Uncle Tom

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorCollege, Undergraduate September 2001

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Uncle Tom's Cabin took place in the early to mid 1850's in a dining parlor in Kentucky. Late in the afternoon on a chilly day in February, two men were discussing something over wine. There were no slaves or servants around and they were in a conversation about trading slaves in order to keep one's land. This is Arthur Shelby talking to Mr. Haley about his slave trade. They continue to have this conversation until they make a deal to sell slaves in order to get money to keep his land.

There are many characters mentioned throughout the story but only a few of them are dynamic characters, showing some type of change in their life. When Tom becomes the slave of Simon Legree he begins to question his faith in God because of the way that Simon treats and taunts him constantly. He realizes that no one can take away your faith in God, so he prays and sings hymns to help him renew his faith that he thought was lost.

The Shelby's, the first owner of Tom, don't like slavery which is why they are kind masters, but when they goes into debt he is forced to sell his slaves to a cruel man. They promise that they will set them free from the cruelty that he has been sold to. When Tom dies George Shelby, Arthur's son, promises his family that once he is dead they will be free and in deed he does die. Simon Legree was the cruel master of Tom's, he never really learned the values of life, but he caused problems throughout people's lives making it hard for them to even want to live. Legree never really overcame the odds. He did learn that if one does wrong they will pay for it...