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CHRISTIAN LOVE AND DEVOTION REFLECTED BY UNCLE TOM AS SEEN IN STOWE’S UNCLE TOM’S CABIN
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
NOVRITA DEBORA PASARIBU
Student Number: 034214131
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA 2010
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CHRISTIAN LOVE AND DEVOTION REFLECTED BY UNCLE TOM AS SEEN IN STOWE’S UNCLE TOM’S CABIN
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
NOVRITA DEBORA PASARIBU
Student Number: 034214131
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA 2010
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MOTTO But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Korintus 2:9
So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Ibrani 13: 6 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men. Kolose 3: 23
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YÉÜ Åç uxÄÉäxw Ytà{xÜ? ]xáâá V{Ü|áà YÉÜ `ç ÅÉÅ?
g{tÇ~ çÉâ yÉÜ ÄÉä|Çz Åx á|ÇvxÜxÄç
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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma: Nama : Novrita Debora Pasaribu Nomor Mahasiswa :034214131 Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul: CHRISTIAN LOVE AND DEVOTION REFLECTED BY UNCLE TOM AS
SEEN IN STOWE’S UNCLE TOM’S CABIN
Beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada).Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustkaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalty kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis. Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal: 19 April 2010 Yang menyatakan (Novrita Debora Pasaribu)
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PERNYATAAN KEASLIAN KARYA
Saya menyatakan dengan sesungguhnya bahwa skripsi yang saya tulis ini tidak memuat karya atau bagian lain kecuali yang telah disebutkan dalam kutipan dan daftar pustaka sebagai layaknya karya ilmiah.
Yogyakarta, 19 April 2010
Novrita Debora Pasribu
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, let me give my deepest gratitude to my Father, Jesus Christ
who has brought me into His light and saved my life. I thank you God for giving
me a new life and a brand new heart, complete with the label. I know I will never
come to this moment without your miracles, grace and helps.
My gratitude also goes to my advisor, Dewi Widyastuti, S. Pd, M. Hum.,
who has guided me and helped me during this undergraduate thesis writing
process. I thank her for the time, advises, suggestions, and ideas she gave me. Her
words have inspired me to finish my writings as soon as possible. I really
appreciate her helps. I would like to thank my co-advisor, Ni Luh Putu
Rosiandani, S.S., M. Hum., for giving me her valuable advises and suggestion.
I would like to thank my mother, R. Siregar, who has always given me
her patience, supports and prayer. I knew I had disappointed her in some moments
of my life, but she keeps reminding me to go back and accepting me. To my
father, alm. E. Pasaribu, I want to say that I love him and I am blessed to be his
daughter.
For all of my friends, the English Letters students of 2003, I thank them
for the supports and the fun time we shared, for accepting me, loving me and not
judging me. To all of my friends in Everlasting Grace and The House of
Revival, I want to say that I am blessed to have them as my family. I also give my
profound thanks to Gek Nyos and Peppy for telling me to not give up. I really
enjoy the times when we laugh and share anything in the rooms. I thank them for
the good advises they always give. I would also like to thank Mei Ratri Sri
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Handayani, my best friend who is always there to hug me in the darkest moment
of my life, and to help me when I am in need. She is the friend indeed.
My special thank is to my lovely Palmer Simangunsong, for being my
boyfriend and best friend for almost four years. I thank him for the laugh, cry, and
process we have been through.
Inop
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TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE…………………………………………………………....... . i APPROVAL PAGE………………………………………………………. . ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE................................................................................. iii MOTTO PAGE………………………………………………………........ . iv DEDICATION PAGE………………………………………………......... . v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………… . viii TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………… . x ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………...... xii ABSTRAK ………………………………………………………………. xiii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION……………………………………….. . 1
A. Background of the Study……………………………………….. 1 B. Problem Formulation……………………………………………. 3 C. Objectives of the Study…………………………………………. 4 D. Definition of Terms……………………………………………… 4
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW…………………….. ………. 6
A. Review of Related Studies……………………………………… 6 B. Review of Related Theories……………………………………... 9
1. Character and characterization………………………………. 9 2. Christian Love……………………………………………….. 10 3. Christian Devotion…………………………………………... 15
C. Theoretical Framework………………………………………….. 18
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY………………………………………. 20 A. Object of the Study……………………………………………… 20 B. Approach of the Study………………………………………….. 21 C. Method of the Study…………………………………………….. 22
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS……………………………………………….. 25
A. The Characteristics of Uncle Tom……………………………...... 25 1. Patient………………………………………………………... 25 2. Compassionate and Kind…………………………………….. 28 3. Faithful……………………………………………………….. 32 4. Virtuous………………………………………………………. 40
B. Christian Love and Christian Devotion reflected by Uncle Tom… 42
1. Christian Love reflected by Uncle Tom……………………… 42
a. Christian Love reflected by Uncle Tom’s
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Patient characteristic……………………………………… 42 b. Christian Love reflected by Uncle Tom’s Compassionate
and Kind characteristic…………………………………… 48 2. Christian Devotion reflected by
Uncle Tom……………………………………………………. 49 a. Christian Devotion reflected by Uncle Tom’s
Faithful characteristic…………………………………….. 49 b. Christian Devotion reflected by Uncle Tom’s
Virtuous characteristic……………………………………. 53
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION……………………………………............. . 56 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………… 60 APPENDIX………………………………………………………………... … 62
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ABSTRACT
Novrita Debora Pasaribu. Christian Love and Devotion Reflected by Uncle Tom as Seen in Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2010.
This study examines Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel entitled Uncle Tom’s Cabin as the object of study. This study aims to discover two major Christian values, namely Christian love and Christian devotion, which are reflected by Uncle Tom as the central character in the novel. Two problems are formulated, namely what the characteristics of Uncle Tom are and how Christian love and devotion are reflected by Uncle Tom through his characteristics.
Library research is employed as the method to analyze the novel. This study uses Abrams’ theory of character, Baldick and Barnet’s theory of characterization, Lewis, Bars, and O’Collins’ theories of Christian love, Finney, Bars, and O’Collins’ theories of Christian devotion, as well as various Bible passages to support the discussion.
There are two findings as the conclusion of this study. As the first finding, Uncle Tom shows some prominent characteristics, namely patient, compassionate and kind, faithful, and virtuous. Uncle Tom’s patience can be seen from his action of enduring the hardships and the inhuman treatment as a slave without complaining or feeling negative emotion, and his statements. His compassion and kindness can be seen from his actions of helping other slaves in their works, listening to their problems and consoling them, accompanying and consoling his master and his master’s daughter, his statements, and other characters’ comments. His faithfulness to God can be seen in his routine worship, his statements about God, and another character’s comment, while his faithfulness to his masters can be seen in his loyalty to stay with his master even when he has the chance or is released, his statements, and other characters’ comments. His virtue can be seen in his hard work and honesty, and other characters’ comments about him.
The second finding of this study is about Christian love and devotion reflected through Uncle Tom. Christian love is reflected by Uncle Tom especially through his patience, compassion and kindness, while Christian devotion is reflected by Uncle Tom especially through his faithfulness and virtue. Uncle Tom’s patience reflects three points from the Bible about love, namely God’s second commandment, love as the foundation of Christianity, and the characteristics of love. Uncle Tom’s compassion and kindness reflects two points from the Bible about love, namely God’s second commandment and the characteristics of love. Uncle Tom’s faithfulness reflects two points from the Bible about devotion, namely God’s first commandment and the practice of Christian devotion. Lastly, Uncle Tom’s virtue reflects one point from the Bible about devotion, namely the practice of Christian devotion.
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ABSTRAK
NOVRITA DEBORA PASARIBU. Christian Love and Devotion Reflected by Uncle Tom as Seen in Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin.Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2010.
Penelitian ini meneliti novel Harriet Beecher Stowe yang berjudul Uncle Tom’s Cabin sebagai objek penelitian. Penelitian ini bertujuan menemukan dua nilai Kristen, yaitu kasih dan ketaatan Kristen yang dicerminkan oleh Uncle Tom sebagai karakter utama dalam novel ini. Terdapat dua permasalahan, yaitu apa sifat-sifat Uncle Tom dan bagaimana kasih dan pengabdian Kristen dicerminkan oleh Uncle Tom melalui sifat-sifatnya.
Studi pustaka digunakan sebagai metode untuk menganalisa novel. Penelitian ini memanfaatkan teori karakter susunan Abrams dan teori karakterisasi susunan Barnet dan Baldick, teori mengenai kasih Kristen susunan Lewis, Bars, dan O'Collins, teori mengenai pengabdian Kristen susunan Finney, Bars, dan O'Collins, juga berbagai bagian Alkitab untuk mendukung pembahasannya.
Ada dua kesimpulan dari penelitian ini. Kesimpulan pertama, Uncle Tom menunjukkan beberapa sifat yang menonjol, yaitu sabar, berbelaskasih dan baik, setia, dan saleh. Sifat Uncle Tom yang sabar dapat dilihat melalui tindakannya yang bertahan dalam kesulitan dan perlakuan tidak manusiawi yang diterimanya tanpa mengeluh atau merasakan emosi negatif, dan melalui pernyataan-pernyataannya. Sifatnya yang berbelaskasih dan baik dapat dilihat melalui tindakannya dalam membantu budak-budak lain dalam pekerjaan mereka, mendengarkan masalah-masalah dan menghibur mereka, menemani dan menghibur tuannya dan anak perempuan tuannya, melalui pernyataan-pernyataannya, dan melalui komentar para karakter lainnya. Pengabdiannya kepada Tuhan dapat dilihat dalam penyembahan rutinnya, pernyataan-pernyataannya tentang Tuhan, dan dalam komentar para karakter lainnya, sedangkan kesetiaannya kepada tuannya dapat dilihat dalam kesetiaannya untuk tinggal bersama tuannya, meskipun dia memiliki kesempatan atau dibebaskan, dalam pernyatan-pernyataannya, dan komentar para karakter lainnya. Sifat salehnya dapat dilihat dalam kerja keras dan kejujurannya, dan komentar para karakter lainnya.
Kesimpulan kedua adalah tentang kasih dan pengabdian Kristen yang tercermin melalui Uncle Tom. Kasih Kristen tercermin melalui sifatnya yang sabar, berbelas kasih dan baik, sedangkan pengabdian Kristen tercermin melaui sifatnya yang setia dan saleh. Sifat Uncle Tom yang sabar mewakili tiga hal dari Alkitab tentang kasih, yaitu hukum Tuhan yang kedua, kasih sebagai dasar Kekristenan, dan sifat-sifat kasih. Sifat Uncle Tom yang berbelaskasih dan baik mewakili tiga hal dari Alkitab tentang kasih, yaitu hukum Tuhan yang kedua, dan sifat-sifat kasih. Sifat Uncle Tom yang setia mewakili dua hal dari Alkitab tentang pengabdian, yaitu hukum Tuhan yang pertama dan praktik ketaatan Kristen.Yang terakhir, sifat Uncle Tom yang saleh mewakili satu hal dari Alkitab tentang pengabdian, yaitu praktik pengabdian Kristen.
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
There are many kinds of literary works. One of them is novel. Laar and
Schoonderwoerd define a novel as a work of art that introduces us into a living
world which is in some parts resemble the world we live in (1963: 163). As well
as the world we live in, the living world also has the society in it. So, reading a
novel is like seeing the reflection of our society. It enables us to be more aware of
life and reality in society since reading a novel enriches our life.
One of the elements in society is religion. Religion is used by people to
have good morality and to keep order of the society. There are many religions in
this world that are chosen by each person to pray and to lead his or her life as well
as to hope for a bright future, but in this study the writer chooses only one religion
to be discussed that is Christian.
“Christian is the most widely practiced religion in the world that reaching
more or less 33% of the world religion”
(www.adherents.com/ReligionsByAdherents.html). Christians practice the
teaching of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Derek Neville’s article entitled The
Meaning of Love states that
To be filled with the knowledge of the LORD is to be filled with the knowledge of love. One cannot know love by means of the mind. To know love is to experience it. To be filled with the knowledge of the LORD is to be filled with an all-embracing love that takes in the rest of life (http://www.all-creatures.org/fol/lit-themeaning.html).
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In an article entitled Love Defined (by the Bible), Rich Deem says that
In fact, when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He said, "You shall love the Lord Your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37) He then added that the second most important law was "You shall love your neighbour as yourself." Jesus said that the entire law was dependent upon these two commandments (http://www.godandscience.org/love/biblicallove.html).
These statements want to convey that Lord God is the love, therefore whenever
we believe in God, we are filled both with God and love. Jesus Christ, as the Son
of God, through the Bible teaches the Christians to devote God and to love human
beings as the values of Christianity. The love and devotion that are meant here are
the unconditional love and devotion as Jesus practices.
In this study, the writer will discuss about Christian love and devotion
reflected by Uncle Tom in Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The writer would like to
discuss this topic because the writer is interested in the character of Uncle Tom.
Stowe describes Uncle Tom as a good and loyal Christian who holds and practices
Christian values tightly. He always turns to Jesus whenever he needs consolation,
he reads Bible, holds a prayer meeting, and even becomes a spiritual father for his
friends and masters. His love and devotion toward God and other human beings
are unquestionable. The love that Uncle Tom reflects is the unconditional love
that Jesus himself practices. Uncle Tom gives his love to his friends, and
moreover to his master, although some of them have treated him badly. In the
writer’s opinion, to discuss and analyze further about Uncle Tom’s love and
devotion will be challenging.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 when
slavery still became the great issue in the United States. Originally, it was
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published weekly in an anti-slavery newspaper named National Era, from the
summer of 1851 to the spring of 1852. Still in the year of 1852, Uncle Tom’s
Cabin was firstly published as a hard cover novel
(http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=16788). A free paper entitled The Effect
of Uncle Tom's Cabin states that Uncle Tom’s Cabin is considered by many
people as one of the most influential American works of fiction ever published.
Not only because it was sold over a million copies in its first sixteen months, but
also because it brought a big impact to the topic of slavery in America. Uncle
Tom's Cabin did arouse anti-slavery sentiment in the North and provoke angry
rebuttals in the South which was pro-slavery
(http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=16788). The pros and contras about
slavery between the southerner and the northerner then cause a war which is
known as Civil War. The history records that when Abraham Lincoln met Mrs.
Stowe he said, “So you're the little woman
who wrote the book that made this Great War". Lincoln’s statement implies that
the novel caused the war (http://www.answers.com/topic/uncle-tom-s-cabin-novel-
7). All of these interesting facts become the writer reason to choose the novel as
the object of this study.
B. Problem Formulation
In order to limit the study, the problem formulations are stated as follows.
1. What are the characteristics of Uncle Tom as described in the novel?
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2. In what ways are Christian love and Christian devotion reflected by Uncle
Tom?
C. Objectives of the Study
This study has two objectives that have to be accomplished. First, this
study wants to know the characteristics of Uncle Tom as the central character in
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. By knowing Uncle Tom’s character,
the writer can find out what kind of person Uncle Tom is. The writer can also
know Uncle Tom’s ways of thinking and behaviour. Second, this study wants to
show how Christian love and devotion appears through Uncle Tom.
D. Definition of Terms
In this study, there are several important key terms used. The definitions of
the terms need to be given to make a clear understanding about them and to avoid
ambiguity and misinterpretation. The important key terms are defined as follows:
1. Character
According to Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms, “Character is the
person presented in dramatic or narrative work, who is interpreted by reader as
being endowed with moral and dispositional quality, that is expressed in what he
says-the dialogue-and what he does-the action” (1981:20).
2. Christian Love
Henry Bars in Faith, Hope and Charity states that “Christian idea of love
is expressed by the word agape” (1961:107). A Concise Dictionary of Theology
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defines agape as the characteristic term used in the New Testament to designate
the love of God for us and, our love for God and one another (O’Collins, 1991: 7).
Baker’s Concise Dictionary of Religion defines agape as Greek word for self-
giving love (1985: 18).
3. Devotion
A Concise Dictionary of Theology states that devotion means that
prayerful and effective dedication that makes believers deeply responsive to
God’s will (O’Collins, 1991:54). Baker’s Concise Dictionary of Religion defines
devotion as worship or adoration (1985: 149).
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CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW
A. Review of Related Studies
On the undergraduate thesis entitled The Impact of Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s
Cabin on the Suppression of Slavery, C. Kristomo tried to analyze how literature
can be a trigger to social transformation. He was interested to analyze that
possibility, since he saw the fact that a novel entitled Uncle Tom’s Cabin written
by Harriet Beecher Stowe really had an impact on the anti-slavery movement in
United States of America in the 1850s.
In his thesis, he tried to explain how literature and society are related to
each other in a mutual relation. As a social chronicle, literature is influenced by
the society, while by depicting the social reality, literature brings the readers to
reality. So, it was not a surprise that Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin
played an important role in the social transformation in 1850s.
…with millions of copies spread over America and Europe, it built a public opinion and touched the influential persons in the political structure. Its message supported the abolitionists that finally there was a change on slavery (Kristomo, 1997: iv).
According to Kristomo, this novel touches three primary aspects of social
life at that time; Christianity, relationship between slaves and their masters, and
the political aspect of slavery. It proves that a literary work can take part on the
social transformation.
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The article entitled Martyrdom and the Unjust Society on
www.cyberpat.com compares Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin with Eliot’s The Mill
on the Floss. As the result, it finds that both of the works share some similarities.
First, both of the novels share the same tone that is sympathy. Through the tragic
life of their hero and heroine, Stowe and Eliot wished to awake their readers’
sympathy. Second, Christian theme plays significant role in Uncle Tom’s Cabin
and The Mill on the Floss. The main characters of the novels, Uncle Tom and
Maggie Tulliver, are respectively compared to the figure of Christ. In Uncle
Tom’s Cabin, it is shown that Uncle Tom responses Legree’s ill treatments with
Christian love and lays down his life for his friends. In The Mill on the Floss,
Eliot described Maggie’s suffering and death as the promotion of the ‘salvation’
to people around her. Third, both of the works are the critics towards traditional
religious system, which is presented by Stowe and Eliot through the contrast
between the real religious feeling and hypocritical forms of religious sentiment
through their characters. For instance, in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Mrs. Shelby is
described as a good Christian, but she is also a slave owner. An article on
www.sparknotes.com states that Stowe considers this as hypocrisy because she
believes that no Christian should be able to tolerate slavery, which denies human
beings’ basic rights such as the rights to freedom. In The Mill on the Floss, Dr.
Keen, who represents religious authority, can do nothing to support Maggie when
the town condemns her.
A thesis entitled “A Day of Grace” Evangelical Theology in Uncle Tom’s
Cabin gives a comment “…the faith to which Stowe exhort her readers in Uncle
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Tom’s Cabin is an evangelical faith based on conversion to Jesus Christ”.
Moreover, the thesis tells that Ann Douglas in The Feminization of American
Culture argues “Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a great book, not because it is a great
novel, but because it is a great revival sermon, aimed directly at the conversion of
its hearers” (www.maryvillecollege.edu/research/downloads/Chait.pdf).
The writer agrees with the previous comments and commentaries on
Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin that the novel contains the aspect of Christianity in it.
It can be seen through the plot and the characters that the novel is Stowe’s
evangelism to spread Christianity among her readers. In some parts of the novel,
Stowe tells the readers how Uncle Tom’s Christian love and devotion touching
people around him.
In this undergraduate thesis, the writer will discuss about Christian love
and devotion reflected by Uncle Tom in Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The
previous studies above give a better understanding to the writer about the aspect
of Christianity in Uncle Tom’s Cabin and about how the character of Uncle Tom
is compared to the figure of Christ so that he can influence people around him.
That is why the writer believes that the previous studies will help the writer in
analyzing the topic.
There are many undergraduate theses that had analyzed the novel of Uncle
Tom’s Cabin. However, after doing some library researches, the writer can state
that there are no undergraduate theses which had analyzed Harriet Beecher
Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin from Christianity’s point of view. The writer also
finds that there are several undergraduate theses which discuss about Christianity,
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but none of them use Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin as the object of
the study. Therefore, the writer is sure that this study is different from others.
B. Review of Related Theories
There are some theories that the writer will apply in this study, such as
theory of character and characterization, theory of Christian love and theory of
Christian devotion. These theories will support the analysis of the topic in this
study.
1. Theory of Character and Characterization
A character plays a big part and role in fiction. The readers may have a
clear idea about the story and how the story is developed whenever the author
introduce his character to the reader. The story will not be complete without the
existence of character.
Abrams, in his Glossary of Literary Terms, defines a character as a person
who is presented in dramatic or narrative work, provided with moral and
dispositional qualities, which are expressed in what they say, for example, the
dialogue, and what they do, for example, the action. Moreover, Abrams says that a
character may remain ‘stable’ or unchanged in his outlook and dispositions, from
the beginning to end of a work, or he may undergo a change, either through a
gradual development or as a result of an extreme crisis (1981:20).
According to E. M. Foster, characters may be flat or round, depending on
how the author sketches them. Flat characters tend to stay the same throughout a
story, while round characters often change, become enlightened, grow or go down
(Kennedy and Gioia, 1999:60-61).
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According to Baldick in The Concise Oxford Dictionary of literary Terms,
characterization is a representation of a person in narrative and dramatic works,
which can be seen from the action, speech and appearance of the character
(1991:34). Barnet in his book Literature for Composition: Essays, Fiction, Poetry
and Drama, gives us the way to understand characteristics of a character.
a. What the character says: the way the character speaks will help the readers to
interpret her or his characteristics.
b. What the character does: the readers can learn the attitudes or behaviours of a
character from his or her action.
c. What the other characters say about the character: when a character interacts
with other characters, these other characters may gives comments about the
character. Such comments may reflect the characteristic of the character (Barnet,
et al., 1988:229)
2. Theory of Christian Love
Love is actually a general concept which can be used in various conditions
and can refer to many things, such as God, other people, animals, things,
concepts, and so on. Love becomes a part of many cultures or societies, and love
is taught in many religions. This study uses the term “Christian love” because it
focuses on the concept of love based on the teachings and the perspective of
Christianity. It might have some similarities as well as differences to the concept
of love in society, cultures, or other religions, but the important thing is that
“love” in this study is based on Christian perspective despite any similarities or
differences to other perspectives, especially because Christian love is discussed in
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relation to Uncle Tom’s characteristics, while Uncle Tom himself is an ardent
follower of Christianity. Therefore, it is highly relevant to discuss Christian love
to examine Uncle Tom as a character.
Love is one of the fundamental concepts in Christianity. Love is even used
as the foundation of the Christian religion, as shown in both the Bible and other
sources. The Bible describes God Himself as the first source of love; He gave
humans eternal life because His love for humans was so big, as shown in the
following verses.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3: 16). This is how God showed His love for us: He sent His only Son into the world that we might have life through him (John 4: 9).
The phrases “for God so loved the world” and “This is how God showed His love
for us” above clearly indicate love as the reason why God gives humans eternal
life in heaven by sending His only son, Jesus Christ. The word “Christian” itself
refers to the followers of Christ, so Christianity and love is strongly related. This
is supported by another Bible verse, which clearly states that God is the source of
love: “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8).
Thus, since God already shows love towards humans, Christian people should
also be able to show their love.
The idea above is also supported by other sources. D’Arcy in his book The
Mind and Heart of Love explains “because God is love, it follows that we love
because He first loved us” (1947: 66). Ryan in The Christian Life states that “Our
whole Christian life can truly said to be a work of love, and so it can be said also
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truly that it is the work of the Spirit of love” (1977: 27). This statement confirms
the idea about love as the foundation of Christianity. Also, Ryan explains further
about love as the reason why God saves humans in his quotation below.
It is God presenting himself to man as a person, attracting man, drawing the heart of man. This action or movement of God towards us is a free gift of his love; we have no right to it, we cannot make the first step towards God and draw him to ourselves (Ryan, 1977: 45). The base of Christian love is the two commandments that Jesus has taught
to his followers. From the Bible, the first commandment is to love God with all of
our heart, mind, soul and strength, while the second commandment is to love our
neighbors: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other
commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:31). Although the verse states
“neighbour”, Kierkegaard argues that the word neighbour does not refer to its
literal meaning; instead, it refers to any human being, as shown in the quotation:
“the neighbour as an object of agape is any human being” (in Becker, 1992: 745).
It is clear that loving all humans is a very important obligation for Christian
people. This is confirmed by another Bible verse, which states that loving God, or
in other words being a good Christian, would be impossible without loving other
humans: “If a man boasts of loving God, while he hates his own brother, he is a
liar” (1 John 4: 20).
The idea above is also supported by other sources. Becker in Encyclopedia
of Ethics explains that the second commandment, which organizes humans’
relationship with other humans, is as serious and as divine as the first
commandment, which organizes humans’ relationship with God.
13
The second commandment also retains a discreteness, in that such love is more than a mere means through which one loves God. Each person constitutes a terminal point for another’s attitudes and actions. While the order of the commandments must not be reversed, the second is “like” the first. Love of neighbor shares in the seriousness of a divine command (1992: 744).
Meanwhile, Cardenal in To Live is to Love admits the difficulty of loving
others as we love ourselves as instructed in the second commandment, and also
explains that this condition of loving others as we love ourselves refers to
humans’ heavenly condition.
To love others as we love ourselves is a precept that is difficult to put into practice and even difficult to conceive of. What it describes is the natural condition of man when he lived in Paradise, for the paradisiacal state is man’s aboriginal natural condition (1974: 51).
Christian love also has some distinct characteristics. From the Bible, there
are some verses that emphasize the importance of loving all human beings,
including our enemies, as shown in the following quotations.
You have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thy enemy. But I tell you, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute you and insult you (Matthew 5:43-44). For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? (Matthew 5:46)
This emphasis on loving our enemies, or people who treat us badly, becomes the
unique characteristic of Christian love. However, Christian love also shows other
characteristics. Paul, one of the apostles, listed some characteristics of love based
on the teachings of Christianity in the following Bible verse.
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Corinthians 13: 4-7).
14
The idea above is also supported by other sources. Bars in Faith, Hope
and Charity states “what is really distinctive of Christianity is the injunction to
love all men, including our enemies, in order to be perfect like our heavenly
Father” (1961: 109). Meanwhile, Becker describes that the verse of Matthew 5:46
from the Bible as the passage that instructs “a love that extends beyond relations
of undemanding, safe, assured reciprocity” (1992: 745). He also explains the
characteristics of Christian love, or what he calls “neighbor-love” in the quotation
below.
Neighbor-love should then at least include unilateral efforts on the agent’s part to establish and enhance personal relations ... In brief, agape does not await, anticipate, or demand a response in kind, though it may compatibly desire and hope for such a response, and regard attainment as the fruitition it seeks (Becker, 1992: 745).
Henry Bars in his book entitled Faith, Hope and Charity uses the word
“agape” to describe Christian love, as he says “Christian idea of love is expressed
by the word agape” (1961: 107). C. S. Lewis in The Four Loves describes four
kinds of love, namely eros, philia, storge, and agape (1960: 33-107). A Concise
Dictionary of Theology defines agape as “the characteristic term used in the New
Testament to designate the love of God for us and, our love for God and one
another” (O’Collins, 1991: 7). Pieper in About Love states that agape is
unconditional and unselfish love that expects nothing in return (1961: 5). An
article explains about agape below.
When we love on the agape level we love men not because we like them, not because their attitudes and ways appeal to us, but because God loves them (http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=468).
15
3. Theory of Christian Devotion
Just like love, devotion is also a general concept which can be used
in various conditions and can refer to many things. For, instance people
can be devoted to anyone or anything, from their God, their parents, their
jobs, cars, houses, appearance, money, or even their favorite sport teams.
Besides the society, devotion is also taught in many religions. This study
uses the term “Christian devotion” because it focuses on the concept of
devotion based on the teachings and the perspective of Christianity.
Christian devotion might have some similarities and differences to the
concept of devotion in general or in other religions, but this study focuses
on devotion based on Christian perspective, because Christian devotion is
discussed in relation to Uncle Tom’s characteristics, while Uncle Tom
himself is an ardent follower of Christianity.
Devotion in Christianity refers to devotion towards God, as shown
in both the Bible as well as other sources. From the Bible, the base of
Christian devotion is the first commandment given by Jesus Christ. The
commandment can be seen in the following Bible verses.
One of the scribes heard their dispute, and, finding that he answered to the purpose, came up and ask him, Which is the first commandment of all? Jesus answered him, The first the commandments of all is, Listen, Israel; there is no God but the Lord thy God; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with the love of thy whole heart, and thy whole soul, and thy whole mind, and thy whole strength. This is the first commandment… (Mark 12:28-30).
Although the verses above do not explicitly mention the word “devotion”, they
clearly show God’s instruction for His followers to put God as the first and ‘the
16
everything’ in their life. Nothing in this world should replace God’s position in
the follower’s heart. The priority of Christian devotion should always be God
first.
The idea above is also supported by other sources. O’Collins in A Concise
Dictionary of Theology defines devotion in Christianity as “prayerful and
effective dedication that makes believers deeply responsive to God’s will (1991:
54). Furthermore, Professor Finney also defines Christian devotion in the
following quotation.
Devotion is that state of mind in which the attention is diverted from self, and self-seeking, and is directed to God; the thoughts, and purposes, and desires, and affections, and emotions, all hanging upon, and devoted to Him (http://www.gospeltruth.net/1839OE/390130_devotion.htm).
Becker in Encyclopedia of Ethics further explains that many Jews and Christians
affirm that the first commandment means “God demands absolute attachment,
devotion and adoration” (1992: 744). It is clear that God insists the Christian to be
devoted only to Him.
The distinct or unique characteristic of Christian devotion is that
Christians do it not just because of God’s order in the First Commandment above.
Based on Christian teaching, God sacrificed Himself to save humans, so that they
could be saved despite their sins. This salvation is viewed as God’s greatest gift to
humans. The Christians understand that they would not be able to compensate for
this gift of salvation, so they gladly devote themselves to God on their own free
will. In other words, Christian devotion is a form of the Christian people’s
gratitude to God and their response to God’s love, as stated in the Bible verse:
“Yes, we must love God; he gave us his love first” (1 John 4: 19). It means that
17
God had loved His people first, and then the Christian people respond to God’s
love by being devoted to Him, or in other words, by dedicating their life to God.
Thus, the foundation of Christian devotion is love towards God, based on each
individual’s initiative instead of just based on God’s order.
The Bible verses of Mark 12:29-30 tell Christian people to show their
devotion by loving God with their whole heart, and soul, mind, and strength.
Loving God is done not only through prayers or spiritual communication with
God, but also through all of our activities in daily life, by always doing what He
says and what pleases Him. Thus, Christian devotion requires Christian people to
always do what God says and what makes God happy in their daily life.
This idea is supported by some other sources. Becker in Encyclopedia of
Ethics describes the two commandments as the “part of determinate religious
traditions, replete with their own beliefs and practices” (1992: 744). Bars in Faith,
Hope and Charity describes “effective love of Christians for their Master” as
“doing what He says” (1961:105). He also states that “the essential love to God is
doing always what pleases him” (Bars, 1961:125). Jaegher in The Virtue of Love
states that Christians should serve God not only at church or only through worship
and prayers, but through various ways in their whole life instead, as shown in his
statement: “The whole life of a good Christian, and a fortiori of a priest or a
religious, should be the continual service of God. From pure love we devote
ourselves to him from morning till night in a thousand ways” (1957: 75).
Meanwhile, Ryan in The Christian Life states that “the test of a true love
of God” consists of “to do what pleases God, to seek his will and not our own”
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(1977: 61). Developing Jaegher’s idea above, Ryan also states that devoting
ourselves to God can be done in many ways; one of the ways is by doing our daily
duties well, including our worldly duties.
We must understand that to do our daily duties well for God is to do great things for God. These ordinary daily duties may seem quite unspiritual to us, but if they are our duties then God asks us to do them, and this makes them spiritual. Our duties at the present moment, therefore, are very precious: they are God’s will at the present moment (Ryan, 1977: 67).
As explained in the quotation above, although our worldly duties may seem
unspiritual, they are actually “spiritual” and “precious” (Ryan, 1977: 67) because
those duties come from God. Ryan explains that the duties “will be different for
different groups of people”, but we must “do them as well as we can because we
love God who asks these duties of us” (1977: 65-66). Thus, doing our worldly
duties well means showing our devotion towards God.
C. Theoretical Framework
This part will explain the contributions of each theory to solve the problem
formulations. In this study, the writer will use some concepts of theories, such as
theory of character and characterization, theory of Christian love, and theory of
Christian devotion. The theories of character and characterization help the writer
to analyze and to find the understanding of the characteristics of Uncle Tom
which will be the focus of the first problem formulation.
The second problem formulation will discuss about the Christian love and
devotion reflected by Uncle Tom, then the theory of Christian love and theory of
Christian devotion are needed. The theory of Christian love explains the idea of
19
love in Christianity’s point of view and its application in life. The theory of
Christian devotion is used to get the idea about devotion in Christianity’s point of
view, its meaning and base. After knowing the idea of love and devotion in
Christianity’s point of view, then the writer can analyze their reflection in Uncle
Tom’s life, acts and personalities.
As based on the two problem formulation, the discussion will be divided
into two parts. The first part of the analysis will include the description of Uncle
Tom as the main character. By using the theory of character, the main character
will be described as seen by another, through speech, conversation of others,
reaction, mannerism and direct comment. The second part will involve the idea of
love and devotion in Christianity’s point of view. After knowing the ideas, the
analysis on how Uncle Tom, as the main character, reflects the idea of Christian
love and Christian devotion can be done.
This study wants to analyze how Christian love and devotion reflected
through the character of Uncle Tom. Since this study teaches about Christian
morality, the moral-philosophical approach is applied. The writer believes that
those theories used will support each other. However, the theories used in this
analysis will help the writer in answering the formulated problems well.
20
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
The object of the study is a novel entitled Uncle Toms Cabin. The novel
was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and was published by H. G. Bohn in 1853
when slavery still became an issue in United States. This novel tells about the
struggle of a slave named Uncle Tom in facing his destiny as a slave. In this
novel, through the main character named Uncle Tom, Stowe shares his ideas
about slavery in America in1850s. Stowe smartly portrayed the issues that appear
in United States at that time.
There are several interesting facts about the novel. First, the novel had
brought a great impact to the matter of slavery in United States at that time. Soon
after published, the novel arouses pros and contras about slavery between North
and South. This pros and contras later rise a war named Civil War
(http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=16788). Second, the novel was written
by Harriet Beecher Stowe in the era when a woman has no role in society.
Women’s duty was just to do household. Stowe rebelled the custom and wrote a
sensational novel. And third, the novel is considered as the most influential and
the best seller book in 19th century. It was sold five thousand copies in its first two
days and sold over a million in its first sixty month
(http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=16788).
21
An article on www.utc.iath.virginia.edu argues that Uncle Tom’s Cabin
is written with deep Christianity background because the author, Harriet Beecher
Stowe, comes from a family with deep Christian teaching from her father who is a
preacher. The novel is filled with verses from the Bible. It is found that Uncle
Tom’s Cabin contains close to 100 quotations from the Bible.
The article entitled Martyrdom and the Unjust Society says that Christian
theme plays a significant role in the novel. The characters like Uncle Tom and
Evangeline are even described as the Christ figures (www.cyberpat.com). A thesis
entitled “A Day of Grace” Evangelical Theology in Uncle Tom’s Cabin calls the
novel as an evangelical Christian novel because it contains ‘sermons’ which aim
is to teach Christian values to the readers
(www.maryvillecollege.edu/research/downloads/Chait.pdf).
The novel of Uncle Tom’s Cabin itself has been made into a movie with
the same title in 1927. Directed by Harry A Pollard and James B Lowe act as
Uncle Tom (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018524/).
B. Approach of the Study
In order to find the answer of the problem formulations, the writer uses the
moral-philosophical approach. Moral-philosophical approach is an old approach
which teach morality and to probe philosophical issues. Guerin states this on his
book entitled A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature
The basic position of such critics is that the larger function of literature is to teach morality and to probe philosophical issues. They would interpret literature within a context of the philosophical thought of a period or a group (1999:25).
22
Guerin also argues that moral-philosophical approach is concern about “what is
taught” from literary works. For example, in the case of novel, the aspects such as
character, theme, setting, plot and etc are considered as the secondary. The
important thing is the moral or philosophical teaching. This is strengthened by
Guerin’s statement as follow
In each instance critics working from a moral bent are not aware of form, figurative language, and other purely aesthetic considerations, but they consider them to be secondary (1999: 26)
Or on his another statement such as “The critic who employs the moral-
philosophical approach insists on ascertaining and stating what is taught” (1999:
26). The novel largely teaches the morality in Christianity, that is why the moral-
philosophical approach is suitable for discussing the topic.
C. Method of the Study
Library and Internet researches were used in this undergraduate thesis.
There were also two kinds of sources which were used, the primary and secondary
sources. The primary source was the novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle
Tom’s Cabin. The secondary sources were based on the books and articles on
theories and supporting arguments in the analysis.
Some books on Christian love and Christian devotion were used to support
the analysis in this study. They were widely taken from Jaegher’s The Virtue of
Love, Lewis’ The Four Loves, Ryan’s The Christian Life, Cardenal’s To Live is to
Love, Henry Bars’ Faith, Hope, and Charity, Josef Pieper’s About Love, and M.
C. D’Arcy’s The Mind and Heart of Love, and Becker’s Encyclopedia of Ethics.
23
These books were used to provide informations about the idea of love and
devotion in Christianity, kinds of love, and the meaning of love and devotion in
Christianity.
The theory of literature such as theory of character and characterization
were largely taken from Abram’s A Glossary of Literary Terms, Kennedy’s An
Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama, Laar’s An Approach to English
Literature, Barnet’s Literature for Composition: Essays, Fiction, Poetry and
Drama and Baldick’s The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literature.
A Concise Dictionary of Theology by O’Collins, Baker’s Concise
Dictionary of Religion which was edited by Kauffman, and Becker’s
Encyclopedia of Ethics were used to find the definitions of Christian devotion and
Christian love. Abram’s A Glossary of Literary Terms gave a definition of
character.
Several electronics or media sources were also used in the undergraduate
thesis. Those addresses were taken to provide data on comments and informations
about Christian love and Christian devotion and also provide informations about
the novel and the author.
In the analysis, the study followed some steps. Firstly, the writer had a
close reading of the novel in order to have a good understanding about it and then
tried to find some problems that came up in the novel. Secondly, the writer
collected the data needed such as notes on several quotations in supporting
arguments, review on previous studies and relevant theories to use in the present
study. Next was the analyzing process through certain problems that had been
24
formulated before. This discussion was divided into two parts. The first part was
analyzing the characteristics of Uncle Tom, the main character, as seen in the
novel. The next part was focusing on how Uncle Tom reflects the idea of
Christian love and Christian devotion. After having done those steps, the writer
drew a conclusion of the whole analysis.
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CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
This part is divided into two parts according to the number of problems
which have been formulated on chapter one. The first part will discuss about the
characteristics of Uncle Tom as seen in the novel. The second part is focused on
how the idea of Christian love and devotion reflected through Uncle Tom.
A. The Characteristics of Uncle Tom
Tom, usually called Uncle Tom, is a character or a person who is
presented in a dramatic or narrative work, namely the novel entitled Uncle Tom’s
Cabin. According to Abrams, as a character, Uncle Tom is provided with some
moral and dispositional qualities (1981: 20). The writer can withdraw the
description of Uncle Tom’s character as follows, which will be discussed
according to Barnet’s theory of characterization.
1. Patient
Patient means “having the ability to accept delay, annoyance, or suffering
without complaining” (Hornby, 1989: 906). Barnet states that the characteristics
of a character can be understood from what he or she says, what he or she does,
and what the other characters say about him or her (1988: 229). This theory is
confirmed by Baldick’s theory that the characterization of a character can be seen
from the character’s action, speech and appearance (1991: 34). Uncle Tom is
described as patient because he is able to accept a great deal of annoyance and
26
suffering without complaining. Based on Barnet’s theory, Uncle Tom’s patience
can be seen from what he does and what he says.
Firstly, Uncle Tom’s patience can be seen from what he does. For
example, he endures the hardships of his life as a slave without complaining. As a
slave, Tom never has any freedom, dignity, or any other human rights in his
whole life. He is sold and separated from his family, from one master to another.
At the slave market, Uncle Tom is not treated in the proper way. His mouth is
forced open so that potential buyers could inspect his teeth, and his clothes are
torn so buyers could inspect his body. When he works for a man named Simon
Legree, he is also treated inhumanely. Yet, Tom accepts all those treatments and
obeys people’s instructions without complaining, feeling angry, rebelling, or
making revenge. He considers his life condition as God’s will and he believes that
God has given him a work among other slaves and his masters (1983: 427).
As a further example, Tom endures his master’s cruel treatment, including
brutal physical and emotional punishment, without complaining. It especially
happens after Tom is purchased by Simon Legree, who treats his slaves worse
than most other masters. Legree beats, overworks, bullies his slaves, and denies
his slaves from their basic rights such as shelter, comfort, and happiness. Tom
accepts his master’s cruel treatment and even forgives him with “all his soul”
(1983: 446). Furthermore, Tom also forgives the fellow slaves whom Legree
orders to beat him, Sambo and Quimbo. These actions are shown in the quotation
below, in which Legree orders his men to beat Tom up, but Tom accepts it
without complaining.
27
"Pay away, till he gives up! Give it to him!--give it to him!" shouted Legree. "I'll take every drop of blood he has, unless he confesses!" Tom opened his eyes, and looked upon his master. "Ye poor miserable critter!" he said, "there an't no more ye can do! I forgive ye, with all my soul!" and he fainted entirely away. (1983: 446)
"O, Tom!" said Quimbo, "we's been awful wicked to ye!" "I forgive ye, with all my heart!" said Tom, faintly. (1983: 446)
Secondly, based on Barnet’s theory, Uncle Tom’s patience can be seen
from what he says. It further confirms the explanation about his patient
characteristic as seen from what he does. For example, Tom’s patience in
enduring his hard life as a slave can be seen from his explanation to his master, a
man named St. Claire. In his statement, Tom says that he actually feels very sad,
but God stands by him and gives him the power to carry on. That is why he can
display patience, or in other words, accept his hard life without complaining.
"O, Mas'r, when I was sold away from my old woman and the children, I was jest a'most broke up. I felt as if there warn't nothin' left; and then the good Lord, he stood by me, and he says, 'Fear not, Tom;' and he brings light and joy in a poor feller's soul,--makes all peace; and I 's so happy, and loves everybody, and feels willin' jest to be the Lord's, and have the Lord's will done, and be put jest where the Lord wants to put me. I know it couldn't come from me, cause I 's a poor, complainin' cretur; it comes from the Lord; and I know He's willin' to do for Mas'r." (1983: 325).
As another example, Tom’s patience can also be seen from his statement to Cassy,
another slave who believes that God does not care about the blacks because God
lets them suffer so much. Tom explains that God accompanies them in their
sufferings. Thus, they should be patient, or in other words, accept their life
without complaining.
“The Lord han't forgot us,--I'm sartin' o' that ar'. If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign, Scripture says; but, if we deny Him, he also will deny us. Didn't they all suffer?--the Lord and all his? …Sufferin' an't no reason to make us think the Lord's turned agin us; but jest the contrary, if only we hold on to him, and doesn't give up to sin." (1983: 389-390).
28
As the last example, Tom’s patience can be seen from his statement to Cassy
when she and another slave plan to run away and ask Tom to join them. Uncle
Tom’s statement is the most significant proof of his patience. If he is not patient
with his hard life and his master’s cruel treatment, he would agree and accept
Cassy’s invitation. Uncle Tom’s statement also confirms that he stays with his
master not because it would be impossible for him to escape without getting
punished, or because he is too scared to run away from his master, but rather
because he really wants to endure his sufferings. As a proof, Tom actually refuses
Cassy’s invitation to run away together with her, and explains that he will endure
his life as a work given by God to him. As shown in the quotation below, he
describes his life as a slave as “bearing his cross”.
"No," said Tom; "time was when I would; but the Lord's given me a work among these yer poor souls, and I'll stay with 'em and bear my cross with 'em till the end. It's different with you; it's a snare to you,--it's more'n you can stand,--and you'd better go, if you can." (1983: 427-428). It is actually the second time Uncle Tom rejects an invitation to run away.
These invitations show that it is actually possible for slaves to run away, yet
Uncle Tom just do not want to join them.
2. Compassionate and Kind
Compassionate means showing or feeling pity for the sufferings of others
(Hornby, 1989: 235), while kind means friendly and thoughtful to others (1989:
687). Uncle Tom is described as compassionate and kind because he shows and
feels pity for other people’s sufferings and he is always friendly and thoughtful to
other people around him. Based on Barnet’s theory, Uncle Tom’s compassionate
29
and kind characteristic can be seen from what he says, what he does, and what the
other characters say about him (1988: 229).
Firstly, Uncle Tom’s compassion and kindness can be seen from what he
does to other slaves and his masters. For example, he helps, accompanies, and
comforts a slave from a neighbouring plantation named Prue. Prue comes to sell
hot rolls. She is drunk and says that she wants to die and leave life's misery. Tom
helps her carry the rolls and talks to her about her problem. Prue tells him that her
last child died because her milk dried up when she had to devote all her time to
her mistress, and her owners refused to buy milk for the baby. Tom comforts her
by saying, “O, Lord have mercy on ye! Poor crittur” (1988: 135). He then advises
her to stop drinking, and assure her that God would give her the strength to carry
on and to survive from her suffering. This action shows Uncle Tom’s feeling of
pity for Prue’s suffering, as well as his friendly and thoughtful behavior to Prue.
As another example, he helps, protects, and comforts a fellow slave named
Cassy. When Cassy struggles to fulfill her daily quota of cotton, Uncle Tom
transfers some cotton from his own bag to hers so that she would not get
punished. When Legree notices this incident, he orders Tom to flog Cassy.
However, Tom refuses to flog her. As a result, Tom gets beaten to replace Cassy’s
position. He is whipped until he falls unconscious (1983: 385). Furthermore, he
supports Cassy and her family to escape in order to find a better condition,
although he cannot join her (1983: 427). When Legree questions Tom about the
runaway slaves, Tom admits that he knows something. However, he refuses to
report Cassy and Emeline even when Legree threatens to "count every drop of
30
blood there is in him" (1983: 410). This action shows Uncle Tom’s feeling of pity
for Cassy’s suffering, as well as his thoughtful behavior to Cassy.
Tom not only shows his compassion and kindness to fellow slaves, but
also to his master. As the example, he accompanies and consoles his master
named St. Claire when St. Claire is in troubled time after his beloved daughter’s
death. Tom clasps "his master's hand between his own” as Eva, St. Claire’s
daughter is dying. Later, St. Claire is deeply distracted over her death and tells
Tom that without his daughter, he finds "the whole world is as empty as an
eggshell" (1983: 328). By accompanying St. Claire and listening to him share his
sorrow, Tom can console him. This action shows Uncle Tom’s pity for St.
Claire’s sadness, as well as his thoughtful behavior to St. Claire.
As the last example, he helps and accompanies Eva, the daughter of his
master, St. Claire. He saves Eva when she falls overboard from the ship he and
Haley travel in, although at that time Uncle Tom is not St. Claire’s slave and has
no obligation to help Eva. After he is purchased by St. Claire, Uncle Tom soon
becomes the close friend of Eva. He loves Eva very much; his first priority is
attending to her needs. Unfortunately, as she grows up, Eva becomes more sickly.
In times when she is very ill, Uncle Tom carries Eva so that she can be comforted.
He sings hymns, and sleeps on the veranda next to her room at night. This action
shows Uncle Tom’s pity for Eva’s suffering, as well as his friendly and thoughtful
behavior to Eva.
Secondly, Uncle Tom’s compassion and kindness can be seen from what
he says. For example, Uncle Tom’s compassionate characteristic can be seen
31
when he tells Legree that he would rather be killed than beat such a sick and
feeble creature as Cassy, as shown in the quotation below.
"I think so, Mas'r," said Tom; "the poor crittur's sick and feeble; 't would be downright cruel, and it's what I never will do, nor begin to. Mas'r, if you mean to kill me, kill me; but, as to my raising my hand agin any one here, I never shall,--I'll die first!" (385).
As discussed above, Legree beats Tom cruelly after Tom helps Cassy and refuses
to flog her. The next day, Legree intimidates and strikes Tom again. He forces
Tom to apologize for protecting Cassy, but Tom explains that he could not beat
Cassy and that he would never do any cruel thing (1983: 385).
"I believe you haven't got enough yet. Now, Tom, get right down on yer knees and beg my pardon, for yer shines last night." "Mas'r Legree," said Tom, "I can't do it. I did only what I thought was right. I shall do just so again, if ever the time comes. I never will do a cruel thing, come what may” (1983: 385).
Uncle Tom also consoles Cassy when she talks to him about the hardships
of their life as slaves in general and her life as Legree’s mistress in particular
(1983: 390). Uncle Tom consoles Cassy by asking her to read from the Bible and
says that “The Lord han't forgot us” (1983: 390). Uncle Tom’s statements show
his pity for Cassy’s suffering and his thoughtful and friendly behavior to Cassy.
As another example, Uncle Tom consoles St. Claire, who is feeling troubled after
his daughter’s death, by assuring him about the existence of heaven and
describing Eva's new home in heaven. St. Claire tries to believe it, but he feels
uneasy because he cannot believe it. Uncle Tom helps him pray to enable him to
believe and make him feel better. Uncle Tom’s simple suggestion, as shown in the
quotation below, shows his pity for St. Claire’s sorrow and his thoughtful
behavior to St. Claire’s.
32
"Tom, I don't believe,--I can't believe,--I've got the habit of doubting," said St. Clare. "I want to believe this Bible,--and I can't." "Dear Mas'r, pray to the good Lord,--'Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief'" (1983: 325).
Lastly, Uncle Tom’s compassionate and kind characteristic can be seen
from what the other characters say about him. For example, St. Claire realizes
about Uncle Tom’s sincere love and care towards him although he is Tom’s
master; then he makes simple statements about Uncle Tom, namely "Tom, you
love me” and "I'm not worth the love of one good, honest heart, like yours” (1983:
250). These statements from St. Claire confirm Uncle Tom’s characteristic as a
compassionate and kind man, which is indicated by St. Claire’s description of his
“love” and “good, honest heart”.
"Tom, you love me," he said. "I 's willin' to lay down my life, this blessed day, to see Mas'r a Christian." "Poor, foolish boy!" said St. Clare, half-raising himself. "I'm not worth the love of one good, honest heart, like yours." (1983: 250).
3. Faithful
Faithful means loyal to somebody or something, while faith means trust,
strong belief, or unquestioning confidence (Hornby, 1989: 435). Thus, it can be
concluded that faithful can mean the quality of being loyal to a person or to a
strong belief. Uncle Tom is described as faithful, both to his God and his masters
on Earth. Based on Barnet’s theory, Uncle Tom’s faithful characteristic can be
seen from what he says, what he does, and what the other characters say about
him (1983: 229).
Firstly, Uncle Tom’s faithful characteristic can be seen from what he does.
As the example of his faithfulness to God, he prays and worships God everyday.
33
He even teaches and leads others to worship God in his cabin. As a result, he is
“looked up to” as “a Christian teacher” (1983: 105) as well as “a sort of minister”
(1983: 32) by people around him, as described in the quotation below. He also
reads the Bible everyday. Even on the ship, he spends his time rereading his
favourite Bible passages for comfort among the cotton bales. Whenever he needs
strength, consolation, or hope, he turns to it, as described in the quotation below.
These actions of praying, worshipping, reading the Bible, and teaching about God
show that Uncle Tom has loyalty and strong belief in God, thus showing his faith.
Uncle Tom was a sort of patriarch in religious matters in the neighbourhood. Having, naturally, an organisation in which the morale was strongly predominant, together with a grater breadth and cultivation of mind than obtained among his companions, he was looked up to with great respect, as a sort of minister among them; and the simple, hearty, sincere style of his exhortations, might have edified even better educated persons (1983: 32).
His Bible was thus marked through, from one end to the other, with a variety of styles and designations; so he could in a moment seize upon his favorite passages, without the labor of spelling out what lay between them; --and while it lay there before him, every passage breathing of some old home scene, and recalling some past enjoyment, his Bible seemed to him all of this life that remained, as well as the promise of a future one (1983: 154).
He keeps worshipping God even though forbidden and threatened by
Legree. Legree forbids Tom's hymnal, yelling that he will not tolerate "bawling,
praying, singing niggers." He tells Tom that "I'm your church- you've got to be as
I say." Tom pretends to concede, but hides his Bible from Legree. He continues to
read secretly from his Bible and prays for freedom to worship. Legree mocks
Tom, telling him to join his "church" of liquor and cruelty like his two henchmen,
34
and later beats him. Yet Tom holds on to God, which shows his strong loyalty and
belief to God despite the hard condition, thus showing his faith.
“…Come, Tom, don't you think you'd better be reasonable?--heave that ar old pack of trash in the fire, and join my church!" "The Lord forbid!" said Tom, fervently. "You see the Lord an't going to help you; if he had been, he wouldn't have let me get you! This yer religion is all a mess of lying trumpery, Tom. I know all about it. Ye'd better hold to me; I'm somebody, and can do something!" "No, Mas'r," said Tom; "I'll hold on. The Lord may help me, or not help; but I'll hold to him, and believe him to the last!" (1983: 405)
As the example of his faithfulness to his masters, he stays with and keeps
loyal to his masters, from the good ones to the cruel ones. He does not run away
when he has the chance. Mr. Shelby, Uncle Tom’s old master, must sell two of his
slaves, Tom and Harry, Eliza’s son. Eliza tells Tom about it; both Eliza and Aunt
Chloe, Tom’s wife, beg Tom to run away with Eliza, but he faithfully refuses to
"break trust" with his master and resigns himself to his fate.
“No, no; I an’t going. Let Eliza go—it’s her right. I wouldn’t be the one to say no. ‘Tan’t in natur for her to stay; but you heard what she said! If I must be sold, or all the people on the place, and everything go to rack, why, let me be sold. I s’pose I can b’ar it as well as any of ‘em,” he added, while something like a sob and sigh shook his broad, rough chest convulsively. “Mas’r always found me on the spot—he always will. I never have broke trust, nor used my pass noways contrary to my word, and I never will. It’s better for me alone to go than to break up the place and sell all” (1983: 41).
When Haley comes to purchase Uncle Tom from Mr. Shelby, Uncle Tom
calms himself and shows no sign of rebellious act along the path from the Mr.
Shelby’s plantation to the ship, although it is a great shock for him to leave the
place where he has lived and worked since his childhood and the master who has
treated him relatively well. Still, he obeys Haley’s orders upon him and hardly
35
thinks of escaping. Uncle Tom can even be faithful to his cruel master, Simon
Legree. When Cassy, one of Legree’s slaves, tries to escape by drugging Legree
and asks Tom to join her, he feels he must stay with the rest of the slaves and
"bear any cross till the end." Tom refuses to escape from his brutal master because
he does not want to be disloyal or false to any man.
"Misse Cassy," said Tom, in a hesitating tone, after surveying her in silence, "if ye only could get away from here,--if the thing was possible,--I'd 'vise ye and Emmeline to do it; that is, if ye could go without blood-guiltiness,--not otherwise." "Would you try it with us, Father Tom?" "No," said Tom; "time was when I would; but the Lord's given me a work among these yer poor souls, and I'll stay with 'em and bear my cross with 'em till the end" (1983: 427-428).
Uncle Tom does not even go when his master, St. Claire, releases him, as
he wants to accompany St. Claire in his troubled time. St. Claire remembers his
promise to his daughter, Eva, to let Uncle Tom walk away as a free person. Uncle
Tom finally has the chance to legally gain his freedom, one of the basic human
rights, but he refuses it because he does not want to leave St. Claire in his troubled
and sorrowful condition. It is described in the following quotation: "Not while
Mas'r is in trouble," said Tom. "I'll stay with Mas'r as long as he wants me,--so as
I can be any use." (1983: 330). These actions show that Uncle Tom has loyalty to
his masters, thus showing his faithfulness to them.
Secondly, Uncle Tom’s faithful characteristic can be seen from what he
says. As the example of his faithfulness to God, he keeps his faith even though
doubted by St. Claire, his master who has more knowledge than him, and
threatened by Legree, his cruel master. St. Claire tests Tom’s faith by asking what
36
if he tells Tom that he does not believe the Bible. Tom responds that it would not
shake his faith, although St. Claire has more knowledge than him.
"But, Tom, you know that I have a great deal more knowledge than you; what if I should tell you that I don't believe this Bible?" "O, Mas'r!" said Tom, holding up his hands, with a deprecating gesture. "Wouldn't it shake your faith some, Tom?" "Not a grain," said Tom (1983: 325).
As already discussed above, Legree mocks Uncle Tom’s religion and
forbids him from practising his religion. In response, Tom explains that he will
always be a faithful servant to Legree, but he will also hold on his faith in God, as
shown in his following speech.
"Mas'r Legree, as ye bought me, I'll be a true and faithful servant to ye. I'll give ye all the work of my hands, ll my time, all my strength; but my soul I won't give up to mortal man. I will hold on to the Lord, and put his commands before all, --die or live; you may be sure on 't. Mas'r Legree, I ain't a grain afeard to die. I'd as soon die as not. Ye may whip me, starve me, burn me,--it'll only send me sooner where I want to go." (1983: 410)
When Legree still forces Tom to devote his soul to him only as his master
and threatens to torture Tom in his rage, Tom responds by saying he “shall have
help” and the Lord Almighty will help him (1983: 410). Tom’s statements show
his loyalty and strong belief in God even though he has to face the sufferings if he
continues to be loyal to God.
As another example, Tom also explains about his religious faith to his
master, St. Claire, as well as other slaves, such as Chloe and Cassy. As discussed
above, Tom tells St. Claire that he will still hold on to his faith even if St. Claire
tells Tom that he does not believe the Bible. St. Claire then asks Tom how he
knows that God exists, and Tom explains the foundation of his faith in his
following speech.
37
"How do you know there's any Christ, Tom! You never saw the Lord." "Felt Him in my soul, Mas'r,--feel Him now! O, Mas'r, when I was sold away from my old woman and the children, I was jest a'most broke up. I felt as if there warn't nothin' left; and then the good Lord, he stood by me, and he says, 'Fear not, Tom;' and he brings light and joy in a poor feller's soul,--makes all peace; and I 's so happy, and loves everybody, and feels willin' jest to be the Lord's, and have the Lord's will done, and be put jest where the Lord wants to put me. I know it couldn't come from me, cause I 's a poor, complainin' cretur; it comes from the Lord; and I know He's willin' to do for Mas'r." (1983: 325).
To Aunt Chloe and Cassy, his fellow slaves, Tom explains his belief that
God does not forget them and always takes care of them. Chloe, Tom’s wife and a
fellow slave named Eliza, asks him to leave when he is about to be sold to Haley.
Tom decides to stay because he believes that he is in God’s hands. He surrenders
everything to God. He tries to calm Chloe and says to her, “Yer ought ter look up
to the Lord above; He’s above all—thar don’t a sparrow fall without Him.” (1853:
102). He also tells her to believe that God’s will and power is much bigger than
theirs as human beings, and that God will lead them to their way out.
“I’m in the Lord’s hand,” said Tom; “nothin’ can go no furder than He lets it; and thar’s one thing I can thank Him for. It’s me that’s sold and going down, and not you nur the child’en. Here you’re safe; what comes will come only on me; and the Lord, He’ll help me—I know He will.” (1983: 101)
Meanwhile, Cassy is at first skeptical about God. She believes that God
cannot save the blacks and does not care about them because God lets them suffer
so much. Uncle Tom asks Cassy to read the Bible aloud, and she cries. Tom prays
for her and says that God has not forgotten them. It is described in this quotation:
"Missis," said Tom, after a while. “The Lord han't forgot us,--I'm sartin' o' that ar'”
(1983: 390). All of Uncle Tom’s statements show his loyalty, strong belief,
confidence, and trust in God even in his hardships, thus showing his strong faith.
38
As the example of his faithfulness to his masters, Uncle Tom states that he will
not escape or break his promise to his masters. When Haley comes to purchase
Uncle Tom from Mr. Shelby’s plantation, Haley warns Tom against escaping.
Tom replies by asking his master whether he has ever broken any promise or been
disloyal to him. Mr. Shelby confirms that what Tom says is the truth; in other
words, Tom truly has never broken any promise or been disloyal to him, as shown
in the following quotation.
“Mas’r,” said Tom-and he stood very straight—“I was jist eight years old when ole missis put you into my arms, and wasn’t a year old. ‘Thar,’ says she, ’Tom, that’s to be your young mas’r; take good care on him,’ says she. And now I jist ask you, mas’r, have I ever broke word to you, or gone contrary to you, ‘specially since I was a Christian?” Mr. Shelby was fairly overcome, and the tears rose to his eyes. “My good boy,” said he, “the Lord knows you say but the truth; and if I was able to help it, all the world shouldn’t buy you.” (1853: 59)
Uncle Tom also shows his faithfulness to Legree by saying to him, “as ye bought
me, I'll be a true and faithful servant to ye. I'll give ye all the work of my hands,
all my time, all my strength” (1983: 410). Uncle Tom’s statements to Mr. Shelby
and Legree show his loyalty to his masters, thus showing his faithfulness to them.
Thirdly, Uncle Tom’s faithful characteristic can be seen from what the
other characters say about him, from an old black slave to Haley, a white slave-
trader. As the example of Uncle Tom’s faithfulness to God, an old black slave is
so touched with Uncle Tom’s prayers that he describes Uncle Tom as praying
“right up”, which implies the old slave’s view that Uncle Tom is very close or
loyal to God, and his prayers directly reach God in heaven.
But it was in prayer that he especially excelled. Nothing could exceed the touching simplicity, the childlike earnestness of his prayer, enriched with the language of Scripture, which seemed so entirely to have wrought itself
39
into his being as to have become a part of himself, and to drop from his lips unconsciously; in the language of a pious old negro, he “prayed right up” (1853: 32).
Not only the old slave, but Haley also makes a statement that describes
Uncle Tom’s faithfulness to God. When he sells Uncle Tom to St. Clare, he
praises Tom by describing him as a humble, pious man, as shown in the quotation
below.
“Wal, there might be something in that ar, if it warn’t for his character; but I can show recommends from his master and others, to prove he is one of your real pious—the most humble, prayin’, pious critter ye ever did see. Why, he’s been called a preacher in them parts he came from” (1852: 160).
As the example of Uncle Tom’s faithfulness to his masters, some slaves in
Mr. Shelby’s plantation tell Mr. Shelby about their conversation with Tom. These
men, whom Mr. Shelby describes as “low fellows”, report that they tempt Tom to
escape to Canada with Mr. Shelby’s money, but Tom refuses their suggestion.
Unknown to Tom, these men talk to Mr. Shelby about it, as shown in the
quotation below.
Some low fellows, they say, said to him: ‘Tom, why don’t you make tracks for Canada?’ ‘Ah, master trusted me, and I couldn’t!’ They told me about it. I am sorry to par with Tom, I must say. You ought to let him cover the whole balance of the debt; and you would, Haley, if you had any conscience.” (1853: 2)
As another example, Haley is normally a harsh man, but he is convinced
of Tom's inherent goodness. He describes Tom as a man with good character and
good recommendations and lets Tom sleep without his chains on the ship (1852:
160). These characters’ statements show Uncle Tom’s trust, strong belief, and
loyalty both to his God and to his masters on Earth.
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4. Virtuous
Virtuous means having or showing moral goodness or excellence (Hornby,
1989: 1422). Uncle Tom is described as virtuous. Based on Barnet’s theory, Uncle
Tom’s virtuous characteristic can be seen from what he does and what the other
characters say about him (1988: 229).
Firstly, Uncle Tom’s virtuous characteristic can be seen from what he
does. For example, he is always honest and works hard to fulfil his responsibility.
Slaves are never paid for their work, so there is no incentive for them to work
hard or to give their best. Yet whenever Uncle Tom is given the responsibility to
run his master’s business, he does it with all his heart and strength. His old master,
Mr. Shelby, entrusts him with many of the dealings of his house, even trusting
him to take large sums of money on business trips. His next master, St. Claire,
also employs him to help manage his plantation. Uncle Tom’s hard work,
capability of managing things, and honesty make St. Clare trust him to run his
business. Uncle Tom’s actions prove his virtue or moral excellence.
St. Clare at first employed him occasionally; but, struck with his soundness of mind and good business capacity, he confided in him more and more, till gradually all the marketing and providing for the family were entrusted to him (1853: 218).
Furthermore, he resists the temptation to rebel for the sake of not only
money, but also freedom. Mr. Shelby often sends Uncle Tom with large sums of
money on business trips to far places. For Uncle Tom, this could be a prime
opportunity to escape, thus gaining his freedom and a lot of money to start a new
life. However, Uncle Tom always returns because he cannot violate Mr. Shelby’s
trust by running away with his master’s money. Meanwhile, St. Claire is
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described as a careless master who trusts him to an unlimited extent, who gives
and receives money from him without counting it. For Uncle Tom, this could be
the opportunity to take the money for himself without getting discovered, but he
does not do that. This action shows his virtue or moral excellence.
Trusted to an unlimited extent by a careless master, who handed him a bill without looking at it, and pocketed the change without counting it, Tom had every facility and temptation to dishonesty; and nothing but an impregnable simplicity of nature, strengthened by Christian faith, could have kept him from it. But, to that nature, the very unbounded trust reposed in him was bond and seal for the most scrupulous accuracy (1853: 218).
Secondly, Uncle Tom’s virtuous characteristic can be seen from what the
other characters say about him, including Mr. Shelby, St. Claire, and his daughter,
Eva. For example, Mr. Shelby enthusiastically tells Haley about Uncle Tom’s
moral quality such as honest, hardworking, and trustworthy. He describes Tom as
“an uncommon fellow”, “steady, honest, capable”, “a good, steady, sensible,
pious fellow”, “true and square in everything”, “the real article”, and many other
flattering descriptions (1853: 2). Mr. Shelby also says he has developed a deep
respect towards Uncle Tom unlike any other slave he has because of Uncle Tom’s
moral quality (1983: 23). His statements prove Uncle Tom’s moral goodness or
excellence.
“Why, the fact is, Haley, Tom is an uncommon fellow; he is certainly worth that sum anywhere,--steady, honest, capable, manages my whole farm like a clock.” “You mean honest, as niggers go,” said Haley, helping himself to a glass of brandy. “No; I mean, really, Tom is a good, steady, sensible, pious fellow. He got religion at a camp-meeting, four years ago; and I believe he really did get it. I’ve trusted him, since then, with everything I have,--money, house, horses,--and let him come and go round the country; and I always found him true and square in everything” (1853: 2).
42
“Well, Tom’s got the real article, if ever a fellow had,” rejoined the other. “Why, last fall, I let him go to Cincinnati alone, to do business for me, and bring home five hundred dollars. ‘Tom,’ says I to him, ‘I trust you, because I think you’re a Christian—I know you wouldn’t cheat.’ Tom comes back sure enough—I knew he would. Some low fellows, they say, said to him: ‘Tom, why don’t you make tracks for Canada?’ ‘Ah, master trusted me, and I couldn’t!’ (1853: 2)
As another example, when St. Claire and Eva arrive at their plantation
with Tom, they make him the head coachman. They describe him as a man who is
good, honest, and can be trusted to be the head coachman. All these characters’
statements further demonstrate Uncle Tom’s virtue or moral excellence.
B. Christian Love and Christian Devotion reflected by Uncle Tom
1. Christian Love reflected by Uncle Tom
As discussed in the second chapter of this thesis, love is an important
concept in Christianity, to be precise the kind of love called agape or Christian
love. Uncle Tom reflects the values of Christian love, especially through his
patient, compassionate and kind characteristics. This part is further divided into
two sub-parts, which will discuss respectively how Christian love is reflected
through Uncle Tom’s patient characteristic and how Christian love is reflected
through Uncle Tom’s compassionate and kind characteristic. The discussion is
based on the Bible, as the holy book of the Christians, supported by Bars and
Kierkegaard’s theories of Christian love.
a. Christian Love reflected by Uncle Tom’s patient characteristic
The Bible is the holy book of the Christians, which becomes the source of
all Christian teachings and practices. There are three points from the Bible about
Christian love which are reflected by Uncle Tom’s patient characteristic. These
43
points are God’s second commandment about love, love as the foundation of
Christianity, and the characteristics of love.
The first point is related to God’s second commandment about love. In the
Old Testament, God gives Ten Commandments to His believers, but in the New
Testament after Jesus is born to save humans, the Ten Commandments are
reduced into two commandments. These two commandments become the
principal law or guideline for Christian life. As already discussed in the second
chapter, Mark, one of Jesus’ disciples, writes about the second commandment as
follows: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other
commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:31). Matthew, another Jesus’
disciple, also writes about the second commandment in Matthew 5:44.
You have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thy enemy. But I tell you, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute you and insult you (1956: 5).
Although the verses in Mark 12:31 mentions “neighbour”, Kierkegaard
argues that the word neighbour does not refer to its literal meaning; on the
contrary, it refers to any human being (in Becker, 1992: 745). This view about
loving all human beings indiscriminately is supported by Henry Bars’ argument
that “what is really distinctive of Christianity is the injunction to love all men,
including our enemies, in order to be perfect like our heavenly Father” (Bars,
1961: 109). It is clear that based on the Bible verses above, a Christian should
love all human beings, regardless of whether they are good or evil.
As a good Christian, Uncle Tom always practices this commandment in
his life, and this commandment makes him able to be patient. Uncle Tom’s
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patience means that he can accept his master’s cruel treatment and even forgives
the people who torture him. Of course, people tend to feel negative emotions such
as anger, hate, and revenge when someone treats them cruelly. However, Tom
realizes that his masters, the slave traders, and the henchmen who torture him are
also human beings.
Based on Mark 12:31 which says “love thy neighbour as thyself”, God’s
second commandment tells him to love all human beings, so Tom also loves them
all just like he loves himself. For example, although Legree, his master, beats him
up badly and shouts at him angrily, Tom still talks to him nicely. The quotation
below shows that Tom responds to Legree’s threat to “take every drop of blood he
has” by telling him
“I’d give ye my heart’s blood; and, if taking every drop of blood in this poor old body would save your precious soul, I’d give ’em freely, as the Lord gave his for me” (1983: 446).
Sambo and Quimbo, two black slaves who have special position as
Legree’s henchmen, also beat up Uncle Tom based on Legree’s instruction.
Sambo and Quimbo’s action can be considered heartless, because they have the
heart to torture their fellow black man just to get better privilege from Legree, and
they are not even Uncle Tom’s master. Yet Uncle Tom also respond to Sambo and
Quimbo’s heartlessness with love, by showing his pity and his willingness to
bring them to Christ’s salvation.
"Poor critters!" said Tom, "I'd be willing to bar' all I have, if it'll only bring ye to Christ!" (1983: 447).
Based on Matthew 5:44 which says “pray for those who persecute you and
insult you”, Uncle Tom even prays and forgives his torturers. He forgives Legree,
45
Sambo, and Quimbo who have persecuted and insult him. Legree has mocked
Tom and Tom’s religion badly, for instance by saying “Well, here’s a pious dog,
at last, let down among us sinners! A saint, a gentleman, and no less, to talk to us
about out sins; Powerful holy critter, he must be! Here, you rascal, you make
believe to be so pious, didn’t you never hear, out of yer Bible, ‘Servants obey
your masters?’” (1983: 385). Legree also tells Tom to leave his religion by saying
“heave that ar old pack of trash in the fire” (1853: 420). However, Tom is not
offended by all those taunts. Instead, he forgives and prays for his master.
Tom opened his eyes, and looked upon his master. "Ye poor miserable critter!" he said, "there an't no more ye can do! I forgive ye, with all my soul!" and he fainted entirely away. (1983: 446)
Uncle Tom also forgives Sambo and Quimbo. When Sambo and Quimbo
see how Uncle Tom responds to their cruelty with love, they begin to feel very
guilty for torturing him. They apologize to him by saying "O, Tom! We's been
awful wicked to ye!" (1988: 446). Tom responds by saying "I forgive ye, with all
my heart!" (1988: 446). He even prays to God to bring Sambo and Quimbo’s
souls to Him: "O, Lord! give me these two more souls, I pray!" (1983: 447).
The second point is related to love as the foundation of Christianity. As
already discussed in the second chapter, love becomes the foundation of
Christianity. From the Christianity point of view, God Himself is the source of
love; it was because His love for humans was so big that He sent His Son, Jesus
Christ, to die and save the humans. It can be seen in the Bible verse (John 3:16).
Thus, because God Himself already shows such big love towards humans,
Christian people should learn from God and show love to fellow humans in the
46
same way that God does. This view is supported by D’Arcy’s explanation in The
Mind and Heart of Love, “Just because God is love, it follows that we love
because He first loved us” (D’Arcy, 1947: 66).
As a good Christian, Uncle Tom always practices this idea as well. His
understanding of God’s great love makes him able to be patient. Uncle Tom’s
patience means that he can live his hard life as a slave without complaining,
rebelling, or running away. Uncle Tom believes that God loves him and God has a
plan or a work for him, so he is willing to endure his sufferings and his hard life.
When other slaves invite him to join them and run away, he could actually accept
their invitation and run away without getting caught. However, Uncle Tom
explains to them that God makes him live as a slave because God gives him a
work to do. His explanation implies that if he runs away, it means that he betrays
God’s plan for him. Tom describes his sufferings as bearing a cross, like Jesus did
to save human souls because of His love towards humans.
... but the Lord's given me a work among these yer poor souls, and I'll stay with 'em and bear my cross with 'em till the end. It's different with you; it's a snare to you,--it's more'n you can stand,--and you'd better go, if you can." (1983: 427-428).
Another example can be seen in his explanation to Cassy about why he
remains patient despite his sufferings: “Sufferin' an't no reason to make us think
the Lord's turned agin us; but jest the contrary, if only we hold on to him, and
doesn't give up to sin” (1983: 389-390). The last example can be seen in his
explanation to St. Claire about why he remains patient despite his sufferings:
“When I was sold away from my old woman and the children, I was jest a'most
broke up. I felt as if there warn't nothin' left; and then the good Lord, he stood by
47
me, and he says, 'Fear not, Tom;' and he brings light and joy in a poor feller's
soul,--makes all peace; and I 's so happy, and loves everybody, and feels willin'
jest to be the Lord's, and have the Lord's will done, and be put jest where the Lord
wants to put me” (1983: 325).
The last point is related to the characteristics of Christian love as described
in the Bible. As already discussed in the second chapter, Paul, one of Jesus’
disciples, describes some characteristics of agape or Christian love in the New
Testament of the Bible, to be precise in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7.
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1956: 492-493).
As a good Christian, Uncle Tom uses the Bible as the foundation of his
everyday life, and always practices these characteristics of love. Uncle Tom’s
patience means that he can live his hard life as a slave without feeling angry and
resentful, rebelling, or making revenge. He can endure his sufferings and
hardships based on the Bible verse that says “love suffers long”. He does not
complain about the white people’s better life or the unfairness of slavery system
bsaed on the Bible verse that says “love does not envy”. Accepting the unfairness
without feeling negative emotions or complaining is a behaviour which is an
example of Christian love, because the Bible says that love means not envying
excessively. He does not complain or shows anger based on the Bible verse that
says love “does not behave rudely”. He does not make revenge to his masters’
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cruelty based on the Bible verse that says love “is not provoked” and “thinks no
evil”.
b. Christian Love reflected by Uncle Tom’s compassionate and kind
characteristic
There are two points from the Bible about Christian love which are reflected by
Uncle Tom’s compassionate and kind characteristic. These points are the second
commandment about love and the characteristics of love.
The first point is related to God’s second commandment about love. The New
Testament of the Bible mentions two commandments given by God. These two
commandments become the principal law or guideline for Christian life. The
second commandment tells the Christians to love their neighbours, as shown in
the two Bible verses below.
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these (Mark 12:31). You have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thy enemy. But I tell you, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute you and insult you (Matthew 5:43-44).
As a good Christian, Uncle Tom practices this commandment. Uncle
Tom’s compassion and kindness means that he is always ready to help and show
sympathy to the other slaves as well as his master. For example, he helps and
shows great sympathy to Prue, Cassy, and even his master, St. Claire, and his
master’s daughter, Eva, as if he can really feel their various problems. He
consoles them so that they can feel better. He does it because he loves them
exactly like he loves himself. Thus, he treats them exactly like how he wants to be
treated if he were in their position.
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The last point is related to the characteristics of Christian love as described
in the Bible. As already discussed above, Paul, one of Jesus’ disciples, describes
some characteristics of agape or Christian love in the New Testament of the
Bible, to be precise in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7. This verse tells that “love is kind”, so
he behaves kindly and nicely to everyone. Even if he does not know the person, or
does not have any obligation to be kind to that person, Tom still shows kindness.
For example, when Eva falls on the ship, Tom helps her because Eva is a human
being and the Bible tells him to be kind indiscriminately.
2. Christian Devotion reflected by Uncle Tom
Uncle Tom reflects the values of Christian devotion, especially through his
faithful and virtuous characteristics. This part is further divided into two sub-
parts, which will discuss respectively how Christian devotion is reflected through
Uncle Tom’s faithful characteristic and how Christian devotion is reflected
through Uncle Tom’s virtuous characteristic. The discussion is based on the Bible,
supported by Bars’, Becker’s, and O’Collins’ theories of Christian devotion.
a. Christian Devotion reflected by Uncle Tom’s faithful characteristic
There are two points from the Bible about Christian devotion which are
reflected by Uncle Tom’s faithful characteristic. These points are God’s first
commandment about devotion, and the practice of Christian devotion.
The first point is related to God’s first commandment about devotion. As
already discussed above, God’s two commandments become the principal law or
guideline for Christian life. The second commandment, which has just been
50
discussed in the previous part, tells humans to love each other, while the first
commandment tells humans to be devoted to God. The first commandment can be
seen in the Bible, to be precise in Mark 12:28-30.
Jesus answered him, The first the commandments of all is, Listen, Israel; there is no God but the Lord thy God; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with the love of thy whole heart, and thy whole soul, and thy whole mind, and thy whole strength. This is the first commandment… (1956: 46).
Unlike the commandment to “love thy neighbour”, this commandment
tells humans to love God with “thy whole heart, and thy whole soul, and thy
whole mind, and thy whole strength” (1956: 46). This totality of love, which is
especially reserved for God only, is also known as devotion. This view
corresponds with Professor Finney’s definition of Christian devotion below.
Devotion is that state of mind in which the attention is diverted from self, and self-seeking, and is directed to God; the thoughts, and purposes, and desires, and affections, and emotions, all hanging upon, and devoted to Him” (http://www.gospeltruth.net/1839OE/390130_devotion.htm).
This view is supported by Becker’s argument in Encyclopedia of Ethics
that for Christians, the first commandment means “God demands absolute
attachment, devotion and adoration” (1992: 744). Thus, humans must first and
foremost dedicate their self, physically and mentally, to God.
As a good Christian, Uncle Tom obeys not only the second commandment
but also this commandment. Uncle Tom’s faithfulness to God means that he
maintains his relationship with God and tries to find out what God wants for him.
He maintains his relationship by praying, worshipping God, reading his Bible
continually despite the threats from his master, Legree, or the doubt from his
previous master, St. Claire. He also has faith in God’s will and surrenders
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everything to God even though the condition is very hard. His sufferings and
hardships as a slave does not make him doubtful or sceptical towards God like
Cassy, another slave.
The next point is related to the practice of Christian devotion. The first
commandment discussed above already explains that Christian people should
respond to God’s love by devoting all aspects of their life to God. Of course,
devoting our life does not mean only praying or worshipping, but Christian people
must also practice it in everyday life. It means doing what God wants us to do in
our everyday life. This view is supported by Bars’ argument in Faith, Hope and
Charity that “the essential love to God is doing always what pleases him”
(1961:125) and “doing what he says” (1961:105). It is also supported by the
definition of devotion in A Concise Dictionary of Theology, namely the “prayerful
and effective dedication that makes believers deeply responsive to God’s will
(O’Collins, 1991:54).
Based on the view above, Uncle Tom practices his devotion not only
through direct contact to God such as praying, worshipping, or reading the Bible,
but also through his actions in everyday life. For example, he spread words about
God to his fellow slaves, such as Cassy, Prue, and many more, and even his
masters, such as Legree and St. Claire. Uncle Tom always remind them that God
loves them all, and he always encourages them to open their heart to God. When
he works in Legree’s plantation, the other slaves never see the Bible because
Legree forbids them. Tom opens his Bible and reads for them, as shown in the
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quotation below. By bringing other souls to God in his everyday life, Tom’s
faithful characteristic reflects his devotion.
… Tom sat down by the light of the fire, and drew out his Bible,--for he had need for comfort. "What's that?" said one of the woman. "A Bible," said Tom. … "Read a piece, anyways!" said the first woman, curiously, seeing Tom attentively poring over it. Tom read,--"Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (1983: 376)
Besides his faithfulness to God, Uncle Tom’s faithfulness to his master
also reflects Christian devotion because by being faithful to his master in his
work, Uncle Tom is also obeying God’s order. God does not instruct the Christian
people to obey Himself only, but He also wants the Christian people to obey the
authority on Earth for earthly matters. For example, children should obey their
parents, and servants should obey their masters for their work, school, and so on.
In the Bible, God orders servants to obey their masters in this verse: “Servants, be
obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and
trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as
menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart”
(Ephesians 6: 5). Thus, Uncle Tom’s faithfulness also means that he obeys his
masters. Because his position is as a slave, he works for the masters who have
purchased him faithfully. He obeys their instructions and does not run away from
them. By showing faithfulness to his masters, Uncle Tom also shows his
faithfulness to God. It is supported by Ryan’s explanation that our daily duties
“are God’s will at the present moment” and that “doing our daily duties well for
53
God is to do great thing for God” (1977: 67), or in other words, doing our daily
duties well is a form of devotion to God.
b. Christian Devotion reflected by Uncle Tom’s virtuous characteristic
There are is only one point from the Bible about Christian devotion which
is reflected by Uncle Tom’s faithful characteristic, namely the practice of
Christian devotion. However, in Uncle Tom’s virtuous characteristic, the reader
can observe deeply and thoroughly the practice of Christian devotion.
Christian devotion means doing what God wants us to do in our everyday
life. This view is supported by Bars’ argument in Faith, Hope and Charity that
“the essential love to God is doing always what pleases him” (1961:125) and
“doing what he says” (1961:105). It is also supported by the definition of devotion
in A Concise Dictionary of Theology, namely the “prayerful and effective
dedication that makes believers deeply responsive to God’s will (O’Collins,
1991:54).
Still related to the point above, Tom practices his devotion through his
everyday life, by explaining about God to other people, by working hard, and by
showing good behaviour and good moral qualities. Uncle Tom’s good moral
qualities make the other slaves and his masters impressed, and thus, they become
interested in Uncle Tom’s God as well. For example, Mr. Shelby, his old master,
knows that after Tom becomes a Christian, he also acquires virtuous
characteristic. Furthermore, after Tom becomes a Christian, Mr. Shelby becomes
assured of Tom’s virtuous characteristic, so that he can trust Tom with everything
he has, as shown in the quotation below.
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"No; I mean, really, Tom is a good, steady, sensible, pious fellow. He got religion at a camp-meeting, four years ago; and I believe he really did get it. I've trusted him, since then, with everything I have,--money, house, horses,--and let him come and go round the country; and I always found him true and square in everything" (1853: 2).
Furthermore, because of Tom, Mr. Shelby associates virtuousness as one
of the Christian values. For example, he says that he knows Tom would not cheat
because Tom is a Christian: “I trust you, because I think you're a Christian--I
know you wouldn't cheat” (1853: 2). It means that Tom indirectly preaches the
virtuousness of Christianity through his virtuousness, thus also practicing his
devotion to God.
As another example, the author directly mentions the relation between
Tom’s virtuous characteristic and the value of Christian devotion in the
description about his behaviour as the trusted slave of St. Clare.
Trusted to an unlimited extent by a careless master, who handed him a bill
without looking at it, and pocketed the change without counting it, Tom had every
facility and temptation to dishonesty; and nothing but an impregnable simplicity
of nature, strengthened by Christian faith, could have kept him from it (1853:
145).
The quotation above reveals that Tom’s virtuousness is strengthened by
his faith as a Christian. In other words, Christian devotion enables the Christians
to do what God pleases without feeling forced. God forbids His followers to steal
or act dishonestly, so Uncle Tom willingly avoids the temptation to steal or act
dishonestly; he does not care whether his master is careful or careless, or whether
55
he would be able to do any dishonest behavior without getting caught. Thus, his
virtuousness reflects the value of Christian devotion.
Furthermore, as a result of Uncle Tom’s virtuousness when he works as St.
Clare’s slave, St. Clare is impressed with Tom’s virtuousness. St. Clare does not
believe in God and has the habit of doubting, as shown in his statements, “I've got
the habit of doubting” and "I want to believe this Bible,--and I can't" (1853: 218).
However, Tom tells St. Clare to pray and read the Bible, and St. Clare eventually
accepts Tom’s advice and reads the Bible, as shown below.
The chapter was the eleventh of John,--the touching account of the raising of Lazarus, St. Clare read it aloud, often pausing to wrestle down feelings which were roused by the pathos of the story. Tom knelt before him, with clasped hands, and with an absorbed expression of love, trust, adoration, on his quiet face (1853: 219).
If St. Clare does not feel sympathetic and impressed with Tom’s virtuousness, he
most likely would not accept Tom’s advice to pray or read the Bible, something
that he does not believe in. However, he is sure about the purity of Tom’s
virtuousness, so he accepts and does Tom’s advice. Tom’s virtuousness makes
people think that if the follower of this God is virtuous like Uncle Tom, it means
God is very good and wonderful. As a result, Uncle Tom can bring many souls to
God. While bringing many souls to God is included as one of God’s orders in the
Bible, namely “Go and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28: 19). Here,
Tom’s faithful characteristic reflects his Christian devotion.
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CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION
This study analyzes the values of Christian love and devotion which are
reflected by Uncle Tom, the central character in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle
Tom’s Cabin. This study uses Abrams’ theory of character, Baldick and Barnet’s
theory of characterization, Lewis, Bars, and O’Collins’ theories of Christian love,
Finney, Bars, and O’Collins’ theories of Christian devotion, as well as various
Bible passages to support the discussion. This study has two objectives, namely to
discover the characteristics of Uncle Tom and to discover how Christian love and
devotion are reflected by Uncle Tom.
There are two findings as the conclusion of this study, based on the two
problems that have been formulated. The first finding of this study is about the
characteristics of Uncle Tom. Uncle Tom is one of the characters in the novel
Uncle Tom’s Cabin. He is described as possessing some prominent characteristics,
namely patient, compassionate and kind, faithful, and virtuous.
Uncle Tom’s patient characteristic can be seen from what he does, namely
enduring the hardships and the inhuman treatment as a slave without complaining
or feeling negative emotion, and from what he says, namely when he describes his
suffering as the Lord’s will, assures another slave that the Lord has not forgotten
them, and refuses other slaves’ invitation to run away because the Lord has some
work for him. The last statement also proves that Uncle Tom endures his
sufferings because he is patient, instead of just scared or unable to run away.
57
Uncle Tom’s compassionate and kind characteristic can be seen from what
he does to other slaves and his masters, namely helping other slaves in their
works, listening to their problems and consoling them, accompanying and
consoling St. Claire, his master, and saving and accompanying Eva, St. Claire’s
daughter. Uncle Tom’s compassionate and kind characteristic can also be seen
from what he says, namely his statement that he would not flog a sick and feeble
person like Cassy, and his statements to console Cassy and St. Claire in their own
troubles, and from what other characters say about him, namely St. Claire’s
comment about Tom’s kindness.
Uncle Tom displays faithful characteristic both to his God and his masters.
Uncle Tom’s faithfulness to God can be seen from what he does, namely praying
and worshipping God everyday, what he says, namely his statements that his
masters’ doubt or threats would not shake his faith and his statements to other
slaves that God never leave them, and what another character says, namely an old
black slave who describes Uncle Tom’s ability to reach God with his prayers.
Uncle Tom’s faithfulness to his masters can be seen from what he does,
namely staying with his master, not running away even when he has the chance,
and not going away even when his master releases him because he wants to
accompany his master in hard times, what he says, namely his statement to his
masters that he would obey them and be a good slave, and what the other
characters say about him, namely his master and the slave trader who describe his
faithfulness.
Uncle Tom’s virtuous characteristic can be seen from what he does,
namely working hard to fulfil his responsibility and resisting the temptation of
58
money and freedom which do not belong to him, and what other characters say
about him, namely his masters and his master’s daughter, who describe Uncle
Tom’s moral excellence.
The second finding of this study is about Christian love and devotion
reflected through Uncle Tom as the central character of the novel. Christian love
is reflected by Uncle Tom especially through his patient, compassionate and kind
characteristics. Uncle Tom’s patient characteristic reflects three points from the
Bible about love, namely God’s second commandment, love as the foundation of
Christianity, and the characteristics of love. God’s second commandment tells
Tom to love all humans and forgive his enemies, so he patiently endures his
masters’ treatment without hating them and he even forgives them. Love is the
foundation of Christianity, so Uncle Tom patiently endures his hard life as a slave
because he believes God loves him and God has a special purpose for him. The
characteristics of love as described in the Bible include patient, so Uncle Tom also
shows his patience all the time.
Uncle Tom’s compassionate and kind characteristic reflects two points
from the Bible about love, namely God’s second commandment and the
characteristics of love. God’s second commandment tells Tom to love all humans,
and Tom shows his love to all fellow humans by showing compassion and
kindness. The characteristics of love also include kind, so Uncle Tom shows
kindness to everyone.
Meanwhile, Christian devotion is reflected by Uncle Tom especially
through his faithful and virtuous characteristics. Uncle Tom’s faithful
59
characteristic reflects two points from the Bible about devotion, namely God’s
first commandment and the practice of Christian devotion. God’s first
commandment tells Tom to dedicate all aspects of his life to God, so he shows
great faithfulness to God by worshipping God everyday. However, the practice of
devotion also includes obeying God’s orders. Uncle Tom shows his faithfulness
not only to God but also to his masters, based on God’s order for servants to obey
their masters on Earth.
Uncle Tom’s virtuous characteristic reflects one point from the Bible
about devotion, namely the practice of Christian devotion. The practice of
devotion is not limited to worshipping God, but also includes obeying God’s
orders in everyday life. Uncle Tom shows moral virtuousness based on God’s
order to be honest, behave well, and show a good example to non-believers. Uncle
Tom’s virtuousness can make people, such as his master, interested in God, so he
can bring many souls to God and thus show his devotion to God.
60
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APPENDIX
Summary of Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom is a slave who is loved by his master, Mr. Shelby, his master’s
family, and the other slaves. He lives with his wife and children until Mr. Shelby
has to sell Tom and Harry, Eliza’s son, to a slave trader named Haley to pay his
debt. Haleyeventually sells Tom to a new master, Mr. St. Clare. Tom has a good
relationship with his master and his master’s young daughter, Eva. Several years
after he works for St. Clare, Eva falls ill and eventually dies. St. Clare remembers
that Eva used to disagree with slavery and ask him to freed Tom. When he tries to
fulfill his promise, Tom refuses to go because he does not want to leave his master
in a sad condition. Afterwards, because of an accident, St. Clare dies and St.
Clare’s wife sells Tom.
Tom’s new master, Simon Legree, is an evil and cruel plantation owner
who constantly exploits his slaves and treats them inhumanely.Tom starts a
friendship with the other slavesthere, including Emmeline and Cassy. Meanwhile,
Legree hates Tom because Tom refuses his order to beat the other slaves. As a
result, he directs his anger to Tom. Tom is discouraged for a while, but he has a
vision of heaven one night and becomes assured to help the other slaves. He often
helps his fellow slaves to fills their cotton baskets using his own cotton, gives
them his food and water, and reads the Bible to them. One day, Emmeline and
Cassy escape and invite Tom to join them, but Tom refuses. When Legree asks
63
Tom about Emmeline and Cassy’s escape, he refuses to tellLegree about their
plan and destination. Legree beats and tortures Tom to death.
In their escape, Cassy and Emmelinecoincidentally meet Madame de
Thoux, who turns out to be George Harris’ sister. Eliza Harris turns out to be
Cassy’s daughter. Cassy and Madame de Thouxgo together to Canada to meet
their family. They all move to France and Africa. George Shelby releases all the
servants on their farm.