Mid-book and the idea of Good and Evil

Before I begin this post, I would like to re-visit my previous post, briefly, before moving on to new ideas. In the reading since my last post, the dialects (or vernacular) of the slaves actually played a small role in the action of the story. When we are introduced to the St. Clare household, among those to whom the reader is introduced to is, Adolph, who is St. Clare’s personal servant. Unlike many (if not most of) the slaves we meet to this point he speaks like his owners. For this he is criticized by his fellow slave Dinah who is tired of Adolph and his ilk, “cuttin’ round, makin’ b’lieve you’s white folks. Arter all, you’s niggers, much as I am” (187). It was interesting to see this kind of reaction to a difference as small as how the slaves talk. It seemed like the non-domestic slaves, almost see the domestic slaves as traitors to who they are (and their race), by taking on the manners of their white owners. This is clearly still an issue today amongst African -Americans who are sometimes criticized for acting “white”. I just thought this was interesting, now on to new business.

There was an Idea that was brought up earlier on in the book that has since been focused on more, and that is the relationship between religion and good and evil. Early in the book, when Uncle Tom is sold by Mr. Shelby, we are first exposed to this. Though Shelby is a “good” and religious man he is still made evil by his association with slavery. When the faithfully religious Uncle Tom says, “pray for them that ‘spitefully use you, the good book says”, Stowe seems to be using him to indict the establishment which claims to be Christian and yet does not practice what they preach (48). So I was confused, Tom’s faith is painted as not only an important aspect of who he is, but one that makes him a better person. So what’s Stowe’s position? Considering that her father and all of her male siblings became ministers, I think that it is safe (to say the least) that Stowe’s view of faith was in general, positive.

So what’s interesting is what the text seems to say. Religion alone does not make a person good or bad. While there is Tom, whose religion helps him to get through the tough times he encounters as a slave, as well as the ridiculously pure and angelic Eva, whose faith is strong, many of the characters are not this cut and dry. There are those like Eva’s mother Marie, who while a faithful church attendee, certainly does not follow the teachings of her faith. There are also those like the evil slave owner Simon Legree, who tells Tom that, “I’m your church now”, reflecting his thoughts on Christianity (293). Despite the atheism of an evil character like Legree, not all without religion are shown to be evil. After all, there are many slaves (including Tom for most of his life) who do not know religion, and they are not portrayed as bad or evil. The most notable example of the non-religious being good is St. Clare, a good man, who despite his desperate desire to believe in God cannot. Despite his lack of a true religious affiliation, he is a good person, he is not bad merely because he lacks faith (for most of his life at least). Stowe in doing this presents us with an interesting (and true idea) that good and evil cannot be assumed by one’s religious affiliation. Good and evil are far more complicated than that, which is an important thing for Stowe to touch on. For especially with a subject as seemingly black and white as slavery, amongst those involved there is a fair amount of moral ambiguity.