The Representation of Slavery and Religion in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel « Uncle Tom’s Cabin 1852 »

Abstract

ملخص: هذه األطروحة ترمي إلى دراسة العديد من جوانب العبودية التي تم تسليط الضوء عليها من طرف الكاتبة األمريكية هارييتبيتشرستاو من خالل كتابها كوخ العم توم، إلقناع الق ّراء بمدى وحشية نظام العبودية و إظهار معاناة العبيد في أمريكا. بناء على الفرضيات القائلة بأن الرواية جاءت كرد على قانون العبيد الهاربين 0581 و أن نسبة مبيعات الرواية دليل على مدى نجاحها و تأثيرها؛ و كذلك فرضية أنه على الرغم من انتشار موجة الغضب التي أثارتها في الجنوب األمريكي؛ إال أنها نجحت في تجسيد الصورة الحقيقية للعبودية لسكان الشمال الذين ال يملكون أدنى فكرة عن األثر السلبي لهذه الممارسة على العبيد و عائالتهم من خالل إتباع منهج تاريخي موضوعي و باإلعتماد على تحليل الوثائق المتوفرة؛ تمكن الباحث من التوصل إلى معرفة أن الرواية هي انعكاس لحياة الكاتبة و كفاح بالدها ضد العبودية. تم كذلك التوصل إلى أنه على الرغم من الجدل الذي أثارته "كوخ العم توم" إّال أنها تعد من أنجح الروايات على اإلطالق، من خالل تصويرها العاطفي العميق للتأثير السلبي للعبودية و تركيزها على الجوانب التالية: معاملة العبيد كملكيات خاصة، اإلنفصال العائلي و العنف الجسدي و االستغالل الجنسي حيث ارتبطت بقوة مع إيمانها بالدين المسيحي، نجحت ستاو في إيصال رسالتها لكل من يطلع عليهاGeneral Conclusion Since the country's foundation, Slavery had been part of American history. This regime dehumanizes blacks and makes use of their attempts to enhance the economic system ; divides the country into two fighting components: the North and the South. When the states of the North opposed segregation for moral and ideological reasons, southern states viewed the regime as the foundation of their economy. In 1852, Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, America's bestselling and most important novel as a reaction to the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act, which made Northerners participate in the slavery crime. Through this research, we tried to demonstrate that the novel was the result of Stowe's personal lives and her nation's fight over enslavement. By following many slaves' lives, telling their tales and giving readers a spectacular picture of the harshness and the South's inhumanity of slavery, Stowe targeted the institution and pointed to the damage inflicted on the slaves and their families. She demonstrated that slavery made it hard and impossible for a stable and safe family life. She also demonstrates that individuals who are enslaved are abused emotionally and sexually and couldn't really legally marry because they were deemed ownership by legislation. In the thesis, we demonstrated that by concentrating on certain elements of enslavement, Stowe criticized the absence of moral significance of slavery. She investigates the harsh reality that slaves have been regarded as the slave owner's property. She also demonstrates that serf families have no legal security because, by the owner's choice or the power of necessity, they might be broken up and deprived of their fundamental right to live together at any time. In addition, Stowe depicted vivid scenes of slavesuffering barbaric agony. By concentrating on these elements of slavery; Stowe demonstrated that black people are like white people; empowered with the same characteristics and affection for their families, she called her white readers; Especially females sympathize with serfs and imagine themselves in a comparable position as mothers, losing their kids. Nekaa 59 Stowe's appeal calls straight and successfully to everyone reading the novel via her emotional depiction of the damaging effect of segregation on slaves and their families; coupled with her powerful faith in Christianity. Her narration stated clearly to Northerners that slavery was a form of oppression, abuse and dehumanization. The novel created an immediate controversy and exacerbates the conflict between the South and the North that led to the civil war which put an end to slavery.