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Reading Room:  Uncle Tom's Cabin  |
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Prairie Princess
True Blue Farmgirl
1075 Posts
Jodi
Washington
USA
1075 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 25 2008 : 08:29:08 AM
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Has anyone read this? My coworker was reading it yesterday, and I thought maybe I'd give it a go. I like books from the 19th century, but I'm not so sure the subject matter would settle well with me. I don't like depressing books....is it really sad?? I don't know what the story line is, just that it deals with slavery...?
~Jodi
"Women are like teabags...you never know how strong they are until they get into hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Jun 25 2008 : 10:14:46 AM
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| Uncle Tom's Cabin is an important book because it played such an important historical role (stirring up antislavery feeling in the north and sort of egging on the Civil War). But it is definitely a melodrama, and meant to be a tear jerker. I think the distance between us and the original audience in terms of what makes us sad, plus knowing that slavery is over, might mitigate the depressing aspect for you. |
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Prairie Princess
True Blue Farmgirl
1075 Posts
Jodi
Washington
USA
1075 Posts |
Posted - Jun 25 2008 : 12:51:37 PM
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Hmm, thanks for the description...I think I'll go for it. :)
~Jodi
"Women are like teabags...you never know how strong they are until they get into hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Jun 26 2008 : 06:33:15 AM
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On the other hand, seeing the attitudes that even radical white abolitionists held towards black people back in the day might make you mad! I don't remember being bothered by this when I read it (wow, 12 years ago!) but some people are really sensitive to that sort of thing. I figure, it's all part of history, and it's not fair to blame people for being part of their time.
If you want to get a different perspective on the same theme, you might want to follow Uncle Tom's Cabin with The Bondswoman's Narrative. It's a recently published book, but the manuscript is believed to have been written by a free black woman around 1860 (which I think would make it the earliest known novel by a black American woman). Very interesting back story! I keep checking to see if it's been proved to be a fraud or something, but last time I heard it was still authentic.
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Reading Room: Uncle Tom's Cabin |
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Uncle Tom's Cabin
