Racism Less Learned

One of the most apparent things thus far in Uncle Tom's Cabin is that this book has an agenda towards the differences between races. It's set in a time where slaves were still acceptable to own, misuse, and treat like animals instead of people. And throughout the story, it's apparent that there are at least two types of people: those who own slaves and treat them as people, and those who are in the slave trade business to sell other people as if they were objects. One character in this book who makes it apparent that racism is being taught less is Eva.

Eva is a young, white girl who is on the ship with Tom. She runs around the ship, curious, as many young children are. "Tom had often caught glimpses of this little girl,--for she was one of those busy, tripping creatures, that can be no more contained in one place than a sunbeam or a summer breeze,--nor was she one that, once seen, could be easily forgotten" (p 132). This little girl was on a boat with many slaves, and not once did she treat them any differently; she treated them with respect and kindness without any pretense of how or why these people were locked up and different.

Often she walked mournfully round the place...She would glide in among them, and look at them with an air of perplexed and sorrowful earnestness; and sometimes she would lift their chains with her slender hands, and then sigh wofully (sp)...several times she appeared suddenly among them, with her hands full of candy, nuts, and oranges, which she would distribute joyfully to them... (p 133)

Eva treats the slaves as people, where as men like Mr. Haley treat them as goods. Haley is a cold hearted man who has no problem looking out for his own being. He buys slaves that will only gain him profit, never mind ripping families apart. He buys a young, fit slave named Albert without buying his mother as well, saying, "…she's an old rack o' bones,--not worth her salt" (p 107). And later on the ship, he sells one of his slaves ten and a half month old baby, then plans a heist in which to separate her and the baby without her causing a scene, "Now's your time...Don't wake him, and set him to crying, now; it would make a devil of a fuss with the gal" (p 117).

There are people like Mrs. Shelby and Eva who detest slavery, people like Mr. Shelby and Mr. St. Clare who hypocritically are against slavery but still own them and treat them kindly, and then there's men like Mr. Haley who use slavery as a way of making capital. Racism is learned in these characters, or not learned, by the different areas they are from and perhaps how they were raised. Religion, primarily Catholicism, also has a large impact on why women in particular are against slavery. Those different reasons are why racism is being learned less and could also be a reason to why slavery ends eventually.