Uncle Tom's Cabin

Stowe continually uses appeals to motherhood to make her argument in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. What role do mothers have in the novel? How do examples of motherhood correspond to Stowe’s Christian morality?

Many formerly sinful characters reform their ways throughout the novel. Examine these instances, as well as instances where characters fail or refuse to reform their ways. What does this say about the moral compass of the novel? What causes some characters to reform and others to continue to do wrong?

Examine the social hierarchy among the slaves in the novel. How do they treat each other? What criteria do they use to judge one another? Finally, what does this say about the society they are brought up in?