Baldwin's Criticism on Stowe

           James Baldwin’s criticisms argue that Harriet Beecher Stowe’s sentimentality throughout her novel is no more than just words. He believes that although Stowe may have intended for “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” to be a call of action, it is simply a mask for her own racism and belief that African-Americans are lesser humans that need to be saved.

Baldwin’s criticisms can be supported throughout the novel, specifically in the Shelby’s handling of the situation of selling Tom, Eliza and George:

“Mr. and Mrs. Shelby both felt annoyed and degraded by the familiar impudence of the trader, and yet both saw the absolute necessity of putting a constraint on their feelings. The more hopelessly sordid and insensible he appeared, the greater became Mrs. Shelby’s dread of his succeeding in recapturing Eliza and her child, and of course the greater her motive for detaining him by every female artifice” (51).

            Here, Baldwin would argue that this would exhibit Stowe’s masking an implicit racism. Here, the Shelby’s are displaying their dramatic concern for the well-being of their slaves being sold. By putting them on the opposition of the trader in charge of their slaves’ well-being, Baldwin would argue that Stowe is intentionally dehumanizing the slaves by demoting them to a level of human needing salvation.

I don’t think Stowe intended it as a mask, or that she had obvious racism that needed to be masked. For the time, her anti-slavery thoughts were progressive, despite their lack of a call to action. I think that the novel was her way of contributing and bringing awareness to the issue, in the way she knew how to.

Reading "Uncle Tom's Cabin"

While I was reading the critics from James Baldwin,I mostly agreed what he said--his thought about the sentimentality hypocrisy against the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. Sentimentality is more like a mask of her thought of racism and that black needs salvation. Speaking of this case, if we neglect the part of the slavery description, it can probably be seen as a novel related to religion with truthful sentimentality throughout the plot.However, that is not the case and it brought a lot of controversial by putting out the topic that which side is right or wrong. Her use of words, seemed touched but with a clear fact that she had the issue with racism, with the example:”"What! our Tom?--that good, faithful creature!--been your faithful servant from a boy! O, Mr. Shelby!--and you have promised him his freedom, too,--you and I have spoken to him a hundred times of it. Well, I can believe anything now,--I can believe _now_ that you could sell little Harry, poor Eliza's only child!" said Mrs. Shelby, in a tone between grief and indignation.” By saying our Tom, good faithful creature could not disguise he was a slavery with no basic rights and social level. In addition, it implicitly show that only the white people can “save” and “free” the black but the black themselves. It could see that Baldwin did support with the stowe's show of the problem of slavery,only that her description of the problem made her novel worthless and made no much sense.

Furthermore, even though the conversations and disputes between St.Clare and Ophelia  on page 219 was around the unfair treatment about the slaves,sarcastically, there was always argument but no solution and action. This hypocrisy was fulfill the entire novel, reflect the indifferent of the society.

The last thing,that Stowe's favored the christianity as she wrote in the novel that Uncle Tom was symboled  like a hero because of his belief of Christianity,which in other words reflected his favor that that the slaves need spirit freedom and salvation.

Baldwin’s critique changed the way I felt when I first read the novel, from my entire sympathy to rationally critical thinking about what the novel really said and how it aimed to influence the society.

Baldwin’s criticism on Stowe’s racism

In Everybody’s Protest Novel, James Baldwin criticized Stowe’s writing as a bad writing. The main reason is that Stowe depicted the White as good and the Black as evil. In Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Eva is described as a perfect and unimpeachable Christian child and Topsy is described as uncivilized child whom Miss Ophelia couldn’t reform.

When Eva persuades Topsy to be a good child and cries for her, Stowe shows her racism in her passage: “Yes, in that moment, a ray of real belief, a ray of heavenly love, had penetrated the darkness of her heathen soul! She laid her head down between her knees, and wept and sobbed, - while the beautiful child, bending over her, looked like the picture of some bright angel stooping to reclaim a sinner” (p258). This passage specifically shows Stowe’s mindset the White (Eva) is beautiful, Christ-like, and perfect child whereas the Black(Topsy) is heathen, sinful, and uncivilized.

This passage supports Baldwin’s critique on Stowe’s writing that Stowe shows her racism throughout Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Stowe depicts the White characters as civilized and the Black characters as uncivilized and need to be civilized and Christianized.  Baldwin would point out this passage and argue that this passage proves Stowe’s implied racism in Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Even though Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a great book and brings great impact on end of slavery, I could see Baldwin’s argument that Stowe’s way of description on Black slaves and racism found in the writing somewhat degrades her work.  

Authorial Racism in an Anti-Slavery Book?

Over the years, many have criticized Stowe's novel, Uncle Tom's Cain, as racist and ignorant. I found a very interesting article about students commenting on the book, and I want to share a quote from the article. The article is written by a teacher who had his students write opinions on the novel, and one statement stuck out to me. An African American student- who also happens to be a catholic- decided that he is, "uncomfortable with certain of Stowe’s racial assumptions but, in the end, he sees Stowe’s Christian vision trumping racial prejudice."(http://betterlivingthroughbeowulf.com/blacks-students-examine-uncle-tom/). I found this very interesting because I think perspective and lenses play a huge role in how someone goes about reading Uncle Tom's Cabin. Obviously, a Christian is going to react differently to the novel than an atheist, but I found it interesting that for David, the student quoted above, religion trumped some of the racial stereotypes.

I think this detail of racial stereotype and Christian bias can clearly be seen through the scenes with Eva and Topsy. Throughout the novel, the two children are contrasted as a perfect, white, Christian girl, and a black, savage, troublemaker. When talking about Topsy's issues with behavior, St. Clare says, "[Topsy] can't teach her mischief; she might teach it to some children, but evil rolls off Eva's mind like dew off a cabbage-leaf,- not a drop sinks in."(227). What Stowe might be hinting at here is that when someone is with the lord, nothing can touch them, not even the most evil. Baldwin would argue that Stowe's moral values (and Christian values, more specifically) and racial stereotypes seep in and cloud the entire book's message, but Tompkins would state that her writing is just simply writing of women from Stowe's time, and that while people can get upset about it, they do have to acknowledge the novel's extreme popularity and impact during the time it was written. My issue with this quote is that Topsy is constantly contrasted to Eva in order to prove some sort of point. And to go even further, it seems like Miss Ophelia treats Topsy as a piece of work at first saying, "Well, I can't say I thank you for the experiment."(226). But in the end, Stowe is really just trying to convey that religion can set people free and allow for a new perspective. Or in Eva's case, allow evil to roll right off.

I personally think that Baldwin and Tompkins both have valid points. Obviously, Stowe was not immune to the racial prejudice of her time and it is exemplified in her writing; however, I think the fact that she brought in some of her own moral values is not entirely a bad thing because it helped her reach audiences similar to her perspective, especially women. Nobody can deny the novel's impact and I think if sentimentalism is to blame, then hey, that's not such a bad thing. Yes, there are some issues with the novel, but the profound effect is something that catalyzed the civil war and led to lots of improvement. We can't go and shut down the entire novel over a little bias, because it truly made history.

Baldwin, Tompkins, and Beyond

The passage I will be elaborating on is in Chapter 33 (pages 319 - 326).  An overall summary of the chapter can be understood in a brief paragraph:

In the chapter, Tom helps other slave women with their work.  When this action is reported to Legree, Tom is asked (by Legree) to whip the slave women he helped.  Tom denies to whip the women, and Legree responds by having Tom beat to near death.

Most specifically, the very end of the chapter – the beating of Tom, is a moment that might be most relevant to James Baldwin’s perspective on the novel.

It is likely that James Baldwin would approach this passage and relate it to implicit racism because of the violence that is implied at the end of the chapter.  The beating that Tom endures at this time in the book is one of several instances in the novel that Stowe alludes to / illustrates the brutality of slavery.  While instances such as the one alluded to in this chapter are realistic for this time in history, I believe Baldwin would argue that the beating endured by Tom in the passage is one of several moments in the book that Stowe subtly communicates her belief that African Americans are “‘fallen’ and in urgent need of salvation.”

When reading Baldwin and Tompkin’s critiques of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, I found it exciting and beneficial to tug and pool with two different opinions.  I think it is possible to agree or disagree with both critical responses.  I don’t think either opinion is wrong or right; I simply think that each is a perspective that should be acknowledged, learned from, and respected.  When learning about literature – whether it be a book, painting, etc. – one should always find it most helpful to learn as many different opinions about the work as possible.  From there, comparing and contrasting all of the opinions allows for an appropriate, personal conclusion about the literature.

Additionally, this mindset can be applied to more than just literature.  When considering viewpoints about politics, subject matters, business decisions, and more, it is most important to acknowledge and learn from all perspectives so that one can most credibly conclude a thought-out, appropriate perspective. 

Unintentional but Present Nonetheless: Racism in Uncle Tom's Cabin

Jane Tompkins' assessment of Uncle Tom's Cabin and its critics is perfectly valid. I agree that a sentimental, melodramatic style of writing can be effective and that historical context must be considered when analyzing such works-- especially one as significant as Uncle Tom's Cabin. Maybe critics like James Baldwin miss the point by rejecting the style, and there's no doubt that they marginalize feminist authorship by doing so. However-- his shortcomings aside-- I do think that Baldwin was right in questioning Stowe's authority on the subject of her novel and accusing her of perpetuating the constructs she intended to upend.

I don't agree with everything Baldwin said; for example, I certainly disagree the way he puts little value in a sentimental author's intent. I don't think Uncle Tom's Cabin was written with any malice or greed and I don't think Stowe should be lambasted for it quite like she is. But there's a definite racism brought to life by Stowe and the way she wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin that can be found in this passage:

"Topsy was smart and energetic in all manual operations, learning everything that was taught her with surprising quickness. With a few lessons, she had learned to do the proprieties of Miss Ophelia's chamber in a way with which even that particular lady could find no fault. Mortal hands could not lay spread smoother, adjust pillows more accurately, sweep and dust and arrange more perfectly, than Topsy, when she chose,-- but she didn't very often choose. If Miss Ophelia, after three or four days of careful and patient supervision, was so sanguine as to suppose that Topsy had at last fallen into her way, could do without over-looking, and so go off and busy herself about something else, Topsy would hold a perfect carnival of confusion, for some one or two hours. Instead of making the bed, she would amuse herself with pulling off the pillow-cases, butting her woolly head among the pillows, till it would sometimes be grotesquely ornamented with feathers sticking out in various directions; she would climb the posts, and hang head downward from the tops' flourish the sheets and spreads all over the apartment; dress the bolster up in Miss Ophelia's night-clothes, and enact various scenic performances with that,-- singing and whistling, and making grimaces at herself in the looking-glass; in short, as Miss Ophelia phrased it, "raising Cain" generally" (227-228).

Racism is an intangible concept that can come to exist through language. By trying to confront racism, Stowe allows it to live, and in this passage actually furthers racist ideals. The obvious example is the identification of a "right" way of doing things. According to Miss Ophelia and Stowe, one way of making the bed or sweeping or behaving is correct, and anything else constitutes "raising Cain." This creates a superior class and an inferior one, a good and an evil. Another example of racism hidden here is the assumption that Topsy needs the teaching of white people to right her wrongs. It's the white man's burden to carefully, patiently supervise her and teach her what's right, and her intelligence is measured by how well she can pick it up. Again, this rhetoric identifies a right and a wrong, and the separation of the two groups is what makes racism possible.

Baldwin would likely read this passage very similarly. In his essay, he criticized Stowe for trying to whitewash her characters into acceptance, and this passage is a fictional example of that process. Beneath Stowe's sentimentalism, here, is an example of exactly what Baldwin meant when he said that the oppressed don't exist without the oppressing and preached the pitfalls of categorization. The protest novel is an altogether respectable idea and Uncle Tom's Cabin is admirable, but Stowe failed to consider the beliefs she was communicating, and undermined her own protest efforts in doing so.

Stowe vs. Baldwin

In class we discussed sentiment or sentimentality as a view, attitude or feeling. In Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Stowe uses sentiment to evoke emotion. She instills emotion into the characters and makes them relatable and then the characters evoke emotion towards the world. However, does this sentimental novel move people to change and bring light to social injustice or is it simply a way for Stowe to mask her true feelings towards a race ignored by the associations of refined society?

To analyze this question, I have chosen the following excerpt from the novel,

“There stood the two children, representatives of the two extremes of society. The fair, high-bred child, with her golden head, her deep eyes, her spiritual, noble brow, and prince-like movements; and her black, keen, subtle, cringing, yet acute neighbor. They stood the representatives of their races. The Saxon, born of ages of cultivation, command, education, physical and moral eminence; the Afric, born of ages of oppression, submission, ignorance, toil, and vice!” (224)

This passage highlights the vast difference between two characters. Eva, white and religious, the way children should be, and Topsy, African and ignorant. Stowe summarizes the two races in only a few words. To her race was either right or wrong. She collectively views the white race as superior over the inferior African race. For James Baldwin, this passage confirms his critique of Stowe. He criticizes Stowe for her ‘self-righteous, virtuous sentiment’ and views her as a writer of a sentiment novel who is attempting to mask her own implicit racism. Throughout the novel, Stowe makes the black characters seem white and tries to make them more white with religion and obedience. Baldwin would argue that ‘her belief that black souls and black bodies are "fallen" and in urgent need of salvation’ is the only true reason she is writing the novel. To cleanse the world of those unfit for society, and to make it one of homogeneous inhabitants who are saved through religion. Those who do not fit the mold are unfit for society.

Additionally, Baldwin would argue that the novel had little impact. How do you accurately measure the impact of one novel? Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published in 1852, and the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in December of 1865. Over a decade passed before real and true action was taken. Was it Stowe’s novel that started the movement or did she gain her fame from those individuals – similar to herself – who believed blacks needed salvation?

I believe that Baldwin is more correct in his critique. How could Stowe paint the African characters as those in need of salvation when the white man was the one creating the social injustice? We’ve talked a lot about religion and I believe this book was Stowe’s way of ‘fixing’ society, not moving people to action against social injustice.

About Baldwin's 'Everybody's Protest Novel’

Uncle Tom’s Cabin always stands out as one of notable landmarks in the progress of freeing the slavery, which lays the foundation for the Civil War. However, obviously, Baldwin may won’t buy this. In his opinion, ‘self-righteous, virtuous sentimentality’ shown in the novel is nothing but ‘the mark of dishonest’, ‘the inability to feel’, ‘the signal of secret and violence inhumanity’ and ‘the mask of cruelty’ (533).

Baldwin claims that many black characters in Mrs. Stowe’s book are too ‘white’ and not typical black people. As the most important figure, Uncle Tom is described as a man who is ‘phenomenally forbearing’ due to his sin of being black. Indeed, from reading the Bible at the very beginning of the book, to being viciously beaten by Legree at last, Tom always acted like a pastor with mercy and compassion, instead of an unfree slave who was treated extremely unfair and suffering huge pain. This setting is too white, ideal and Christian. Many portrayal about Tom, including his feeling and thoughts inside, his choices in suffering and especially his death at the end, makes Tom’s life more or less like a kind of sublimation in the way as the crucifixion of Jesus.

Moreover, in Chapter XLIV, when George Shelby went back home after Uncle Tom’s death, he announced to all his servant that he would set them free. Surprisingly, all his servants earnestly begged him not to send them away and said that they didn’t want to be freer than what they were. Different from the great joy and excitement as I expect, numbness and submissiveness shown in their reaction depicted by Stowe, can indicates her potential racism to some extent. Faced with miserable fate as victims of oppression and enslavement, African race shouldn’t just accept everything naturally. It’s so tragic if a slave thinks freedom is useless and prefer to serve a gentle master. Freedom is not a right unnecessary to live with. It must means something to any race and any person. Stowe in her book somehow weakens and even embellishes the evilness of slavery system in the history, but be more focused on the power of belief and religion.

But as a white person, it might be hard for Stowe to fully understand the real thoughts of black people at that time. She can only finish this fiction by observation and imagination. Anyway, we have to admit the significant importance and success of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in the history of American literature. 

Baldwin and Tompkins - Are They Both Right?

After thinking about the guiding questions, and searching for a part of the book that could help answer one of them, I remembered how I felt reading the following quote and knew it was the one. In a letter to one of his friends, George writes “…I have no wish to pass for an American, or to identify myself with them. It is with the oppressed, enslaved African race that I cast in my lot; and, if I wished anything, I would wish myself to be two shades darker, rather than one lighter. The desire and yearning of my soul is for an African nationality.”

After reading this, I tried to figure out whether Baldwin’s or Tompkins’ viewpoint fit this quote better, and I came to the conclusion that they both would use this quote to express their different viewpoints, and I think they could both make a valid point.

For Baldwin, he would make the point that this is as self-righteous sentimentality. Stowe has created an essentially “white” character in every aspect, other than a somewhat dark complexion compared to the average white man. Because he isn’t 100% white, Stowe now uses this to “send” her character back to the home of the “…oppressed, enslaved African race…” When looking at the quote through the lens of Baldwin, it’s easy to see the inherent racism in this sentence, but can be ‘masked’ well by the author. Baldwin would also use this as a prime example that Stowe believes that “black souls and black bodies are …in urgent need of salvation.” Lastly, he could argue that the message she’s sending is that a man, no matter how educated or accepted, can’t live in harmony in America if he’s black.

On the other hand, this quote can be construed in the completely opposite manner. The sentimentality expressed in these quotes, would be expressed by Tompkins as one that really hits home with the reader. A man, who is mostly white, yet is owned as a piece of property just as any other black man would be, says that he would much rather go back to where his roots lie, than to pass for an American and live in what Stowe calls a “Christianized” civilization. Tompkins would make the point that this is a call to action, that the situation here is so bad, and so evil, that a “less civilized” place sounds like a better one to be associated with. Who can change it? The people in this society, the ones who are reading this book.

Although I don’t know if I agree with both, or either of them, it’s important to note that I think in this instance, they could both make a valid point for their argument. So maybe, just maybe, truth lies in both Baldwin’s and Tompkins’ arguments.