Let me first say, that overall, I loved Uncle Tom's Cabin. Tom's journey home to heaven was both heartbreaking and satisfying. We saw Eliza and her family make it to freedom in Canada. Everyone, in their own respectable way, was freed from their bondage. The book should have ended right... right there.
But it didn't.
Why, oh why, Harriet, must you insist on tying up every last loose end? In my opinion, this was an appalling ending to a nearly perfect book. The super happy ending does not match up with the tone of the rest of the story. Stowe's entire novel focuses upon how families are torn apart by slavery. Then, in the last few chapters of her novel, she makes it seem fairly easy for families to be reunited.
I couldn't stomach such an unrealistic ending to a book that tried very hard to be realistic. I think the novel would have had a much more powerful ending if all the reunions were left out. She should have cut off the last two chapters of her book. We had Eliza and her family safe and sound in Canada. Sure, bad things happened along the way, they were separated from their family members, but in the end, they had each other.
The reunions are far too random. It just so happens that these people are on the same boat as young Master George? It just so happens that they get placed near each other in the ship? It just so happens that they become acquaintances and just so happen to mention certain commonalities?
That's four too many just so happens. I can stomach one of them, perhaps, but the rest is far too unlikely. Reality can only be suspended so many times before people reject certain aspects of a narrative.
The ending was too much. I wish she would have left it alone.
WC: 314
Friday, March 25, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
The Happy Slave
In the film The Song of the South, Walt Disney creates one of the most iconic slave characters in cinema. He seems more than eager to live life on the plantation; after all, things aren't so bad, "Mr. Bluebird's on my shoulder."
Victor Fleming's Gone With the Wind portrays a group of slaves on a southern plantation. All are more than happy to serve the white folk. Even after the sacrifices of war have made them free souls, they stick around the plantation. The deep South is a place of wonder and beauty, where the childlike black folk live happily as slaves.
In Uncle Tom's Cabin, we get a slightly different view of slavery. Certainly, and the author is the first to admit, there were good masters who treated their slaves with love and respect. However, though these slaves are thankful to have kind masters, something is missing in their lives. Stowe seeks to uncover a myth that has endured even until this day, the myth of the Happy Slave.
When Uncle Tom is bought by Augustine St. Clare, he begins a life of relative ease for a slave. St. Clare treats slaves like family. When his daughter dies, she asks her father one request, to free Uncle Tom.
When St. Clare tells Tom of his plans to free him, Tom is overjoyed. St. Clare can not help but feel hurt by his eagerness to leave. He asks Tom if he has not treated him more kindly than any master could. Tom replies with a thankful yes. St. Clare just can not understand why Tom would want to leave a life of relative ease and luxury. As St. Clare's slave he could have any earthly thing he desired. Fine food, clothing, a warm bed, and a beautiful abode are all things Augustine has given to Tom. And yet, that is not what Tom desires. He tells St. Clare that he would rather be poor and free then live with ease, yet under the burden of slavery.
This, to me, is a very telling part of Stowe's narrative. Access to material wealth is meaningless if you cannot possess yourself.
There is much truth to this, even in a contemporary sense. I would take a job I thoroughly enjoy than a job that pays millions. We don't want to be tied down to something we have no control over. As humans, we would rather have our freedom and own little, than all the world and lack destiny over our soul.
WC:418
Victor Fleming's Gone With the Wind portrays a group of slaves on a southern plantation. All are more than happy to serve the white folk. Even after the sacrifices of war have made them free souls, they stick around the plantation. The deep South is a place of wonder and beauty, where the childlike black folk live happily as slaves.
In Uncle Tom's Cabin, we get a slightly different view of slavery. Certainly, and the author is the first to admit, there were good masters who treated their slaves with love and respect. However, though these slaves are thankful to have kind masters, something is missing in their lives. Stowe seeks to uncover a myth that has endured even until this day, the myth of the Happy Slave.
When Uncle Tom is bought by Augustine St. Clare, he begins a life of relative ease for a slave. St. Clare treats slaves like family. When his daughter dies, she asks her father one request, to free Uncle Tom.
When St. Clare tells Tom of his plans to free him, Tom is overjoyed. St. Clare can not help but feel hurt by his eagerness to leave. He asks Tom if he has not treated him more kindly than any master could. Tom replies with a thankful yes. St. Clare just can not understand why Tom would want to leave a life of relative ease and luxury. As St. Clare's slave he could have any earthly thing he desired. Fine food, clothing, a warm bed, and a beautiful abode are all things Augustine has given to Tom. And yet, that is not what Tom desires. He tells St. Clare that he would rather be poor and free then live with ease, yet under the burden of slavery.
This, to me, is a very telling part of Stowe's narrative. Access to material wealth is meaningless if you cannot possess yourself.
There is much truth to this, even in a contemporary sense. I would take a job I thoroughly enjoy than a job that pays millions. We don't want to be tied down to something we have no control over. As humans, we would rather have our freedom and own little, than all the world and lack destiny over our soul.
WC:418
The Paths to Freedom
A criticism of Stowe's novel is that the two story lines seem to be disjointed. We have Harry, Eliza, and George making their way to freedom while poor Uncle Tom dies in the darkest plantation in all of the South.
Those who criticize Stowe in this way have been totally missing the point.
In Uncle Tom's Cabin, Stowe has created two paths to freedom. One path deals with the literal, though it symbolizes Canada as a sort of promised or Beulah land for the slave. Crossing Lake Erie into safety could also symbolize passing through the death of one life (slavery) and rebirth into a new life (freedom) on the other side.
Many parallels exist in Stowe's novel. The two paths to freedom are yet another parallel. Uncle Tom's path leads him away from literal freedom and further South into the chains of slavery. In Louisiana Tom finds himself in the lowest hell on earth. Yet while Tom has traveled opposite the way of physical freedom, God has ordered his path to spiritual freedom. His final months on Legree's plantation bring Tom closer to his dear Savior then ever before. He knows that his time on this earth is coming near to an end. When two of Legree's slaves go missing, the cruel master takes out all his anger by torturing Tom. Lying in a pit somewhere in Louisiana, seemingly lost in this world, Tom is all but lost in the eyes of Christ. As Tom breathes his last breath, his soul is released from the chains of his broken body. He has passed over the river, finding freedom on the other side.
We are not to weep for Tom. George, Eliza, and Harry have found freedom of a sort; Tom's freedom, however, is far greater, for he has reached a much better country.
WC:304
Those who criticize Stowe in this way have been totally missing the point.
In Uncle Tom's Cabin, Stowe has created two paths to freedom. One path deals with the literal, though it symbolizes Canada as a sort of promised or Beulah land for the slave. Crossing Lake Erie into safety could also symbolize passing through the death of one life (slavery) and rebirth into a new life (freedom) on the other side.
Many parallels exist in Stowe's novel. The two paths to freedom are yet another parallel. Uncle Tom's path leads him away from literal freedom and further South into the chains of slavery. In Louisiana Tom finds himself in the lowest hell on earth. Yet while Tom has traveled opposite the way of physical freedom, God has ordered his path to spiritual freedom. His final months on Legree's plantation bring Tom closer to his dear Savior then ever before. He knows that his time on this earth is coming near to an end. When two of Legree's slaves go missing, the cruel master takes out all his anger by torturing Tom. Lying in a pit somewhere in Louisiana, seemingly lost in this world, Tom is all but lost in the eyes of Christ. As Tom breathes his last breath, his soul is released from the chains of his broken body. He has passed over the river, finding freedom on the other side.
We are not to weep for Tom. George, Eliza, and Harry have found freedom of a sort; Tom's freedom, however, is far greater, for he has reached a much better country.
WC:304
Touchy Subjects
Growing up, we learned a great many things about slavery. Slaves worked horrible hours, lived in unfathomable poverty, and often were sustained to a point just above starvation. Punishment on the plantation was often extremely severe; if a slave did not do what his master liked, as property, the owner could do as he wished. He had the right to abuse his property to the point of extreme bodily damage, and in some cases, death.
However, many schools, including my own elementary and high school, seem to have sanitized certain less savory aspects of the slave trade (as if there were any savory aspects of the trade at all). I do not remember, until I took American Masterpieces in college, a teacher ever mentioning the sexual exploitation of female slaves. My teachers did not tell us about how the prettiest mulattoes and quadroons would be taken to the auction block clothed in their best dresses, their hair flowing and their bodies perfumed. They did not tell us about the monsters who would bid thousands of dollars to purchase these young women to become their sex slaves.
No, no, we were given a sanitized version of the slave trade. Sure, what we were told was horrid, yet in this one topic we seem to have been left in the dark. Did our teachers not believe that man could exploit fellow man in such a way? Or did they not believe we could handle the truth?
Stowe was far ahead of her time. As a woman, she was not afraid to stand up for the rights of fellow equals. Perhaps during her time, much as today, this aspect of slavery was glazed over. Perhaps the people of Stowe's time did not believe such atrocities could occur.
This woman did what few had done; she tackled the hard issues. By the time Stowe's book had been published, there were few who doubted the depravity of some slave owners in the South.
Are citizens today any less naive than the people of Stowe's time? I tend to think not.
WC:345
However, many schools, including my own elementary and high school, seem to have sanitized certain less savory aspects of the slave trade (as if there were any savory aspects of the trade at all). I do not remember, until I took American Masterpieces in college, a teacher ever mentioning the sexual exploitation of female slaves. My teachers did not tell us about how the prettiest mulattoes and quadroons would be taken to the auction block clothed in their best dresses, their hair flowing and their bodies perfumed. They did not tell us about the monsters who would bid thousands of dollars to purchase these young women to become their sex slaves.
No, no, we were given a sanitized version of the slave trade. Sure, what we were told was horrid, yet in this one topic we seem to have been left in the dark. Did our teachers not believe that man could exploit fellow man in such a way? Or did they not believe we could handle the truth?
Stowe was far ahead of her time. As a woman, she was not afraid to stand up for the rights of fellow equals. Perhaps during her time, much as today, this aspect of slavery was glazed over. Perhaps the people of Stowe's time did not believe such atrocities could occur.
This woman did what few had done; she tackled the hard issues. By the time Stowe's book had been published, there were few who doubted the depravity of some slave owners in the South.
Are citizens today any less naive than the people of Stowe's time? I tend to think not.
WC:345
Use of Art
Everyone (well, almost everyone) loves art in some form or another. We admire photographs, ponder paintings, watch films. And we read novels.
But what makes something art? Can art exist solely for art's sake? I tend to think so. However, one can't help but wonder... would it be more beneficial to take your art and apply it in some larger way? Usually we state our opinion multiple times a day. We have no problem verbalizing what we feel inside. Everyone has an opinion, especially when it comes to religion or politics.
So, if you happen to be an artist, is there harm in applying your skills to a cause greater than yourself? To a cause, dare I suggest it, greater than your art? Harriet Beecher Stowe seemed to think so.
When you read this woman's work, you see a great ability to move the emotions. Stowe possesses a special skill for hitting the soft point inside all our hearts. One can not help but wonder, however, if a great amount of her success is due to her choice of subject in the first place. While a skillful writer, Stowe finds events that actually happened and applies them to her work. These happenings are hard to digest, probably to a great extent because they are based on facts. Stowe takes the facts and weaves them together in one narrative to create a propaganda piece.
And yet, to call Uncle Tom's Cabin a propaganda piece does it a disservice. It contains a depth rarely reached in the novel. Somehow, Stowe found a way to both exploit an evil and create a beautiful piece of art.
So, to all you doubters out there, it can be done; political pieces can be beautiful.
WC:289
But what makes something art? Can art exist solely for art's sake? I tend to think so. However, one can't help but wonder... would it be more beneficial to take your art and apply it in some larger way? Usually we state our opinion multiple times a day. We have no problem verbalizing what we feel inside. Everyone has an opinion, especially when it comes to religion or politics.
So, if you happen to be an artist, is there harm in applying your skills to a cause greater than yourself? To a cause, dare I suggest it, greater than your art? Harriet Beecher Stowe seemed to think so.
When you read this woman's work, you see a great ability to move the emotions. Stowe possesses a special skill for hitting the soft point inside all our hearts. One can not help but wonder, however, if a great amount of her success is due to her choice of subject in the first place. While a skillful writer, Stowe finds events that actually happened and applies them to her work. These happenings are hard to digest, probably to a great extent because they are based on facts. Stowe takes the facts and weaves them together in one narrative to create a propaganda piece.
And yet, to call Uncle Tom's Cabin a propaganda piece does it a disservice. It contains a depth rarely reached in the novel. Somehow, Stowe found a way to both exploit an evil and create a beautiful piece of art.
So, to all you doubters out there, it can be done; political pieces can be beautiful.
WC:289
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
It's all about the Intro
Script Cards are nice and all, but use them wisely.
In other words, don't take one of the most interesting parts of the story, and then just show a couple of text cards about it.
I loved Hawthorne's introductory chapter. It captured my imagination and drew me into the story. And really, isn't that also what the first ten minutes of a film are supposed to do? They always tell us to show, don't tell. Well, the creators of this film version of the House of the Seven Gables tell. Then after telling, they dream up what might have happened thirty years before the beginning of the novel. And they get it all wrong.
I would have started the film with visuals of Matthew Maule's modest home by Maule's well. I would then have shown Colonel Pyncheon, the accusations, the hanging, the tearing down of Maule's home, the building of the Colonels. The curse of Maule could have been the final sequence in the montage. But no. Insead, they show nothing at all.
And yes. This is only the beginning of diversions from Hawthorne's vision.
WC: 185
In other words, don't take one of the most interesting parts of the story, and then just show a couple of text cards about it.
I loved Hawthorne's introductory chapter. It captured my imagination and drew me into the story. And really, isn't that also what the first ten minutes of a film are supposed to do? They always tell us to show, don't tell. Well, the creators of this film version of the House of the Seven Gables tell. Then after telling, they dream up what might have happened thirty years before the beginning of the novel. And they get it all wrong.
I would have started the film with visuals of Matthew Maule's modest home by Maule's well. I would then have shown Colonel Pyncheon, the accusations, the hanging, the tearing down of Maule's home, the building of the Colonels. The curse of Maule could have been the final sequence in the montage. But no. Insead, they show nothing at all.
And yes. This is only the beginning of diversions from Hawthorne's vision.
WC: 185
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Holgrave the Artist
In many ways the character of Holgrave reminds me of most artists. He carries his work with him wherever he goes. He has it in his pocket, ready to whip it out and read it to whoever will listen. He will take any job that puts bread on the table and allows him to do his work. I found it very appropriate that no matter what job Holgrave took, he stayed the same. For the artist, the manner of the work is of little consequence. It is a means to an end. The artist will take nearly any job in order to fund their art. If only, if only, the artist could get paid for doing the work he loves. For his real job lies not in his education; it is in his art.
A good artist does his research. And my, but has Holgrave done his research. Somehow he seems to know a lot about the Pyncheons and the Maules, perhaps more than any living member of either family. He has taken up residence in the center of all the drama. He is here to observe, to document.
The daguerreotypist's interest in Clifford is a very interesting one. He observes Clifford closely; perhaps he is taking notes for characterization for his story. For Holgrave, as with any artist, the world around him, and the people around him, are extremely interesting. And who wouldn't enjoy a front row seat into the drama of the Pyncheons. Crazy people are just insanely interesting. I can't blame Holgrave for being curious.
Lastly, and here my rambling ends, there is a power in Holgrave's work, a power that every writer wishes to have. We all would like to mesmerize our audience, though perhaps not to the degree that Holgrave captures Phoebe. On second thought, I take that back; the power to hypnotize as such would be quite incredible, so long as we are not merely putting our subjects to sleep.
WC: 326
A good artist does his research. And my, but has Holgrave done his research. Somehow he seems to know a lot about the Pyncheons and the Maules, perhaps more than any living member of either family. He has taken up residence in the center of all the drama. He is here to observe, to document.
The daguerreotypist's interest in Clifford is a very interesting one. He observes Clifford closely; perhaps he is taking notes for characterization for his story. For Holgrave, as with any artist, the world around him, and the people around him, are extremely interesting. And who wouldn't enjoy a front row seat into the drama of the Pyncheons. Crazy people are just insanely interesting. I can't blame Holgrave for being curious.
Lastly, and here my rambling ends, there is a power in Holgrave's work, a power that every writer wishes to have. We all would like to mesmerize our audience, though perhaps not to the degree that Holgrave captures Phoebe. On second thought, I take that back; the power to hypnotize as such would be quite incredible, so long as we are not merely putting our subjects to sleep.
WC: 326
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