an analysis of the character tom in the novel uncle toms cabin 畢業論文任務書專業 英語 班級 姓名 下發日期2009年12月19日題目 an analysis of the character tom in the novel uncle toms cabin專題英美文學主要內容及要求湯姆叔叔是斯托夫人筆下頗具爭議的人物形象，但其卻為世界文壇，為努力解放運動做出了重大的貢獻。本文通過大量實例分析，著重贊揚湯姆叔叔誠實忠心、虔誠博愛、敢于反抗的精神。通過分析、對比國際社會對湯姆叔叔的評價，得出結論：湯姆叔叔是人類精神上至高無上的楷模，其善良，忠誠，勇敢等美好品質值得后人學習。主要技術參數進度及完成日期2009年12月19日 下發畢業論文任務書2010年4月18日 交開題報告和論文提綱2010年5月9日 交論文初稿2010年5月30日 交論文二稿2010年6月13日 交論文定稿系主任簽字日期教研室主任簽字日期指導教師簽字日期摘 要斯托夫人筆下的湯姆叔叔雖是奴隸制度下的一個犧牲品，但卻是人類精神至高無上的楷模。他用基督教式的博愛溫暖了無數窮苦人民，其偉大的犧牲精神使無數后人黯然落淚，更使無數上層統治者心驚膽怯。人們無法忘記誠實、忠心的湯姆叔叔如何竭盡全力的維護自己的主人；更無法忘記如此溫順的湯姆叔叔為了堅守信仰竟以死向敵人反抗。在物欲橫流的當今世界，湯姆叔叔以其無私、純潔、高尚的精神教化著人類的靈魂。關鍵詞：湯姆叔叔，誠實，忠心，反抗 abstractuncle tom, the hero in the writing of harriet beecher stowe, was a sacrifice of slavery. however, he was a supreme model of human spirit. with his christian love, he comforted numerous people who were suffering poverty and misery. his spirit of sacrifice made many off-springs weep, and shocked and feared a lot of upper rulers. nowadays, people always remember the honest and loyal uncle tom who makes every effort to protect his master. also, people remember that in order to keep his christian faith such an obedient uncle tom dared to resist his master. in this monetary world today, uncle toms spirit of selflessness, purity and nobility edify humans soul.key words: uncle tom, honest, loyal, resistcontentsintroduction.(9)chapter one uncle toms obedience(11)1.1 uncle toms honesty.(11)1.2 uncle toms loyalty.(12) 1.2.1 his loyalty to mr. shelby(12)1.2.2 his loyalty to augustine st. clare.(13)chapter two uncle toms christian love for humanity.(15)2.1 uncle toms love for the blacks and the low.(15)2.2 uncle toms love for the whites(16) 2.2.1 his love for george shelby(16) 2.2.2 his love for evangeline.(17)2.3 uncle toms love for his enemies.(19)chapter three uncle toms disobedience of gentle impulse.(19)chapter four uncle toms tragic ending.(23)4.1 comparison between george harris and uncle tom.(23) 4.1.1 george harriss struggle for freedom(23) 4.1.2 uncle toms sacrifice for freedom.(24)4.2 introspection of uncle toms death(26)conclusion.(28)acknowledgements.(29)bibliography.(30)introductionin 1861, the war between south and north broke out on american land; in 1861, the war of slavery emancipation which erupted in america and permeated into the rest of the world made the whole world shaking. the whole humanity was angry, and the whole negroes were crying harriet beecher stowe, the little woman who wrote uncle toms cabin, was actually the person who waged the war in literal field. influenced by calvinism, and seeing salves poor life and slave owners cruelty in america, stowe determined to write a book to expose the american law, to show her sympathy on the miserable slaves and to remind the whites and the whole worlds humanity. the book was called uncle toms cabin.uncle toms cabin was mainly written into two parts. for one part, it narrated george harris and her wife elizas struggle for freedom. hardly could they bear the american slavery system which would part them and sell their boy, they decided to escape and fled into a free country. through all difficulties and dangers, they finally reached their ideal land, canada. for the other part, the book described the protagonist, uncle toms ups and downs in his whole life. unlike george harris, uncle tom accepted all prosperities and adversities befalling upon him, he accepted them sedately and meekly by the support of his christian religion. however, though the lord could comfort his soul, he could not protect his body. under the evil law and evil slavery, uncle tom was whipped to death by the cruel slave owner. not only did the author harriet beecher stowe exalt george harriss bravery, but also she sympathized uncle toms tragedy, and admired his christian spirit. for the latter one, stowe had poured out all her efforts and affection, and the topic of this thesis is to analyze uncle toms characteristics. as to uncle toms characteristics in the novel uncle toms cabin, many foreign and domestic scholars have expressed their viewpoints; among them, some appraised uncle tom and some criticized him. for example, in uncle toms image of xue yufeng (2002), she thought that uncle tom was not only an affectionate christian, but also a real man who always kept his promise, and stuck to his principles. he was a brave, strong and integral hero who faced death unflinchingly. another chinese writer lin yuting (2008) set a “black christ image” for uncle tom in her resistance or submission. she stated that uncle tom was the incarnation of “love” and “goodness” whose behavior complied with christian theory completely. he demonstrated the christian doctrine of “love is all” and “return good for evil” through his own deeds. the foreign abolitionist william lloyd garrison said that uncle tom was “the true moral representative of goodness with great and inconvincible spirit” (1854). activist mary church terrell also said “standing before the poor old tom, who would not wipe his eyes; although on identity he was a slave, in mind he was philosopher, and in the heart a sage, in death a martyrs” (1911: ). however, in the eyes of other critics, uncle tom was not a “hard hero” at all. abolitionist charles whipple criticized “longterm silently succumbing to the owner of slave is complicity the duty of man or christians is not only against it, but if had the ability, to stop it with the appropriate way whether from the aspect of mans character or from the aspect of christian personality, i dont think tom is the most sublime example, because he has close relationship with slave owners” (1860: ).as the old saying goes, “gold cant be pure and man cant be perfect”. though uncle tom has his own personal failings and different critics have different opinions toward him, no one would deny that he is an honest, loyal and affectionate man. this thesis will depict uncle tom as a miserable, poor but sublimate, admirable slave. it is constituted of four parts. in chapter one, it describes uncle toms obedience of honesty and loyalty to his different masters. chapter two is to represent uncle toms love for humanity through his christian religion. and the next chapter is to disproof other critics opinion of uncle toms cowardice through his gentle impulse against legree. for the last chapter, the thesis will sublimate uncle toms greatness through george harriss adverse selection.chapter one uncle toms obediencewhen people speak of harriet beecher stowe, the first thing they thought of is uncle toms cabin; and when people speak of uncle tom, the first thing in their mind is uncle toms obedience. no matter the master is generous or not, uncle tom is always honest and loyal to them. 1.1 uncle toms honestythough some critics criticized uncle toms cowardice of sitting down under whatever might come, they could not deny his extraordinary honesty. at the beginning of the novel, mr. shelby, the first and most generous master of uncle tom, recommended uncle toms honesty when discussing with his creditor, haley, to whom he owed a lot sum of money that could not be paid off easily. though mr. shelby was reluctant, he resorted to sell tom to clear the debt, and he believed that uncle tom was absolutely worth the amount. mr. shelby said that uncle tom was his favorite pet and a “genuine article”, a pious, steady, sensible, uncommon fellow. he trusted him without question and let him come and go around the country freely, managing his money, house, and horse. everything he had, he would ask uncle tom to deal with them, and many years success and fruits found uncle tom true and square in everything, and his honesty won the highest place in front of mr. shelby.during mr. shelbys talking with haley, there is one thing that could testify toms honesty to the utmost. it was one fall, mr. shelby asked tom to go to cincinnati alone, to do business for him, and bring home five hundred dollars. “tom,” mr. shelby said to him, i trust you because i think you are a christiani know you wouldnt cheat” (stowe 1999: 2). surely, tom came back, with that sum of money, and some fellow said to him, “tom, why dont you make tracks for canada?”, but tom answered them “ah, master trusted me, and i couldnt” (stowe 1999: 2). it was because of such a real thing of uncle tom that mr. shelby demanded to let him cover the whole balance of the debt.uncle toms honesty, not only made him the most important negro before master shelby, but also before his new master, st. clare, after he was sold to him. st. clare was indolent and careless of money. hitherto all the providing and marketing had been principally done by adolph, the slave supervisor who was to the full, as careless and extravagant as his master. both of st. clare and adolph had carried on the dispersing process with great alacrity. however, uncle tom had been accustomed for many years to regard his masters property as his own. thus when he saw, with an uneasiness he could scarcely repress, the wasteful expenditure of the establishment, he would sometimes make his suggestions in the quiet, indirect way which his class often acquired. at first, st. clare adopted his suggestions occasionally. later, being stuck with his soundness of mind and good business capacity and morality, he confided in him more and more, till gradually all the marketing and providing for the family were entrusted to him. uncle tom, trusted to an unlimited extent by a careless master, who handed him a bill without looking at it, and pocketed him the charge without counting it, had every facility and temptation to dishonesty, but an nature of impregnable honesty, strengthened by christian faith, kept him from it.from mr. shelby to st. clare, though tempted by freedom and money, uncle tom stuck to his principles all the time. he testified his integral character by his own honesty and won others trust.1.2 uncle toms loyaltysimilar to his honesty, uncle toms loyalty was mainly reflected through master shelby and master st. clare. 1.2.1 his loyalty to mr. shelbywhen reading uncle toms cabin, one could not forget how mindfully uncle tom protected his master when the master decided to sell him to south. “you have heard what she said! if i must be sold, or all the people on the place and everything go to rack, why, let me be sold” (stowe 1999:38). uncle tom understood that had his master had any other expediency, he would not sell his favorite tom. as a master, his liability was more to save other slaves in his house than to protect him, but uncle tom had never complained or blamed. however, as a slave, uncle tom had already earned mr. shelby the money all he got for him, and even twice more; and mr. shelby ought to let him go two years ago, and should have given him the passport and guaranteed to return freedom to him. now, though he couldnt help himself, he meant to sell him. on the other part, uncle tom, loyal as he was, not only refused elizas suggestion to escape, but also determined to stay and help his master and other negroes on the place. “master always found me on the spot, he always will. i never have broke trust, nor used my pass no ways contrary to my word, and i never will. its better for me alone to go, than to break up the place and sell all. master is not to blame” (stowe 1999: 38). that was the poor uncle toms choice, great uncle toms choice. even when he was sold to other masters later, he never forgot his ex-master, especially his little master george shelby, who taught him reading and writing, and whose penny he always kept under the liner no matter where he went, dreaming that one day his young master would bring him back home. for uncle tom, he who teaches him one day is his teacher for life, he will always be loyal to his masters.1.2.2 his loyalty to augustine st. clareas st. clare was an indolent and careless master, it was uncle tom who managed the whole house and marketing for him. being more idealistic than practical, st. clare knew that he was indulgent to his slaves, but he was too lazy to educate them. so he let them make him all sorts of trouble and never lifted a finger. exactly did he know the evil of slavery, and more did he know that the problem of slavery was the problem of american laws, for which iniquity american whites should be responsible. however, he just kept himself away from all of these matters, and acted as an outsider. but uncle tom, who knew all the thoughts of his master, including his profound ideas and helpless laziness, identified him as a non-christian, for his master never went to church, always spent his sunday evenings at the opera or theatre, and went to wine parties, and clubs, and suppers, oftener than was at all expedient. nevertheless, uncle tom seldom expressed to anyone else, but founded many prayers on his master, when he was by himself in his little dormitory.one evening, st. clare was invited out to a convivial party, and was helped home at midnight, in a condition when the body had decidedly attained the upper hand of the mind, uncle tom lied awake the rest of the night, praying for his drunk master. the next day, he spoke his mind to him: “i feel very bad, master. i always have thought that master would be good to everybody master has always been good to me, i havent nothing complain of, on that head. but there is some master isnt good to. master isnt good to himself” (stowe 1999:202). at that moment, st. clare was much astonished with toms words, being moved to great extent. he never thought of such a considerate and loyal tom, and from then on, he determined to keep his promise to give up bad habits. later, when st. clares daughter died at an early age, uncle tom accompanied him day and night. few conciliated words had he said, he just stayed with st. clare silently and appeared anywhere he was needed by his young master, until the last minute of the latters life.chapter two uncle toms christian love for humanityhonesty and loyalty were not only the simple nature of uncle tom, but also basic beliefs of a christian. as a christian, uncle tom possesses all the characters a christian should possess, such as fraternity, faith, forgiveness and endurance, let alone honesty and loyalty. as the writer lin yuting (2008) said, uncle tom was the incarnation of “love” and “goodness”, disseminating the christian doctrine of “love is all” through his own deeds, and people respected him as their priest. he loves all the people around him, no matter poor or rich, up or low, friends or enemies.2.1 uncle toms love for the blacks and the lowin that society of america, uncle toms fellow negroesthe lowest class, including their off springs，belonged to slave owners personal property. their lives were totally rested on their masters, and they were not entitled to own their wives and children but watched them being sold and killed. however, uncle tom believed that one day the negroes would be the master of the world, no longer being despised and trodden down. they would perhaps show forth some of the latest and most magnificent revelations of human life; and they would exhibit the highest form of the peculiarly christian life. as god chastened who he loved, he knew that he had chosen poor negroes in the furnace of affliction, to make them the highest and noblest in that kingdom, which he would set up, when every other kingdom had been tried, and failed; for the first should be the last, and the last first.uncle tom believed that they were gods chosen people, and always would they be. so when uncle tom saw old prue, the poor slave who addicted herself to drinking to forget all the miseries that befell on her, he tried to persuade her to leave off drinking, which in his eyes would be the ruin of humans body and soul: “oh, lord have mercy on you poor creature. havent you ever heard of jesus christ; that loved us poor sinners, and died for us” (stowe 1999:125)? after being told her story that in order to please her master she had to listen to her baby crying to death, and for this she began to doubt gods existence, uncle tom still consoled her of gods fraternity: “oh, poor creature! havent nobody never told you how the lord jesus loved you, and died for you? havent they told you that hell help you, and you can go to heaven, and have rest, at last” (stowe 1999:216)? though prue died at last, uncle toms comfort was born in her heart.lucy, another inferior slave on master legrees plantation, weak and strong-willed, was much tortured by the master for her loyalty to her husband and refused to be married to another one. so anything she did would be found wrong and any anger would purposely result from her. seeing this, uncle tom couldnt help giving his mercy on her; he helped her ground beans for dinner, and in order to pass the inspection, he crammed his own cotton to her basket. though being whipped himself, he never obeyed the masters order to give a whip on poor lucy. it was not only prue and lucy that uncle tom poured his love into, but to all inferior ones he was kind and merciful. he was the priest of other slaves around him; he assisted the desperate eliza to escape with her child; he exchanged his own life for cassy and emelines freedom; for those poor creatures he convinced them of gods genero