Characterization of Children and The Generational Gap in Uncle Tom's Cabin

Post and Presentation by Alyssa Sallean

So far, in Uncle Tom's Cabin, we have seen a few examples of relationships between slaves and their masters children that I find particularly interesting. Two of the most obvious examples so far are Tom's interaction with George Shelby and Eva St. Clare. 

In the opening chapters of the book, we are introduced to the relationship between George Shelby and Tom. When Tom is eventually sold in Chapter 10, George finds himself more upset than he was expecting, and I think he was surprised at his feelings. 

“ "But you shall take it!" said George; "look here -- I told Aunt Chloe I'd do it, and she advised me just to make a hole in it, and put a string through, so you could hang it round your neck, and keep it out of sight; else this mean scamp would take it away. I tell ye, Tom, I want to blow him up! it would do me good!"

   "No, don't Mas'r George, for it won't do me any good."

   "Well, I won't, for your sake," said George, busily tying his dollar round Tom's neck; "but there, now, button your coat tight over it, and keep it, and remember, every time you see it, that I'll come down after you, and bring you back. Aunt Chloe and I have been talking about it. I told her not to fear; I'll see to it, and I'll tease father's life out, if he don't do it."

   

    "O! Mas'r George, ye mustn't talk so 'bout yer father!"

   "Lor, Uncle Tom, I don't mean anything bad."

   "And now, Mas'r George," said Tom, "ye must be a good boy; 'member how many hearts is sot on ye. Al'ays keep close to yer mother. Don't be gettin' into any of them foolish ways boys has of gettin' too big to mind their mothers. Tell ye what, Mas'r George, the Lord gives good many things twice over; but he don't give ye a mother but once. Ye'll never see sich another woman, Mas'r George, if ye live to be a hundred years old. So, now, you hold on to her, and grow up, and be a comfort to her, thar's my own good boy, -- you will now, won't ye?"

   "Yes, I will, Uncle Tom," said George seriously.

   "And be careful of yer speaking, Mas'r George. Young boys, when they comes to your age, is wilful, sometimes -- it is natur they should be. But real gentlemen, such as I hopes you'll be, never lets fall on words that isn't 'spectful to thar parents. Ye an't 'fended, Mas'r George?"

   "No, indeed, Uncle Tom; you always did give me good advice."

   "I's older, ye know," said Tom, stroking the boy's fine, curly head with his large, strong hand, but speaking in a voice as tender as a woman's, "and I sees all that's bound up in you. O, Mas'r George, you has everything, -- l'arnin', privileges, readin', writin', -- and you'll grow up to be a great, learned, good man and all the people on the place and your mother and father'll be so proud on ye! Be a good Mas'r, like yer father; and be a Christian, like yer mother. 'Member yer Creator in the days o' yer youth, Mas'r George."

   "I'll be real good, Uncle Tom, I tell you," said George. "I'm going to be a first-rater; and don't you be discouraged. I'll have you back to the place, yet. As I told Aunt Chloe this morning, I'll build our house all over, and you shall have a room for a parlor with a carpet on it, when I'm a man. O, you'll have good times yet!"

   Haley now came to the door, with the handcuffs in his hands.

   "Look here, now, Mister," said George, with an air of great superiority, as he got out, "I shall let father and mother know how you treat Uncle Tom!"

   "You're welcome," said the trader.

   "I should think you'd be ashamed to spend all your life buying men and women, and chaining them, like cattle! I should think you'd feel mean!" said George.

   "So long as your grand folks wants to buy men and women, I'm as good as they is," said Haley; "'tan't any meaner sellin' on 'em, that 't is buyin'!"

   "I'll never do either, when I'm a man," said George; "I'm ashamed, this day, that I'm a Kentuckian. I always was proud of it before;" and George sat very straight on his horse, and looked round with an air, as if he expected the state would be impressed with his opinion.

   "Well, good-by, Uncle Tom; keep a stiff upper lip," said George.

   "Good-by, Mas'r George," said Tom, looking fondly and admiringly at him. "God Almighty bless you! Ah! Kentucky han't got many like you!" he said, in the fulness of his heart, as the frank, boyish face was lost to his view. Away he went, and Tom looked, till the clatter of his horse's heels died away, the last sound or sight of his home. But over his heart there seemed to be a warm spot, where those young hands had placed that precious dollar. Tom put up his hand, and held it close to his heart.”

I would just like to point out that there are many passages I would have loved to choose  – I particularly like the ones where Eva is talking about what she would do with the slaves if it were up to her. But this passage about George is of particular interest because he seems to realize that buying and selling slaves is wrong, but doesn't understand the fundamental issue with slavery. George wishes to own them and treat them right, but does not mention any desire to free them. It is also pertinent to point out that their relationship is unique – it is a sort of parent-child relationship that the two share. Tom feels comfortable enough with George to give him some good advice before their parting and George seems to take the advice to heart. 

Not surprisingly, the attitudes of the children in the book towards the slaves seems an exaggeration of the parents. George wishes to take care of his slaves very well, much like Mr. Shelby, but doesn't intend to free them. George doesn't understand the complicated ways of adulthood that may prevent him from doing everything he can to give the slaves the best life. 

Taking a look at Augustine St. Claire, we get a glimpse of his past about how his mother and father treated him and how he had a fairly good relationship with his slaves as he was growing up. When he got of age and had slaves of his own, he seemed to find it “inconvenient” to sell them all, but still wished to give them as good a life as he could. Eva seems to share the opinion that they should be treated as well as possible, but Eva actually intends to free them. Perhaps though, she is blinded by the “ignorance” of childhood. 

One last example of how children are exaggerated forms of their parents in the novel is Henrique. Augustine St. Clare's brother, Alfred St. Clare, never was as kind to his slaves as Augustine was. Henrique is portrayed as a wild child who has a bit of a temper and treats his slaves with much disrespect. 

The point that I wish to make is that I believe that Stowe is trying to use these children as the voice of reason in her books in order to help formulate her overall argument. Many of the readers of the novel would be adults, of course, and perhaps Stowe is hoping to use the children as a reminder to adults who have since lost their way. I believe that this empathy the readers may feel for Eva when she dies and doesn't get her wish for Tom to be freed help Stowe convince her readers that slavery itself is fundamentally wrong and even a child can see that. 

We see children changing their minds about the horrors of slavery, but do we see any adults doing so? Uncle Tom's Cabin was published in 1862. The emancipation proclamation was written in 1863. This means that there had to be a shift in the popular opinion among adults sometime in the years preceding 1863. Generally, these changes of opinion are generational. The children of the 1830's and 1840's are the ones that are going to be making the changes in the 1860's. Perhaps Stowe is attempting to remind those adults in the 1860's about what they may have thought of slavery as children. 

Some Questions to To Ponder:

1) Why did Stowe let Eva die? As in, what was the literary purpose? How does Eva dying contribute to the overall argument of the novel? 

2) Did many slaveowners at the time just do 'as their parent's' did? Did this lead to the continuation of the slave trade to longer than it needed to be or did it contribute to the shift in the general consensus on the morality of slavery in 1862?