Harriet Beecher Stowe believed in the abolition of slavery, for it was a very cruel and sinful institution. Her book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, serves to persuade readers that slavery is a horrendous thing that should be stopped. The author’s point is emphasized by the use of different slave stories and the explaining of how slavery negatively affects individual beliefs, family life, and overall physical being. Stowe reveals slavery's grasping impact on the separation of families by sharing the stories of different slaves and their relationships. The book starts off by shedding light on a mother and her son. Their relationship is threatened when their owner, Mr. Shelby, sells the child apart from the mother, Eliza. (pg. 33) This slave trade …show more content…
Slaves used religion as a way to make their living conditions more bearable. Tom himself believed that he should treat everyone better, no matter what horrible things they have done. He didn't believe in revenge and his Christianity and faith are what kept him pure while he had to endure the horrors brought upon by slavery. After a hard day’s work, Tom read bible passages and had visions assuring him that God was with him which kept his spirits up and kept him motivated to work. (pg. 344 )So, religion and slavery often came together, religion was often used as a way to make the harsh living conditions better. Apart from the effects slavery had on religion and family, many effects were made upon the physical being of the slaves as well. For example, the beatings and the whippings that were done affected the slaves physically and left them weak doing damage to their bodies. Most slaves were terrified of acting out because they were afraid they would get badly hurt due to whippings. An example of this was when Rosa was going to be punished by being sent to a whipping house. She begged Miss Ophelia to not let her go because she didn’t want to endure the pain a horrendous man would inflict on her. (pg.