Entry 15: Uncle Tom's Cabin

I didn’t really enjoy this book very much even though it's a classic novel. I think that maybe, by the time we read this, I had reached a point in the semester where reading anything was not at all attractive to me. Yes, that may have colored my perception of this novel.

I felt like it was overly sentimental, to the point where, for me, it detracted from the story as a whole and even made me feel emotionally disconnected at some points. However, I can see how the audience that Stowe's audience would have needed that degree of sentimentalism to evoke her desired response. Reading it now, though, is quite a difference experience and I found it hard to get into the mindset of a pre-civil war reader.

I also felt that the portrayal of characters was unrealistic. She makes good characters, like Ava and Tom, saint-like, which we talked about in class to some extent. I just didn't find their reactions and choices believable and that detracted from my enjoyment of the book.


All of that said, I think it's admirable that Stowe wrote a book about a huge injustice in society. And the response it received really is remarkable. This shows that change, even huge change that tugs at the very fabric of society, is possible if people are awakened to it and inspired to fight for it. Her novel was one part of a long journey towards a new way of thinking and a new way of life. And that is something that I can certainly appreciate, regardless of my feelings about the book itself.