The Evangelical Faith In Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin

Uncle Tom's Cabin is a novel which attracted huge attention before the American Civil War.During the antebellum period,the abolitionist movement was under way,but the idea of emancipation did not enter the hearts of people.In particular,there was disagreement about the emancipation between the North and the South.Rumor had it that Lincoln had met Mrs.Stowe and made a famous remark—“So this is the little lady who made this big war”.But related materials suggest that this well-known anecdote might be a myth.Nevertheless,we cannot ignore the widespread debate about the abolition of slavery before the civil war.Uncle Tom's Cabin is a novel about the life of the lowly.Tom is chosen as a typical faithful Christian,showing the miserable life of black folk.Cabin is connected with the family and the life of the lowly and family life can also reflect the condition of the society.Thus this book is about the individual,the family and the society concerned with the evangelical faith.This thesis tries to analyze the evangelical faith in Uncle Tom's Cabin with individual,family and social aspects to show Mrs.Stowe's idea for society.Chapter One illustrates the individual spiritual development from confusion to establishment,especially Topsy and Cassy.Chapter Two manifests the family spiritual development from unconformity to reconciliation.Chapter Three interprets the development of the social evangelical faith from malformation to reconstruction.This thesis argues that Uncle Tom's Cabin is made up of two branches,Tom's voyage towards south to New Orleans and the Harrises' struggling towards north to Canada.One is the Harrises' rebellion which frees from the slavery oppression.The other is Tom's benevolence,which at last drives his life to death,but his steadfast faith help him get eternity through atonement.Both branches of the novel take the spiritual journey as an entry point with evangelical faith,and express the writer's critique of American slavery society and longing for stable and harmonious society.