Race and the American Novel Project: Beloved Synthesis

A significant theme in “Beloved” and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is motherhood and the effect that slavery has on the relationships between mothers and their children. We see time and time again that slavery causes mothers to take drastic measures for their children’s safety. In “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, Eliza leaps across a river with her child in her arms in order to keep him safe from the horrors of slavery. In “Beloved”, Sethe murders her own baby in order to keep her from a life as a slave. Even today, actions from the mother in Baltimore toward her rioting son show that passion for one’s children is timeless. The sacrifices and risks that these women took for their children show incredible character, but also extreme desperation. A powerful quote from “Beloved” is, “How if I hadn't killed her she would have died and that is something I could not bear to happen to her” (Morrison, 114). There is heavy implications behind this sentence. To Sethe, slavery is worse than death. By killing her she saved her innocence and spirit from certain torture.

The situations that these two women found themselves in were not the norms during the time of slavery. More often, children were taken away from their mothers and they could do absolutely nothing to stop it. In “A Slave Auction Described by a Slave, 1841” by Solomon Northup which I wrote about in part one of this project, he describes a scene of a child being taken away from his mother, and her absolute despair at this reality. Her pleading and crying show what can happen when a mother has no control over the safety of her children, it nearly destroys them.

This draws in the critical commentary by Elizabeth B. House that said Sethe was so hurt by her past that she projected it onto a person in her present. Having to kill her child would be one of the worst realities a woman could face. Having gone through that kind of trauma, it would be reasonable for someone to think that the cracks in her heart skewed her perception of real life. Though I don’t believe this is the intended meaning of the book, it is not entirely outlandish to think that a mother suffering in this way start inventing things to help her cope.

I think a mother’s instincts to protect her child are very important. I know that I am very lucky to be born in a time where my mother does not have to leap across a river to keep me safe. However, I have no doubt that she would if she had to. The world gets a little bit better everyday, but people are still facing hardships. Fathers and mothers are raising the people who will shape the future, and protecting them until they can protect themselves is a big part of that job. They have to teach their children how the world works and show them how to think for themselves. As Sethe says in the novel, “Because you mine and I have to show you these things, and teach you what a mother should” (Morrison, 115).

Beloved text used:

http://www.africanafrican.com/folder10/alot%20of%20african%20american%20history%20in%20pdf%20doc%20ppt1/toni%20morrison/BelovedFullTextToniMorrison%20USE%20THIS%20ONE.pdf

Race and the American Novel Project: Beloved Reader Response

The reviews of “Beloved” on Goodreads.com were interesting. People generally gave either all five stars or only one. Obviously this reaction is just about as mixed as you can get. A few notable quotes from the people who gave one star are; “This is probably my least favorite book I’ve ever read” (User: Harpal), “I found it a borderline insulting waste of my time” (Mark Stone), and “This is like the deliberately hideous painting that is called ‘art’ by intellectuals” (User: Trillion). Many of them said they felt it was pretentious and over-analyzed even though there was no real substance. On the other end of the spectrum, the people who gave it five stars generally just quoted the book and then discussed those quotes. One memorable quote from one of the people, however, was “Beloved is the Great American Horror Novel. Sorry Stephen King: evil clowns and alcoholic would-be writers are pretty creepy, but they just got nothing on the terrifying specter of American slavery!” (User: Jessica).

The reader reviews on Barnes and Noble’s website were much more mixed. There were many two, three, and four star reviews. One of the one star reviews, amusingly titled “BeHated” said, “Toni Morrison ought to be ashamed of herself for writing such weirdness” (Anonymous). Thinking that the book was weird is certainly a theme among the negative reviews. A four star review said, “Morrison wrote this novel with spellbounding emotion that can hadrdly [sic] be compared to any work of fiction I have ever read” (Anonymous). So again, mixed reviews.

Amazon had the most positive reviews. It had a lot of five stars and not as many one stars. That may just be that at the time I read the reviews a large amount of five stars came in. An interesting thing about Amazon is that it has a verified purchase option so you can see who has most likely actually read it. I do not know why someone would leave a review for a book they had not read but it could happen and influence the reviews.

I tended to agree with the positive reviews more than the negative. It seemed that at some points the negative reviews were written by people who did not really understand symbolism. Many were made uncomfortable by the disjointed writing style and unusual characters. However, these aspects are exactly what makes this book so unique in my opinion. It deals with dark topics and leaves you with more questions than answer. I think this is what a serious classic novel ought to do. If I were to write a review on one of these sites, I would give “Beloved” five stars.

Race and the American Novel Project: Beloved Contemporary Connections

Recently there were riots in Baltimore. These riots seemed to erupt from years of racial tension between white police officers and black civilians. While the focus of the news coverage was primarily on the destruction and the stealing, there were many peaceful protests going on that were overshadowed by the people who took advantage of the opportunity to display their frustrations. A video taken during one of these riots of a mother calling out her son who was participating in the riots, yelling at him, hitting him, and trying to rip off his mask became very popular among news stations, including CBS. People commended the mother for taking action and discipline her son before he could get himself into real trouble.

I believe there are significant connections between this news story and “Beloved”. Sethe and this woman would do anything to protect their children, even if they had to use violence against them. For Sethe, the consequences of leaving her children alive were horrible for her to imagine. She killed her baby to protect her. In the same way, this Baltimore mother knew that her son would face repercussions if he was arrested and she used all the physical force she had in order to get him out of the situation he was in. They both wanted the absolute best life for their children, even if the best life means no life at all. The actions of Sethe and this woman show how much a mother would do for her child.

There are differences between these women too. Sethe was dealing with slavery and the Baltimore mother was dealing with less blatant racism. Sethe’s child was just a baby and was being put into a situation by no choice of her own, while the boy rioting was doing so by his own free will. Another big difference is that the woman in Baltimore was punishing her son while Sethe was only protecting her daughter. Though there are differences in the situations, they still stem from similar histories and motherly instincts.

Article link:

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/04/28/angry-baltimore-mom-smacks-son/

Race and the American Novel Project: Beloved Critical Commentary

In Elizabeth B. House’s criticism of Beloved, titled “Toni Morrison's Ghost: The Beloved Who Is Not Beloved”, she makes the point that Beloved could not be a ghost, but is instead a confused orphan. House argues that Sethe is so hurt by her past that she is looking for anything to fill that void. When Beloved shows up, confused by the death of her parents and her traumatic past, she quickly latches onto Sethe and claims her to be her mother. House was brought to this conclusion by her own skepticism. She doesn’t believe that Toni Morrison would write a gothic book about a ghost coming back from the dead. To her that seems like an outlandish storyline, and Beloved being an abandoned orphan makes much more sense.

She makes a very compelling argument for her theory. She does believe the book is a ghost story, but not for the reasons one would think. As she says in her article, “Yes, it is a ghost story, but not because things move around in 124, not because strange lights invade rooms; it is a ghost story because of the history of the human heart, because of the inability of the human spirit to shrug off that which might be best forgotten” (House, 266). What she means is that Sethe’s inability to let go is what has created a ghost. She is the one that projects what she wants to see onto Beloved, therefore making her out to be the child she murdered.

Though this is a well thought out article, I cannot say that I agree with it. Obviously, there are many ways to interpret a fictional novel, but I do believe Beloved came from some otherworldly place. There are too many curious coincidences involving Beloved that at a certain point you have a hard time believing that they could be mere chance. When her character is first introduced and she says her name is Beloved, the same as the single word on the dead child’s tombstone, that just seems to be Morrison giving us a blatant hint as to what she was going for. It is interesting to consider the novel in different ways, but seeing that it is a work of fiction, I have no problem accepting that a character is the ghost of a dead child.

Source:

House, Elizabeth B. "Toni Morrison's Ghost: The Beloved Who Is Not Beloved." Studies in 

American Fiction 18.1 (Spring 1990): 17-26. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. 

Christopher Giroux and Brigham Narins. Vol. 87. Detroit: Gale, 1995. Contemporary Literary

Criticism Online. Web. 15 May 2015.

Extra Credit Blog: We Wear the Mask

“We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar is a poem about hiding one’s pain and true feelings from the world. Smiling to hide deeper feelings is something all of us have done in the past and something that we will likely do in the future. It seems to be how our world works. Dunbar makes the point that this is the fault of “human guile”, which means human cleverness. It’s almost as though the human race has decided that we must be intelligent not publicly represent our sadness and anger. The only emotions that you may share with the world are meaningless surface ones. Being genuine about hard things is rare.

When you’re very young, it seems as though everyone puts on a face for you. Every adult smiles in your direction and everyone seems to be happy. It’s not until you get older and wiser that you start to understand the pain behind the smiles. You may find out about a hardship in someone’s life, but unless you’re very close to them it’s likely that they won’t tell you yourself. It can be difficult to see someone who is hiding their feelings. It is viewed as a sign of strength but it can make it much more difficult for the person because they have to spend so much energy acting like they’re fine and they may not feel comfortable opening up to anyone.

There are so many powerful lines in this poem. “With torn and bleeding hearts we smile” (Dunbar, 624) perfectly sums up the main idea. We don’t project what we actually feel whenever we are hurting. Another powerful line is, “Nay, let them only see us, while We wear the mask” (Dunbar, 624). The mask is a powerful symbol that somehow we are all immediately familiar with. Only letting people see you in one ingenuous way is how anxiety builds in people because it is stressful to be wearing a mask everyday of your life.

This poem points out certain aspects of our culture that we should strive to change. If we never stop living in a world where real emotions are weak, then we will always be unknowingly surrounded by people who need help who are afraid to express it. It takes much more strength to admit when you’re hurting than it does to put on a happy face and act like nothing is wrong. Hopefully these tides will turn and we will have a more open culture, but until then it is important to remember that you don’t know everyone’s story. Also, if you’re hurting but choosing to wear a mask, you aren’t the only one.

Blog 6: The Woman Warrior

One very important aspect of “No Name Woman” from “The Woman Warrior” by Maxine Hong Kingston is sexual identity, specifically for women. The aunt of the narrator faced harsh prosecution for her sexuality. This story explores many of the possibilities of what could have led to her suicide, whether it be rape or love. Either way, it is very clear that her community blamed her for her actions and made sure she knew it. This is made clear by how they ransacked her house and pretended she never existed after her death. The latter is especially horrible because their religious belief is that the dead get whatever you give them in the afterlife so she would never have anything.

This story opened up my eyes to the ways of traditional Chinese culture. Obviously there is pressure in our own culture for women to be sexually conservative, but I didn’t know about the harshness of this society. The idea that her community, a group of people that were all meant to be considered an extension of her family, would shame her so much that she would take her life and the life of the child that she loved is just so shocking on so many levels. It doesn’t seem like the people have advanced much either. We see throughout the story that the narrator is still being told to be pure and to not disgrace her family by being promiscuous.

There were many relevant quotes about female sexual identity on this reading. One line that directly shows the difference between men and women in this culture is, “They expected her alone to keep the traditional ways, which her brothers, now among the barbarians, could fumble without detection” (Kingston, 1510). Because the men in her village went to America, it is accepted that they will not be held accountable for their actions there, whereas the narrator’s aunt had all of the pressure on her shoulders to be perfect. We see that when she doesn’t meet these expectations, the repercussions are severe. We also see some of the pressures to be modest in this story. For example, when she says, “More attention to her looks than these pulling of hairs and picking at spots would have caused gossip among the villagers” (Kingston, 1511). It’s hard to believe that something so trivial would actually matter to so many people. This just illustrates the intense pressure on women to behave and not express their sexuality.

There is much pressure on women today to act a certain way sexually. If you have too much sex, you are a slut, if you don’t have any, you’re a prude. It really is an awful way to box in half of the population. In the case of rape, a woman’s sexuality is essentially taken away from her. It’s scary how rampant it is in our society and how often the woman is blamed for being attacked. All of this comes into play in this story, and it makes the reader consider the narrator’s aunt as more than just a woman who got pregnant and committed suicide, but as a person who lived a hard life and did not deserve to be treated so terribly.

Blog 5: We Real Cool

“We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks has a lot more to it than one might realize. There are themes within this poem of uncertainty, fear, and realization. The unique poem structure is where we find the uncertainty. The hanging we’s at the end of each line suggest a slight hesitation before each statement. It seems to suggest that the pool players are being falsely confident because they know deep down that they’re making poor choices. That is where we see the fear. They are afraid of their futures and the people they have fallen in with. On some level they understand that because they are currently making the easy choices to conform and to never challenge themselves, they are ultimately hurting their futures and shortening their lives. That is the realization of the poem.

I think everyone knows people who are lazily throwing their lives away. They seem to be unmotivated and stagnate. This is driven by their need to conform to their friends. Conformity can be very destructive to people. It seems that the “bad kids” in modern times are just misunderstood individuals who have found acceptance among people who do not encourage them to be successful, but rather to cut class, drink alcohol, and generally not think about the consequences of their actions. This can affect our lives as sometimes these people are our siblings or old friends who we care about. These perspectives make this poem cut much deeper.

I think the most important line in this poem is “We die soon” (Brooks, 1312). This shows the real meaning and purpose of this poem. It is the underbelly of the attitude of the pool players. They know they’re living dangerous lives, but they can’t be afraid of that, or at least they can’t say they’re afraid of it. They just have to act like they’re above society and above being told what to do. Because of this, they will likely die soon. Another significant quote is, “We left school” (Brooks, 1312). A lack of education can certainly lead to delinquency. Education is one of the most important pillars of society. Without an educated public, society will take extremely long to progress. Whether these pool players skipped class for a day or dropped out of school altogether, they are hurting their ability to understand the world they live in and taking opportunities away from themselves.

This poem does not have extremely positive implications about these pool players. It seems to imply that they are throwing their lives away and they’re proud of themselves for it. That can be hard to read the first time through. However, when you think about it, it may not be entirely bleak. If they are the ones saying that they know they will die soon then there is some hope that they will change. It is hard to move away from an identity such as the one these pool players have created for themselves, but it is possible that they will be able to realize what they are doing to themselves and choose a better life, especially because they hesitate after the we’s, which shows that they are not confident in their current circumstances.

Literary Context Blog: Regionalism

Regionalism plays a significant role in “A Streetcar Named Desire”. This play shows the 20th century south, specifically New Orleans, in an honest way. It shows us issues such as gender inequality and a lack class mobility. This is regionalism because it shows us the good and the bad of New Orleans. Regionalism focuses on everything that creates a place. Things like dialects, customs, and environment. Stories that involve regionalism tend to have similarities. Some of these similarities can be having an unmarried female main character, like Blanche, or having a theme of sentimentality. As its written in “Regionalism in English Fiction Between the Wars”, “What these fictions might share[...] is their sense of regions as points of difference that are linked, if not continuous, with the space of the nation-state and with international and transnational movements” (Hart, 93).

In the first scene of the show when Blanche arrives and Stella and Stanley’s house, we see her reactions to her surroundings. She is horrified that Stella is living in such terrible conditions, or at least terrible by her standards. She seems to feel above it all. When you consider regionalism within this passage, it can really deepen your interpretation of it. This really shows the class divide. The rich live on grand plantations and the poor live in small, shared apartments. Even though Blanche is now completely broke, she still see herself as above the people around her. This shows a reality of life in New Orleans at this time, being that there was a class divide.

What I found the most interesting while doing this research was that 19th century southern regionalism helped to mend tensions after the civil war. Kathryn McKee wrote, “Writers of the postbellum era record the aftermath of the century-splitting conflict in memoirs and Lost Cause laments before rallying around a continued sense of local distinctiveness expressed in regional literature, populated by still rebellious, careworn Southerners trying to find their way into the twentieth century” (McKee, 11). I think this really shows how writing was able to help people understand the world they were living in. I really think that literature is powerful and this is a great example of just how powerful it can be.

Sources

McKee, Kathryn, ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Literature of the American South.

1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Cambridge Companions

Online.  Web. 02 April 2015.

Matthew Hart. (2009). Regionalism in English fiction between the wars. In: Robert L. Caserio

(ed.) The Cambridge Companion to the Twentieth-Century English Novel. pp. 89-101.

[Online]. Cambridge Companions to Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press. Available from: Cambridge Companions Online [Accessed 06 April 2015].

Blog 4: A Streetcar Named Desire

“A Streetcar Named Desire” has a theme throughout the show of manipulation and control. Two of the characters in particular, Blanche and Stanley, both seem to be in a place in their lives where they do not have as much power as they would like to. These internal conflicts create many problems through the show. Blanche is constantly trying to manipulate people into doing what she wants or into paying attention to her. This drove Mitch to her and then partially led to the end of their relationship and to her being institutionalized. Stanley, being a lower class worker who wishes he was in a better situation yet cannot seem to move himself up in the world, tries to compensate for his lack of control by forcefully controlling the limited parts of his life that he has power over.

America has never been perfect. I’ve always known that. However, this view into life in New Orleans in the 20th century was a bit harsher than I expected. The gender inequality was difficult to see, especially seeing a character get away with raping someone. Blanche’s false front about being civilized and wearing very lavish clothing reminded me of the characters in “The Great Gatsby” who were well dressed and socialized but they were empty people. Blanche’s sadness and lack of true identity seemed to be a big factor in why she tries to manipulate people and searches for the approval of men. Without the societal pressure on women to be attractive in order to be valuable she may have been a more well rounded person.

There are many instances within the play that we see Blanche and Stanley try control and manipulate people. We see Blanche being manipulative when she says, “I don’t tell truth, I tell what ought to be true. And if that’s sinful, then let me be damned for it” (Williams, 1165). She says this to Mitch when he’s confronting her about her past. It’s manipulative because she’s telling him that her actions and reasonable and he is the one that’s incorrect to believe she has done something wrong. We also see Stanley being controlling of Stella when he says, “You hens cut that conversation in there”, and “Well, you can hear me and I said hush up” (Williams, 1134). He is very demanding of his wife and does not seem to respect her much at all. He only ever tries to be kind to her when she runs out on him and he wants to get her back.

The term “control freak” is well ingrained into our society. It is not uncommon to meet someone who has to have every inch of their house spotless or a parent who strictly oversees every aspect of their children’s life. Stanley and Blanche may have existed fictionally several decades ago, but their types still exist today. Obviously domestic violence and sexual assault are very real problems in our society today. There seems to be an imbalance of power in some relationships. In poorer areas, domestic violence reports skyrocket after a popular team loses and right before people get a payday, when the previous paycheck is running out. This shows people who cannot control certain aspects of their lives asserting themselves wherever they can. This is an unfortunate reality. Stories like “A Streetcar Named Desire” allows people to see inside these lives and hopefully help to prevent these sort of events from happening to them or the people they love.

Blog 3 The Lynching

“The Lynching” by Claude McKay paints a very bleak picture of America in the 1920’s. The attitudes of the white people in this poem towards the black person who had been lynched are quite disturbing. The line, “And little lads, lynchers that were to be, Danced round the dreadful thing in fiendish glee” (McKay, 927) is especially unsettling. The idea that young children would dance around a dead body as if it gave them amusement is difficult to think about. Unfortunately, this kind of behavior was once common in America, especially in the South. Writers like McKay brought attention to this issue of white suppression through their poetry. Luckily, today there could never be a lynching that was publicly celebrated.

I knew that the South was an immoral place after the civil war, but this poem depicted a reality I would never want to think about. If an entire community is in favor of public executions then that is certainly a place void of respect for human dignity. The children dancing around the corpse shows that they had already been taught the African Americans were not to be view as human beings, which makes me think that that is the reason racism is still around today. If parents teach such young children to disregard an entire race, then how do they have a chance to see it a different way? Those children are likely to grow up and teach their children the same ideas. It could take generations for that cycle to be broken, creating a place where racism is not only accepted but expected. This contributes to the struggles our country is still facing with prejudice of all different kinds.

This poem was extremely powerful in its language. Images like, “The ghastly body swaying in the sun” (McKay 927) really cause you to picture what was happening. The sympathy this stirs in our hearts causes lines like “The women thronged to look, but never a one Showed sorrow in her eyes of steely blue” (927) to be very confusing. This is because we as readers already feel sorry for a person we do not know and cannot actually see, so it is difficult to imagine how a person who is actually there could be so void of emotion. This clearly shows how different this time was. It is amazing how far we have come in a hundred years. Unfortunately, we still have farther to go. However, the fact that most people who have read this poem today find the actions of the white people shocking or disrespectful is means there is much hope for an even better future.

When reading this poem, it can be easy to feel ashamed of how people could have ever acted like this, and wonder if racism will ever truly go away. However, when you compare the actions of the people in this poem to how people act now, it can be hopeful. There are no longer communities that publicly murder people and then celebrate that murder the next day. When you think about it in those terms, it really seems as though we’ve come light years from where we were. There’s so much hope for the future, as humanity has proven time and time again that it can improve itself. We’re not there yet, but poets and writers, including Claude McKay, are helping humanity every day but showing us how we can be better.

Race and the American Novel: Uncle Tom’s Cabin Personal Synthesis

In “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, the most important issue is slavery. The entire point of the novel is to make people see how atrocious it is. Harriet Beecher Stowe educated so many people with this novel and helped to end one of the worst American institutions we have ever had. Though many would argue that her novel was not well written or did not portray African Americans accurately, such as James Baldwin, many more believe that she is an inspiration who plays a significant role in American history. She is a very powerful writer that puts you into the place of the person being depicted. In this way, each and every reader is able to experience slavery firsthand. Not only that, but she placed the blame on the shoulders of those who weren’t doing anything about it. We see that when she writes, “Both the North and the South have been guilty before God” (Stowe, 408). These kind of broad statements made people want to take action.

Stowe uses different characters to show the different hardships of slavery. She used Eliza to show how hard it was for slaves to have their families torn away from them. It was clear that Eliza was willing to do anything to stay with her son and protect him. We know that this was a real struggle that slaves went through because of Solomon Northup’s “A Slave Auction Described by a Slave, 1841” where he depicted an actual mother having her son torn from her. She used Uncle Tom to show the physical hardships slaves had to endure. Because of his good nature, he was subjected to much pain, and eventually died rather than give away information about slaves who had escaped. This was a circumstance that could happen to any slave. George was used to show how much it didn’t matter if a slave was intelligent or handy, he or she was subjected to their master’s will. When he is removed from his factory job due to his masters ill will, he expresses his discontent when he says, “What right has he to make a dray-horse of me? To take me from things I can do- and do better than he can- and put me to work that any horse can do?” (Stowe, 14). We can see that he is feeling dehumanized and undervalued all because he is a slave and cannot make choices for himself.

This book gave humanity to those who were deprived of it. Though the work is fictional, it tugs on your heartstrings in a way that makes it feel real. By creating characters that people could empathize with, Stowe gave humanity to an entire race of humans that were viewed as entirely inferior by at least half the country. As tragic as it was that our country had to have a civil war, it was also extremely necessary, and Stowe showed people why. Slavery was an atrocity and once people realised that, change could really happen. We can never know for sure how much influence “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” had on American history, but I believe one could say that this novel at least played a significant role in creating the America that we know today.

Race and the American Novel: Uncle Tom's Cabin Critical Commentary

In James Baldwin’s article titled “Everybody’s Protest Novel”, he brings up many points to support his opinion that “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is not as good of a novel as it has been historically known to be. One of his more interesting criticisms is that the characters of Eliza and George are essentially white in every way except for the fact that Stowe tells us they are black. He brings up that Uncle Tom, however, is much darker skinned, and because of this, Uncle Tom’s only path to salvation is through enduring his life until he dies and may enter into heaven. Because George and Eliza are lighter than Tom, they are able to gain their freedom while on Earth. He portrays this point most directly when he writes, “Black equates with evil and white with grace...” (535). He believes that this issue, including Stowe’s poor writing in general, is not discussed because the novel is fighting for a good cause, and therefore criticism of it would be a criticism of progress.

There was a lot to process in this reading. Though it was hard to see his point at all times, I believe that in general this added to our understanding of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by offering opinions that were never expressed by anyone in our class. His opinions certainly help you to reexamine the novel. It is interesting to wrap your head around an entirely different perspective of the book and then see how you interpret it. Because of that change in thought, we have even more to chew on than just the popular opinion. I don’t believe anyone ever tried to make the case that Uncle Tom had the fate he did simply because his skin was darker than that of other slaves, therefore, I never considered it. This article forced me, and likely others, to look at the book with a more critical eye. It is important to take in everything you read with a dose of skepticism.

It is interesting to consider the different skin tones of Eliza and George compared to Uncle Tom and their different fates. I have a difficult time believing that if Eliza and George had had very dark skin, Stowe would not have had them escape from the South. The shade of their skin seemed to have little influence on their outcome, in my opinion. I cannot say that I disagree with Baldwin’s point entirely, however. It is certainly true that the slaves with lighter skin had a better fate, but it doesn’t matter how dark they are to any of the slave owners. All that matters is that they have any dark coloring, because that’s enough to make them a slave. Regardless of skin tone, I believe that these three characters made the decisions that they did because of who they were and what they believed in.

Race and the American Novel: Uncle Tom's Cabin Background and Context

“A Slave Auction Described by a Slave, 1841” by Solomon Northup details the events of a slave auction. This essay describes how the slaves would be dressed nicely and taught to act intelligently before being paraded before potential buyers. The slaves were then thoroughly inspected by the buyers and bartered for based on their perceived worth. A couple was bought by the same person and were quite happy with their situation, while a mother was separated from her son and couldn’t contain her grief. This contrast shows that when your life is in someone else’s hands, all you can do is hope that you are met with a decent fate because ultimately you have no control over what happens to you. The main point of this text is to show how dehumanizing slavery is.

The inspection of the slaves is depicted by saying “Customers would feel of our hands and arms and bodies… make us open our mouths and show our teeth, precisely as a jockey examines a horse which he is about to barter for or purchase” (Northup, 436). This really emphasizes how dehumanizing the slave trade was. These human beings were viewed as property, no better than a work horse. There was no compassion for their familial bonds and money was of higher importance than they were. It was truly heartbreaking to read about the mother who could not keep her own son in her life, no matter how much she begged.

This text adds to our understanding of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by showing us how truly important the work was at its time. This essay grounds the book in reality by showing that it was accurate in its portrayal of slavery despite being a work of fiction. There are close parallels between the mother in this essay and Eliza in the book. For example, when Eliza first hears that her son might be sold away from her, she has a very protective reaction, “Her heart swelled and throbbed, and she involuntarily strained [her son] so tight that the little fellow looked up into her face in astonishment” (Stowe, 9). This is a more subdued reaction than the Eliza in Northup’s story, “Eliza was crying aloud, wringing her hands… Eliza burst into a paroxysm of grief, weeping plaintively” (Northup, 436). These reactions are similar and realistic, as having your child taken from you must be one of the greatest pains a person could go through. This was the kind of pain that was created within slavery, and the kind of thing that “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” helped to put an end to.

Blog 2: The Yellow Wallpaper

“The Yellow Wallpaper” is a very perplexing story. One of the more puzzling symbols of it is the yellow wallpaper itself, and the woman that is described as being trapped within it. I believe that this represents the narrator’s illness and her perception of herself. When you read the story you can trace the decline of her mental state through her observations and feeling about the wallpaper. At first, she is disgusted by it, which shows how unhappy she is with her current treatment. Then, she becomes obsessed with it, as it’s the only thing she has to think about. This represents how she has no other choice but to live with her suffering all the time, she can’t make it go away or distract herself from it so she just has to feel it at all times. Finally, she tears it down and becomes the woman who was trapped behind it. This shows her entire loss of sanity, as she has become nothing but her own turmoil. The wallpaper is a symbol of despair and hopelessness. In this way, the story shows female mental illness as a serious issues that cannot be solved with inactivity.

It is very difficult to understand someone’s mental illness. I think many people hold the preconception that the mentally ill have their lights on, but nobody’s home, so to speak. Sometimes it can be difficult to see them as actual suffering people who need help. The wallpaper helps us see this because it shows us what is really happening within the narrator’s mind as she slips into madness. This was especially important at the time this story was published because it helped people see that the “rest cure” was ineffective, if not detrimental to recovery.

The narrator’s relationship with John shows how bad the treatment of ill women was at this time. When the narrator writes, “He says no one but myself can help me out of it, that I must use my will and self-control and not let any silly fancies run away with me.” This shows how he really saw her. It is as though he believed she was just too weak to stop being depressed and hysterical. This blames her for her situation and doesn’t address her medical needs. There is some commentary in the story about the incompetence of doctors. For example, when the story says, “John is a physician, and perhaps[...] that is one reason I do not get well faster.” This directly shows that there is a mistrust between patients and their doctors because doctors at this time were not equipped to treat mental illness.

I believe this story is extremely important for women’s rights. Seeing the narrator’s humanity slip away because she is not treated like a human being shows people the effects of dehumanizing others. Some of the medical practices that were used on women centuries ago were misinformed and quite unpleasant. It’s women like Gilman who give a voice to the voiceless and become catalysts for change. This story creates a new perception of women’s mental illness and how it should be treated. It does so by emphasizing how important it is to treat everyone with the dignity they deserve.

Blog 1: Uncle Tom's Cabin

I have decided to explore the role of women in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, especially in the context of the time period of this book. Women obviously were not particularly powerful at this time, as they could not vote or make important decisions for themselves without the permission of their husbands. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s awareness of this definitely shaped her writing. You can see that the female characters are influential and strong-willed, but these character traits are portrayed through their influence over their husbands. In our modern age, this portrayal of women would be viewed as sexist or degrading, but in this particular book, that type of female character is perfectly written. The issue is that the men of this time were not accepting of powerful women, and therefore may have dismissed the book if the feminine power has been directly expressed. This roundabout way of showing the strength of the women in this novel certainly did them justice and made the context of this book more acceptable to the people who really needed to read it.

Before I started reading this novel, I would have expected very sexist and outdated portrayals of women. Perhaps it is just because I have a preconception of this time period that women were viewed as simple people without any significant depth to their personalities. Stowe certainly proved me wrong. I think this book is about a lot more than just the dangers of slavery, but the dangers of oppressing anyone at all. This book was ahead of its time in this way. I respect Stowe for being brave enough to use her influence to show people a range of issues.

There are many examples of strong actions committed by women in what we have read so far. For example, when Eliza makes the decision to run away for the sake of her child, she makes an extremely strong and selfless decision. The strength that she is portraying is highlighted by her leap across the river to relative freedom. This certainly would have been a frightening thing for her to do, but she did it against all odds. Another example of strong women influencing the plot of the story with her good will is when Mrs. Bird argues with her husband about the morality of the “Fugitive Slave Act”. Though the opinion that held weight in society was ultimately her husband’s, Mrs. Bird still felt that her opinion was the correct one. Ultimately, I believe her actions and strong will was vital in keeping Eliza safe when she showed up at their doorstep. We see this in the passage from chapter IX when Mrs. Bird says; “I put it to you John- would you turn away a poor, shivering, hungry creature from your door, because he was a runaway? Would you, now?” This challenges her husband, and I believe reminds him of what his morals are.

I believe this portrayal of women made this book accessible to the people of its time. Gender equality wasn’t the battle Harriet Beecher Stowe was trying to fight in this book, but I believe her strong sense of morality couldn’t help but show women as the capable and equally valuable people they are. Now that we live in a different time, we can appreciate that. I think this helps this book to continue to be relevant as we are always dealing with the issues of people being oppressed. The cruelties of racism and sexism may not be completely gone, but this novel shows that they have been fought against by brave people for over a century.