novel

Uncle Tom's Cabin has earned the title of not only the first best seller, but also the first protest novel to have a direct impact on political events. The story follows the life and vicissitudes of Uncle Tom, a noble high-minded African American, and portrays the humanity of an enslaved black people and the moral evil of their enslavement. Uncle Tom remains a loveable almost saintly figure from the opening chapter when he is 'sold down the river' to pay of gambling debt until the climactic ending when the brutal Simon Legree has Uncle Tom flogged to the point of death. The inspirational quality of the writing has moved succeeding generations of readers to agree with Frederick Douglass, who called it a flash to 'light a million camp fires in front of the emblatted hosts of slavery'.