Tom Sawyer's Cabin (World Literature Library)

Author: Harriet Beecher Stowe (American) Li Peng'en
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-01
Features: To pay off debts, the planter Shelby decides to sell the son of the slave Tom and the female slave Eliza. Upon hearing the news, Eliza flees with her son overnight to Canada. Tom is sold to New Orleans, and during the journey, Tom saves the life of a little girl. The girl's father buys Tom as a household servant out of gratitude. After the girl dies, her father, according to his daughter's wishes, decides to free the black slave, but before he can complete the legal procedures, he is killed in an accident. Tom falls into the hands of an extremely cruel slave owner and eventually dies, battered and broken. The novel centers on the life of the black slave Tom, depicting the fates of some enslaved people. Mr. Shelby, a planter in Kentucky, is forced to sell his two favorite slaves, Tom and Little Harry, to pay off his debts. Harry is the son of Eliza, the personal maid of Mrs. Shelby. Eliza overhears a conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Shelby about selling slaves to pay debts and flees Shelby's plantation with Little Harry overnight. Pursued by slave traders, she braves the icy Ohio River and escapes to a free state. Later, she unexpectedly meets her husband George, who has also escaped from slavery, and the family travels together to Canada. Tom was born and raised on Shelby's plantation. He served the young master as a child and later became the plantation's overseer. He was diligent, loyal, and deeply trusted by the master. When Tom learns from Eliza that the master plans to sell him, he refuses to flee, believing that doing so would be a betrayal of the master's trust and a failure to share his burdens. He thinks he should be sold to pay off the debts and thus sorrowfully bids farewell to his family, joining the slave trader Haley on a steamboat to the lower Mississippi River. On the boat, Tom saves a little girl named Eva who accidentally falls into the water. Grateful, Eva's father, St. Clare, buys Tom. Tom then comes to St. Clare's plantation, where he drives the carriage for the master and accompanies the little girl Eva. Later, Eva dies, and soon after, St. Clare also dies in an accident before he can fulfill his promise to free Tom. St. Clare's ruthless wife, Marie, sells Tom, and he falls into the hands of the cruel planter Legree. Later, Tom is beaten to death by Legree for refusing to whip other slaves and for refusing to reveal the whereabouts of two escaped female slaves. The most impactful aspect of the novel is its exposure of the evils of slavery. In Christian countries, the sacred bonds of marriage and family are rendered meaningless among slaves, as all enslaved people are the private property of their owners, and their families can be torn apart at will. It is common for couples to be separated and mothers to be torn away from their children. After being sold by Shelby, Tom is forced to abandon his wife and children and leave his homeland. The novel also depicts the tragic stories of other families torn apart by slavery. For example, during Tom's second sale and the journey down the Mississippi River, the only child of a female slave who was tricked into being sold is secretly sold away, leaving the mother heartbroken and leading her to commit suicide by drowning in the middle of the night. The elderly Purcell, whom Tom meets in New Orleans, is heartbroken over the repeated loss of her children and drinks herself to death, ultimately meeting a tragic end. Casy, who grew up in a privileged environment and received a good education, with fair skin, beauty, and refined manners, is sold multiple times and her children are also sold off, eventually becoming Legree's sexual slave and suffering immense physical and emotional abuse. The novel also features many mother and daughter pairs, as well as mother and son pairs, torn apart at auction, such as Susan and Emmeline. The descriptions of these heart-wrenching scenes of family separation and the breaking of bonds are deeply moving and have a powerful impact. The author aims to move readers with moral fervor, awaken the conscience of the American people, and make them see the evil of slavery that tramples on human dignity. In the author's view, the root of slavery lies in the evil within human hearts, and to eliminate slavery, one must rely on the transformative power of Christianity to purify people's hearts.