Book Review: Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom’s Cabin ot Life Among the Lowly, Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1952.

This is a fascinating book.  It was written many year ago, and published in 1852 as an antislavery novel.  It was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe.  It was the most read novel of the 19^th century, and more copies of this were sold than any other book with the exception of the Bible. 

The story of this book is very exciting.  It shows many different kind of slave holders, and even though some are kind and good, it also tells how those who are kind and good, make it possible for the tyrant to exist.  This book actually tells many stories, but mostly it tells the story of Eliza, who runs away when her baby when he is sold to a slave runner, and Tom, who refuses to run away when he has the chance, saying he would rather honor his master by doing what he thinks is right, rather than run away.  Eliza is successful in making her escape.  She crosses the Ohio on floating ice, jumping from one ice flow to the next while holding her baby.  Her escape, and that she could keep her baby safe, is a miracle.
http://bwardlehistory.blogspot.com/2014/07/slave-fugitive-eliza-harris-of-uncle.html 

Tom throughout the book has a sense of honor, and a pride which shows through in his Christian living. 

In writing the book, Stowe often goes on you person tangents, i.e. “now you see” so as to make her points about the cruelty about slavery.  One of things she attacks most about slavery is that it tears families apart, and she talks about this in telling several different stories. 

Towards the end of the book we are introduced to the tyrant master, Mr. Simon Legree.  Legree would prefer to use up his slaves and buy new ones, getting all he can from them, and beating them cruelly if they don’t perform.  He beat Tom cruelly, and eventually has his two overseer negroes beat him to death.  However, when they see Tom’s Christian nature, the repent.  They say they will refuse to do anything like this again.

This book does a great job of getting its message across.  Reportedly when President Lincoln met Stowe he commented, “So this is the little lady who started this great war.”  Records of this statement were not recorded the night of the meeting, but her son remembered it later.   Whether the statement is true, her book was very influential.  It also is good at describing the attitudes of many towards slavery and African Americans.  The Northern church that supports slavery by investing in slaves, although not participating; the laws that were made to appease slave traders, and slavery in general, including the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.  (Later she explains that this motivated her to write the book.) 

Tom is a person with bad luck, but always loyal and hard working.  He has a good master, and pretty much runs the place.  However, the master gets in debt, and is forced to sell Tom.  Tom has a wife and children, and is separated, with the promise they will buy him back when circumstances are better.  He is bought by a good family, Augustine St. Clare who has a daughter Eva.  Eva wants the slaves to be freed.  She is sickly, and gets her father to promise to free them before she dies.  St. Clare is going to do this, but he is murdered in a bar fight, and Tom is sold farther south to Legree.  Legree is determined to break tom, to make him so he is no longer a Christian.  Legree fails.  In this aspect, the book seems like Job, but Legree does kill Tom in the end. 

Movie Review: ****Lincoln (2012)

This movie is directed by Stephen Spielberg and stars Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field as the president and his wife.  This movie is a historical presentation of the thirteenth amendment and the difficulty with getting it passed, and President Lincoln's desire to get it passed during the lame-duck congress, after the Democrats had been defeated in the house.  He did not want to wait for the new congress to be seated, for if the war should conclude he might lose the people's motivation to pass the amendment; that in passing it might quicken the end of the war. 
The movie does not present the early parts of the war, in fact Lee and Grant are already facing each other at Petersburg, and Lincoln has won reelection, in the same election that swept many Democrats out of congress.
The passing of the thirteenth amendment was not easy as the movie portrays, and the movie shows the political moves, and promises Lincoln pulled out to official abolish slavery in the United States.  Political victory would require 20 votes from across the aisle, while not losing any votes from the Republican Party. 
The witticisms of Abraham Lincoln made for an enjoyable part of the movie, and I remember thinking during the movie, I wish I had written that down.  Also his humorous stories kept the movie light, because the movie was heavy. 
This movie was not a biography of Lincoln, nor was it a history of the civil war.  It had very little of the actual action, other than some Africa Americans telling their story, and showing the result of battle.  The Gettysburg Address is recited at the beginning of the move, and towards the end we see works from Lincoln's second inauguration. 
The movie also does a very good job of portraying the son's of Mary and Abraham Lincoln.  Robert, his oldest who wants to be in uniform rather than at school.  He finally gets his wish, being placed on Grant's staff.  Tad, his youngest is dealing with the death of the middle brother, Willie.  He views lithographs of slaves, and is very much interested in the freedom of the slaves.
The other actors do a very good job.  You would think a movie spending much of its time showing congress would be boring.  In this case it was not, because the story took place in congress, and the manipulations, name calling, and in some cases restraining of one's opinions to get the amendment passed, were fascinating. Tommy Lee Jones as Representative Stephens from Ohio was terrific.
A very enjoyable movie.

Movie Review: ****^ Young Mr. Lincoln

This is a 1939 black and white movie available through instant Netflix.  It is directed by John Ford and Henry Fonda plays Mr. Lincoln.  This is not the way you would expect a Lincoln movie to go.  Instead this movie touches Lincoln as a man, a fallible, sometimes humorous, melancholy man.  He is truly an enigma.  There are those scenes where he can control a crowd with his wit and humor an courage; then there are those times when he talks down about himself.  This movie is truly a masterpiece.  Henry Fonda does a superb job.  I learned things about Abraham Lincoln I didn't know.  He likely had a love when he was young, who succumbed to typhoid.  He was melancholy, and subject to bouts of depression.  This movie also presents Lincoln as a lawyer, and it was as spellbinding as Perry Mason.  I recommend this movie.  Here is a longer review of this comparing it to another Lincoln movie.
http://www.criticsatlarge.ca/2012/11/abraham-lincoln-myth-and-man.html