uncle tome cabin

Question

Gradually and imperceptible the strange, silent, patient man, who was ready to bear everyone else's burden, and who sought help from none,--who stood aside for all, and came last, and took least, yet was foremost to share his little all with any who needed,--the man who, in cold nights, would give up his tattered blanket to add to the comfort of some woman who shivered with sickness, and who filled the baskets of the weaker ones in the field, at the terrible risk of coming short in his own measure,--and who, though pursued with unrelenting cruelty by their common tyrant, never joined in uttering a word of reviling or cursing,--this man, at last, began to have a strange power over them..."
Which character does this passage literally describe? What is the figurative or allegorical reference of the preceding passage?

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What specific event precipitated the writing of Uncle Tom s Cabin?

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In Uncle Tom's Cabin, Stowe devotes several passages to descriptions of kitchens and cooking. What might have been the significance of such passages for nineteenth-century audiences (other than a straightforward interest in food!)? How do the various kitchens typify the various kinds of household economies and social attitudes examined in the novel? Identify three kitchens that are described in detail in the book, and explain how they match the traits of those households.

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At the time that Uncle Tom's Cabin was written (1852), many Southern slaveholders defended their "peculiar institution" by claiming that they treated their slaves kindly and indulgently. In Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe depicts at least two slaveholders who treat their slaves with some kindness and are liked (to some extent) by the slaves. What plot twists does Stowe include to show that this sort of kindness is inadequate as a defense of slavery?

Answer 1

I think you must read the novel to find the answers to these questions. Who is this man who is so kind and generous? Who in mythology or religion does he resemble, giving of himself to those in need? What are the plot twists that demonstrate that treating slaves "kindly" doesn't excuse the fact that people are enslaved, treated as property, no matter how "kindly"? All of these questions can only be answered by someone who has read the book. The link I gave you a few minutes ago includes the Sparknotes analysis of the novel. That might be helpful, if you choose to read it.