Uncle Tom's Cabin Response Essay

Harriet Beecher Stowe is a common household name. On any given season of Jeopardy, she could be the answer at least twice. I learned about her in school, heard about her in the media, and yet I never read anything she had written. When I saw her name listed in an anthology of world drama I bought, I added the work to the list of plays I needed to read. I’m certainly not sorry I finally read her most famous work, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The play has clear themes that are timeless and universal, which make it an enjoyable read for anyone.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin has several themes, but the one that stuck out the most to me was freedom. I believe Stowe really wanted to emphasize the importance of freedom. Uncle Tom had lived in a home with a kind family who took care of him, but he said that he would rather have dirty clothes that were his own than fine …show more content…
It is not the greatest play I have ever read, but it is a play I think everyone can enjoy. The language is understandable, even though it is written in a different time period with a dialect. The play is honest about what conditions were like for slaves in many different households, and it is honest about how slaves felt about their situations and themselves. It is certainly perfect for high schools to read, as it does not contain any subject material that would be too risqué to read, but it is very educational. I doubt if I’ll ever read it again, just for pleasure, but I do not regret reading it. When Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, I doubt she knew how much of an effect it would have on the world. Even now, it continues to influence people. The idea of freedom being greater than comfortability is an idea America, and much of the world is built on. George says he fights for his liberty for the same reason white men fought for theirs. That idea is something that rings very true to all people, which is why Uncle Tom’s Cabin will continue to be such an impactful