Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Study Questions & Essay Topics
1. Discuss the differences between the portrayals of men and women in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Does Tom fit with the rest of the men in the book? Why or why not? How does the portrayal of women reveal Stowe’s feminism?
2. Discuss Stowe’s use of opposites and the technique of contrast in Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
3. What roles do circumstance and chance play in Uncle Tom’s Cabin? Does the text use either of them to help explain the existence of slavery?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. In what ways does Stowe present the incompatibility of slavery with the Christian ethic of love and tolerance? How do the novel’s Christ figures underscore its basic Christian messages?
2. Compare and contrast Tom’s three owners in the novel—Shelby, St. Clare, and Legree. How are they alike? How are they different? Do they appear in the novel according to any particular sequence, and if so, how does this progression relate to the general themes of the book?
3. Discuss the role of Eva in the novel. In what ways does she contribute to the novel’s larger messages?
4. How do Stowe’s political objectives affect the style and formal aspects of the novel? In designing her characters to make a point, did she make them too simple? Do the noble politics of the novel justify its literary shortcomings?