Brent ch. XV). The authors show women as brave and desperate heroes, ready to fight for their offspring to the last.
Slave stories carry a deep sense of life that can help the reader understand this system’s evils. Most of the owners treated them poorly, regardless of ability and behavior. At the same time, the slaves tried to find freedom through physical escape or to turn to faith, like Tom. The issue of harassment against black women is particularly acute because of the severity of the abuse. The reader should understand through fictional heroes and their stories the gravity of the existence of slaves and the pressure that still occurs nowadays.
Works Cited
Brent, Linda. “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Linda Brent.” Gutenberg. 2019. Web.
DiAngelo, L. The Realities of ‘Freedom’: Experience of Enslaved Women in the American South. The Hayes History, 2019, pp. 36-54.
Jamieson, Erin. “Systemic Racism as a Living Text: Implications of Uncle Tom’s Cabin as a Fictionalized Narrative of Present and Past Black Bodies.” Journal of African American Studies, vol. 22, no. 4, 2018, pp. 329–44. Crossref. Web.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Utc.Iath.Virginia.Edu, 1852. Web.