Harriet Beecher Stowe: Abolitionism, Realism, Romanticism. Abstract

Methods and analysis

Although Harriet Beecher Stowe lived during the Abolitionism movement. It should be mentioned that, her early writings were rather primitive, that’s why they did not contain any serious conflict in social life at that time.

In addition, it is said that Harriet Beecher Stowe when she was young, she used to hear much more horrible stories about cruel treatment of the negroes. Eventually that stories encouraged her to write. Firstly she wrote many articles and short stories but she considered it was not enough and insufficient, that’s why she set herself a task of creating and antislavery novel.

Stowe’s stories are perfectly convincing and reliable. There is not any imagery or fantastic about them. There is unique thing about Beecher Stowe’s novels that they completely reflect its moral and didactic message into the readers’ mind. As we mentioned above she did not use any magical or artificial scenes on her novel. She just tried to describe the real and factual face of her time society. Because the novel is against the oppression of the slaves, the cruel treatment of them by plantation owners. This novel can produce a tremendous impression on the readers. We can observe immediately the voices of attack, a campaign of slander came to the novel. Some said that it was untrue or reality and falsification of life. In answer to those Stowe published fully organized variant of the book called “ Key to Uncle Tom’s cabin” it was a collection of real authentic documents on which the story was based. After some time that book aroused such an interest throughout the world.

The novel mostly based on real incidents that each reader can immediately grasp the meaning of it. As it is said, it was the first time in history the slave owners we portrayed as they were with all their atrocities. When “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” saw light all the right thinking people came out demanding the immediate emancipation of slaves. As it is seen Beecher Stowe was far from being radical and she did not call people to raise arms against the slavery. Her views were temperate. She just wanted tom portray the actual bad conditions and life of ordinary people of her time. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s writing time is the transition from romanticism to realism. And also she was as the same time the creator of a social novel in American literature. Some critics consider this novel as Realism. However, it is not completely convey Realism. Because Stowe had a specific moral aim to encourage the American public to see the best consequences of slavery. It shows that this work is anti-slavery novel and its language is also simple and naïve. Harriet Beecher Stowe in her novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” portrayed slaves as being the most morally correct beings, often times un- humanistically so, while also portraying many white people and slave-owners to be morally wrong in most cases. There are a series of debates that is “ Uncle Tom’s Cabin “ is a true story. As Beecher Stowe mentioned that she had inspired by the life of the real person called Josiah Henson who lived as a slave. Moreover this novel is conveyed by the elements of realism not fantasy and Romanticism. Stowe’s depiction of slavery in her novel was reported by her immersion in abolitionist writing.