[课程]论文《汤姆叔叔的小屋》第一部分

[课程] 论文 政研论文下载论文大学下载论文大学下载关于长拳的论文浙大论文封面下载 《汤姆叔叔的小屋》第一部分 论文《汤姆叔叔的小屋》第一部分 I Introduction Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) was a famous American abolitionist and author.As the daughter of an eminent New England preacher, Stowe was born into a family of eccentric,intelligent people. As a child, she learned Latin and wrote a children’s geography book, both before she was ten years old. Throughout her life, she remained deeply involved in religious movements,feminist causes, and the most divisive political and moral issue of her time: the abolition of slavery. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) was the best-selling novel of the 19th century and the second best-selling book of that century, following the Bible.It was a description of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom. It energized anti-slavery forces in the American North, while provoking widespread anger in the South.Upon meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe for the first time, Abraham Lincoln reportedly said, “So this is the little lady who made this big war.” Stowe was little—under five feet tall—but what she lacked in height, she made up for in influence and success.By reading the novel,we can see that anti-slavery and the spirit of Christianity co-exist quiet harmoniously in it.However,many articles have been written to discuss the anti-slavery spirit of feminism in it.This thesis will mainly focus on the Christianity of main female characters-Eva and Eliza in Uncle Tom's Cabin.This part will demonstrate in two aspects-the author's lifetime ,Uncle Tom's Cabin and author's attitude towards Christianity . 1 Brief Introduction of the Author Harriet Elisabeth Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut on June 14, 1811.She was the seventh of 13 children, born to outspoken religious leader Lyman Beecher and Roxana Foote, a deeply religious woman who died when Stowe was only five years old. Her notable siblings included a sister, Catharine Beecher, who was an educator and author, as well as seven brothers who became ministers: including Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, and Edward Beecher .Harriet enrolled in the seminary (girls' school) run by her sister Catharine, where she received a traditionally "male" education in the classics, including study of languages and mathematics. Among her classmates there was Sarah P. Willis, who later wrote under the pseudonym Fanny Fern.At the age of 21, she moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to join her father, who had become the president of Lane Theological Seminary,in which enabled her to see both sides of the slavery debate without losing her abolitionist’s perspective. Cincinnati was evenly split for and against abolition, and Stowe wrote satirical pieces on the subject for several local papers there. She often wrote pieces under pseudonyms and with contrasting styles, and one can see a similar attention to voice in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, in which dialects and patterns of speech contrast among characters. Though Stowe absorbed a great deal of information about slavery during her Cincinnati years, she nonetheless conducted extensive research before writing Uncle Tom’s Cabin. She wrote to Frederick Douglass and others for help in creating a realistic picture of slavery in the Deep South. Her black cook and household servants also helped by telling her stories of their slave days.Throughout the novel,we can find that Stowe tries her best to illustare the fact that the system of slavery and the moral code of Christianity oppose each other.The more religious a character is, the more he or she objects to slavery.Thus,in Stowe 's novel,Christianity,rests on a principle of universal love.If all people were to put this principle into practice, Stowe insists, it would be impossible for one segment of humanity to oppress and enslave another. Thus, not only are Christianity and slavery incompatible, but Christianity can actually be used to fight slavery. 2 Uncle Tom's Cabin and the Author's Attitude towards Christianity Uncle Tom's Cabin is the most influential novel of Harriet Beecher Stowe and it is also one of the most unusual books of all American literature.It gives a fairly accurate picture of southern plantation life when African slavery flourished in America. The novel tells us the story about a Christian slave ,Uncle Tom, is sold by his owner, a Kentucky family Shelby who is burdened by debt,and transferred to the hands of unscrupulous trader and consigned to the slavemarkets of the low Mississippi.Due to company with little girl Eva, her father St.Clare bought Tom and they lived in a beautiful home in New Orleans.However, with the death of the girl and her father,Tom is sold again, this time to a brutal peron,Simon Legree,from whom Tom tasted the tragic dreg of slavery.At last, Tom is tortured to death. With her book, Stowe created a sort of chracters that revealed the horrors of Southern slavery to people in the North.Stowe continualy emphasizes the importance of Christian love in eradicating oppression.Coming from a family with good Christian tradition, she was deeply influenced and became a pious Christian.As her families were all opposing to raising slaves, she was influenced by them and held the anti-slavery belief.She stood up for the belief that slavery should be abolished.Mrs.Stowe believed and loved religion and pays attention to the problems of society and morality.Influenced by Christianity,she held the belief that each man is born to be equal and should enjoy freedom,so she was strongly agains slavery, which betrayed the ideas in Christianity.In Christianity,people are equal in soul and should enjoy freedom.Thus the pious belief in Christianity and abolishing slavery resulted in Uncle Tom's Cabin.