Theme Of Race In Uncle Tom's Cabin

Of all of the different themes that are explored in the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin, one of the most important of them is the theme of race. It’s so important because many of the other themes in this book can all relate back to the theme of race in one way or another. For example, the theme of slavery can very easily be related to race, but even other themes such as religion or violence were also influenced by race. The main reason that race had such a significant impact on all of these other things was the simple fact that many white people felt that black people were an inferior race, and they acted accordingly. This opinion was one that was shared by all too many people, and it affected the way that people of all races were seen by other races, …show more content…
It certainly wasn’t a popular opinion to have during the time, but this book still has its share of characters who felt that all races were equal and deserved to be treated as such. The most prominent of these characters was Eva St. Clare, but other characters that felt this way include Mrs. Shelby as well as her son George Shelby. The actions of these characters were very different than the actions of the characters listed before, and unlike the actions of Simon Legree, the actions of these few characters actually had a positive influence on the lives of others. An example the positive influence that these people had on others can be seen in chapter twenty-five of Uncle Tom’s Cabin when it tells of this conversation between Eva and a young slave named Topsy: “‘Poor Topsy!’ said Eva, ‘don’t you know that Jesus loves all alike? He is just as willing to love you, as me. He loves you just as I do,-Only more, because he is better. He will help you to be good; and you can go to Heaven at last, and be an angel forever, just as much as if you were white. Only think of it, Topsy!-You can be one of those spirits bright, Uncle Tom sings about.’ ‘O, dear Miss Eva, dear Miss Eva!’ said the child; ‘I will try, I will try; I never did care nothin’ about it before.’” (Beecher-Stowe 239-40). As it can be clearly seen in that passage, even something as simple as a few kind words spoken from …show more content…
There really were people who shared the opinion that black people were an inferior race, and as a result, many people were treated the same way that Tom was treated by Simon Legree. But on the contrary, there were also many people who thought like Eva. Many of these people did everything they could to make sure that everybody was treated equally, and because of those people, the country that we live in now is very different than it once was. But even though race isn’t as much of an issue as it used to be, that still doesn’t erase the fact that there was a time when many people were treated very poorly simply because of the color of their