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“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is a successful novel which makes the name of Harriet Beecher Stowe is immortalized with a deserved pride. Through the author’s view point related to Christianity being expressed in some typical characters, Harriet Beecher Stowe has appealed the reader’s sense of morality, religion and emotion. Used as a weapon to appeal the public for slavery abolishment, this novel is considered as one of the most influential cultural events or factors that precipitated the movement to finally end slavery in the United States. This graduation paper focuses on the Christian beliefs and values seen in some typical characters in the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It concludes three parts. The first one deals with the rationale, aim and scope of the study. It also identifies the methods to be applied and the structure of the study. Part two is the main content of the study divided into five chapters. The first one mentions the literature review of the study, in which attention is paid to the definition of the fiction as well as elements of the fiction. The second one investigates Christianity’s beliefs and values. In the next two chapters, the study focuses on the historical, social issues, the author and some information about the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. The last one in part two expresses the Christian values and beliefs seen in some typical character in this novel. Finally, part three is not only a brief summary of the thesis but also a general remark on Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Christian beliefs and values.
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER THE CHRISTIAN BELIEFS AND VALUES SEEN IN SOME TYPICAL CHARACTERS IN THE NOVEL “UNCLE TOM’S CABIN” BY HARRIET BEECHER STOWE Supervisor: MA VĂN THỊ THANH BÌNH Student: NGUYỄN PHƯƠNG CHI Course: QH2010 F1 E4 HANOI, 2014 ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP NIỀM TIN VÀ GIÁ TRỊ ĐẠO CƠ-ĐỐC ĐƯỢC THỂ HIỆN TRONG MỘT SỐ NHÂN VẬT TIÊU BIỂU Ở TÁC PHẨM “TÚP LỀU BÁC TÔM” CỦA HARRIET BEECHER STOWE Giáo viên hướng dẫn: THẠC SĨ VĂN THỊ THANH BÌNH Sinh viên: NGUYỄN PHƯƠNG CHI Khóa: QH2010.F1.E4 HÀ NỘI - 2014 ACCEPTANCE PAGE I hereby state that I: Nguyễn Phương Chi, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirement of College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library In term of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan, or reproduction of the paper Signature: Date: May 5th, 2014 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and deep regards to my supervisor Mrs Văn Thị Thanh Bình, MA for her exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement throughout the course of this thesis I am also indebted to her friendly encouragement from the preparation to completion of this graduation paper Without her help this graduation paper possibly has not been completed Secondly, I would like to send my deep sense of thanks to Mr Lê Thành Trung, MA for what he has taught me and the materials he has supplied me in the fulfillment of this study Furthermore, I also owe an enormous favor to my parents and my friends who supported and assisted me during the period of conducting the paper Last but not least, I thank almightily my readers for their interests and feedback on this study Author Nguyễn Phương Chi ii ABSTRACT “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is a successful novel which makes the name of Harriet Beecher Stowe is immortalized with a deserved pride Through the author’s view point related to Christianity being expressed in some typical characters, Harriet Beecher Stowe has appealed the reader’s sense of morality, religion and emotion Used as a weapon to appeal the public for slavery abolishment, this novel is considered as one of the most influential cultural events or factors that precipitated the movement to finally end slavery in the United States This graduation paper focuses on the Christian beliefs and values seen in some typical characters in the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe It concludes three parts The first one deals with the rationale, aim and scope of the study It also identifies the methods to be applied and the structure of the study Part two is the main content of the study divided into five chapters The first one mentions the literature review of the study, in which attention is paid to the definition of the fiction as well as elements of the fiction The second one investigates Christianity’s beliefs and values In the next two chapters, the study focuses on the historical, social issues, the author and some information about the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” The last one in part two expresses the Christian values and beliefs seen in some typical character in this novel Finally, part three is not only a brief summary of the thesis but also a general remark on Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Christian beliefs and values iii TABLE OF CONTENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENT PART I: INTRODUCTION RATIONALE AIM OF THE STUDY SCOPE OF THE STUDY METHODOLOGY .3 ORGANIZATION .3 PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition of fiction 1.2 Elements of fiction .5 1.2.1 Plot .5 1.2.2 Character .6 1.2.3 Setting 1.2.4 Theme CHAPTER II: CHRISTIANITY’S BASIC BELIEFS AND VALUES .8 2.1 Belief – life after death 2.2 Appreciated virtues 2.2.1 Faith in God 2.2.2 Compassion 2.2.3 Forgiveness and sacrifice 10 CHAPTER III: HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES 10 3.1 Slavery in Southern States of the U.S.A 10 3.2 Slavery: one cause of the Civil War 11 3.3 Movement of anti-slavery .12 CHAPTER IV: HARRIET BEECHER STOWE AND THE NOVEL “UNCLE TOM’S CABIN” 14 4.1 The author Harriet Beecher Stowe 14 4.1.1 The author’s life 14 4.1.2 The author’s writing career .15 4.2 The novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” .16 4.2.1 The background of Uncle Tom’s Cabin .16 4.2.2 Summary of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” 17 CHAPTER V: THE CHRISTIAN VALUES AND BELIEFS SEEN IN SOME TYPICAL CHARACTERS IN THE NOVEL “UNCLE TOM’S CABIN” .19 5.1 Belief – life after death 19 5.2 Appreciated values 24 5.2.1 Faith 25 5.2.2 Compassion .31 5.2.3 Forgiveness and sacrifice 39 PART III: CONCLUSION 43 ISSUES ADDRESSED IN THE STUDY 43 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY .44 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH .44 REFERENCES 45 PART I: INTRODUCTION RATIONALE The more the society develops, the better spiritual life will be improved so the roles and values of literature in life of human beings are more and more appreciated Thanks to literature, people accumulate plenty of invaluable knowledge for themselves about culture, people, society and history of mankind Through literary works - the "spiritual child" of the authors, the pictures of labor force, struggle of our ancestors are depicted as a vivid film Literature is always a powerful and magical mirror reflecting almost every aspect of human life and it is a window into many realities of different people who live in different society Besides, being an "encyclopedia", literature expresses the whole gamut of emotions, from sadness to anger, love to passion Therefore, that is the reason why the researcher is always fond of literature and without hesitance, chooses it as her graduation paper Among talented American writers, the researcher is very attracted to and impressed by Harriet Beecher Stowe – one of the most prominent American writers In her life time, she had witnessed many social and political upheavals in American happening in the nineteenth century such as the serious racial problem, the passage of the new Fugitive Slave Law in 1850 and etc With the view point related to Christian spirit, to reveal the cruelty of slavery and to appeals the reader’s sense of morality, religion and emotion, Stowe wrote her masterpiece “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” Such was an evil institution of slavery with the racial discrimination, physical and emotional sufferings that the novel depicted Stowe’s weapon of choice for destroying the institution of slavery was Christian love Even President Abraham Lincoln is said to have remarked when meeting Stowe for the first time in the White House “So you are the little woman who started this Great War” (Ditchfield, 2010, p.145) Whereas the salves’ life and struggle in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” have been researched, the revelation of Christian religion in this novel is still a new one in the researcher’s university Thus, the researcher feels extremely happy to have opportunity to express her thoughts about it For all the abovementioned reasons, the researcher decided to choose the title “The Christian beliefs and values seen in some typical characters in the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe” for her graduation paper Though this study is still limited and far from perfect, the researcher hopes to make a little contribution to the study of American literature at the beginning of the 20 th century and express her love, impression and admiration for her beloved writer – Harriet Beecher Stowe AIM OF THE STUDY The ultimate objective of this study is to reflect the core Christian beliefs and values of Jesus’ teachings revealed in typical characters’ faiths and virtues in the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe Through the characters’ life experience, causal principles about faith, love, compassion, forgiveness, salvation and sacrifice which the author conveys in her message is seen obviously in the novel as a mean to change the society for the better Last but not least, Stowe’s reader can be appealed to the sense of morality and religion about the poor slaves SCOPE OF THE STUDY The Christian beliefs and values can be seen in a large number of factors such as plot, theme and setting of the novel, but the study focuses only on some typical Christ-like characters and non-Christian characters Firstly, this beliefs and values are showed in the two protagonists’ belief of life after death Secondly, the teachings in Bible are also revealed in characters’ virtues like unshakable Christian sense of faith and unrelenting compassion Finally, the study focuses on the forgiveness and sacrifice of two Christian characters – Uncle Tom and Evangeline METHODOLOGY So as to successfully complete the tasks mentioned above, my attention will be paid to read the novel both English and Vietnamese Besides, finding out the historical and social issues as well as the background of the novel to deeply understand about the content of this masterpiece is required In order to investigate the Christianity’s basics and values, in the next step, I collect the data related to this issue from different materials such as books, literature critiques, online journals, and previous studies relating to the topic The Internet is use as a source because of the limitless of the networking of resources Sources used from the Internet were written by professionals in their fields and published on reliable sites or on professional organizational sites Instructors at the University of Language and International Studies in Hanoi were also consulted Upon collecting the targeted data, careful analysis shall be done with the most suitable and reliable information chosen Finally, all of them will be synthesized and to reflected in this study before coming to the conclusion ORGANIZATION This graduation paper concludes three parts The first one deals with the rationale, aim and scope of the study It also identifies the methods to be applied and the structure of the study write their own letters, and read letters that are written to them.” (Stowe, p.69) At one point she even offers to take Mammy’s shift taking care of Marie, but it is excused as silly non-sense Evangeline asks her mother, “Mamma, couldn’t I take care of you one night—just one? I know I shouldn’t make you nervous, and I shouldn’t sleep I often lie awake nights, thinking” (Stowe, p.155) However, Marie believes it is a ridiculous idea and won’t let her it Evangeline is deeply concerned for Mammy’s wellbeing because she is always staying up with Marie and suffers the same headaches as her master Evangeline, being truly compassionate pleads with her mother to take her shift, but even after such a request is not allowed to Not only her care but also her love for the slaves reflected the compassion in this pious Christian character When the St Clare and Evangeline’s mother Marie are discussing slavery with St Clare’s northern cousin, St Clare asks Evangeline to come to him and asks her “Why, which way you like the best, —to live as they at your uncle’s, up in Vermont, or to have a house-full of servants, as we do?” (Stowe, p.266) To which she responds that “[their]way is the pleasantest” And when asked why she says, “Why, it makes so many more round you to love” Through her earnestness and child-like innocents, Evangeline demonstrates her love for the slaves When her cousin – Henrique is so cruel and wicked to Dodo, Eva defends this poor slave Although the slave is given only a picayune to buy candy, he can feel the compassion of his little mistress: “One had given him money; and one had given him what he wanted far more,—a kind word, kindly spoken” (p.73) With her love, Evangeline doesn’t see slaves lower than them, unlike the other characters in the novel Her mother says to Mrs Ophelia sometime 33 shortly after her arrival, “Eva somehow always seems to put herself on an equality with every creature that comes near her It’s a strange thing about the child” (Stowe, p.156) Therefore, Evangeline truly shows her compassion for the slaves and even offers to help them out and loves playing with them In her eyes, there are many puzzling things, such as why Prue is so unhappy, why Uncle Tom should be separated from his wife and children, why no one loves that black little girl, Topsy With Eva, she loves the people who love her, like her father and Tom, but she also loves people who hardly notice her, like her mother, and people who seem completely unlovable, like the mischievous Topsy She loves both her white family and her black slaves Miss Ophelia learns from Eva what it means to really love black people – not to believe that they have souls in principle, but secretly dislike them on a personal level, which is what Ophelia has always felt What she only knows and does is to love all the people around her Just as her name ‘Evangeline’ suggests, she is an evangelist to everyone Therefore, Harriet Beecher makes the reader recall Jesus’ teaching in the Bible: “Love your neighbor as yourself” There is no commandment greater than these." (Donahue & Harrington, 2002, p.354) The word "love" which is Greek word used in the New Testament, is commonly known as "Christian love." It means respect, affection, benevolence, good-will and concern for the welfare of the one loved They are all activities which Eva does with people around her In the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, the author takes a lot of effort in the portrayal of the love Evangeline to Topy in order to show the compassion in this little angel Her love seems to be something that Eva spontaneously feels for every human being, but also something that she can decide to feel because it’s right to so When Topsy is caught stealing and Evangeline learns about 34 it, she tells her, “I’d rather give you anything of mine, than have you steal it” (Stowe, p 45) Then the narrator tells us that “It was the first words of kindness had ever heard in her life” (p.45) When strictness and corporal punishment have failed to discipline Topsy, Eva instinctively steps in: "O, Topsy, poor child, I love you!" said Eva, with a sudden burst of feeling, and laying her little thin, white hand on Topsy’s shoulder; "I love you, because you haven’t had any father, or mother, or friends; – because you’ve been a poor, abused child! I love you, and I want you to be good." (Stowe, 93) Then Harriet Beecher Stowe explains that: “in that moment, a ray of real belief, a ray of heavenly love, had penetrated the darkness of her heathen soul! She laid her head down between her knees, and wept, and sobbed, — while the beautiful child, bending over her, looked like the picture of some stooping angel to reclaim a sinner” (p 94) The powerful language in this section clearly edifies the true Christian values of compassion which Stowe wishes for the reader to understand and connect with through Evangeline This is especially powerful because of Christ’s love for the poor, which Evangeline clearly demonstrates in all of her actions Through the portrayal of this young with Christ-like characteristics, love, compassion and sacrifice, Stowe appeals to the readers’ emotions and religious morality Eva’s naive, childish wisdom leads her to realize that what Topsy needs is not the strict forms of religion, like the catechism Miss Ophelia teaches her Instead, she needs what Eva (and Stowe) believes is the heart of Christian faith: feeling loved Eva goes on to explain to Topsy that "Jesus loves all alike" and that "He is just as willing to love you, as me He loves you just as I – only more, because he is better" (p.94) 35 All in all, Harriet Beecher Stowe uses the writing about Eva as a way to show the humanity and dignity of slaves and appeals to the reader’s sense of morality, religion and emotion Using majestic language to describe her character, the author portrays Evangeline not only as a loving and innocent character but accentuates and elevates her character to a Christ-like figure, representing the embodiment of Jesus’ commandment – compassion Secondly, whereas Evangeline has fully benevolence, goodness and love of a pious Christian, the Christian values and beliefs of Uncle Tom make this poor slave live up to the principles of the Bible If Jesus gave a list of actions that constitute immoral mentioned in the Bible such as evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, arrogance and foolishness, Uncle Tom is a pious Christian having fully moral trait exposed through his activities In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus made the point about extension of Christian love to all people of the world, regardless of race, religion, nationality or any other artificial distinction The Christian love should be practiced even toward the enemies This significant Christian belief is revealed obviously through Uncle Tom’s activities On the deck on the way to plantation, “Ever quiet and obliging, and more than ready to lend a hand in every emergency which occurred among the workmen below, he had won the good opinion of all the hands, and spent many hours in helping them” (Stowe, p.209) While he is at St Clare’s home, he meets that pitiful old slave Prue whose only child is starved to death because she devotes all her time to tend her mistress and loses her milk, yet her mistress refuses to buy milk for her baby Uncle Tom offers to carry her basket for her and sends the Gospel to her Just as when Jesus sees sinners, he pities them, helps them, cures them and tells them “the good news” 36 Tom's whole soul and mind overflow with compassion and sympathy for the poor slaves These are exemplified by his actions in the first day in Legree’ plantation when he sees two women doing by the utter weariness and trying to grind their corn Therefore, he grinds for them, and puts together the decaying brands of the fire This act is depicted as “a new kind of work there, —a deed of charity” (p.185) because “it [wakes] an answering touch in their hearts,—an expression of womanly kindness came over their hard faces” (p.186) His compassion is still seen obviously in his objection with Legree when he is asked for flogging other slaves Although the blood trickles down his face, Uncle Tom sill follows his compassion: "I think so, Mas'r," said Tom; "the poor crittur's sick and feeble; 't would be downright cruel, and it's what I never will do, nor begin to Mas'r, if you mean to kill me, kill me; but, as to my raising my hand agin any one here, I never shall,—I'll die first!" (Stowe, p.197) Overall, the author supports the view that Uncle Tom’ mission is to bind up the broken-hearted and the slaves that are bruised Not only Uncle Tom’s actions express compassion for his neighbors, blacks but also whites When he sees his second young handsome flighty master St Clare go to those wining parties, Uncle Tom goes down on his knees and pleads with him not to attend those revelries again by quoting from the Bible, “it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder.” (Stowe, p.141) Here, Uncle Tom is the incarnation of love, just like Jesus is identified with love To sum up, Evangeline and Uncle Tom are truly inspirational characters Fueled by compassion and love, they are used by Stowe to appeal to the readers’ hearts to be imbrued with Christian beliefs and values and to finally reject slavery Through the two protagonists’ experiences, the author 37 also demonstrates the beliefs of humanity and inherent dignity of the slaves: they are no less worthy of our love and compassion than any other man Furthermore, Stowe shows how like Christ Evangeline and Uncle Tom hold a special love and compassion for slaves because of their virtues and beliefs Thirdly, whereas love, care and kindness are appreciated in Christian, this compassion is not seen in non-Christian such as Simon Legree The contrast and difference between Christian and non-Christian are always appeared in this book Thus, the purpose of promoting Christian religious values and beliefs in compassion of the author is seen clearly Simon Legree always appears with evil spirit and does activities with utterly immoral cruelty When Legree swaggers into the auction at the slave warehouse, Tom starts shivering immediately, as if he supernaturally senses the man’s evil spirit Furthermore, all things Legree caring about are profit and dominating other people; therefore, he enjoys tormenting other people and swaggering around inspiring fear: “Now," said he, doubling his great, heavy fist into something resembling a blacksmith's hammer, "d'ye see this fist? Heft it!" he said, bringing it down on Tom's hand "Look at these yer bones! Well, I tell ye this yer fist has got as hard as iron knocking down niggers I never see the nigger, yet, I couldn't bring down with one crack” (Stowe, p.172) Legree can torture and murder his slaves as well as refuse to let them practice their religion He can keep them half-starved or can buy fifteen-yearold Emmeline and use her as a sex slave if he wants Moreover, Legree’s abuse of Tom goes beyond any of these motivations He hates Tom, as the novel says, with "the native antipathy of bad to good" (Stowe, 189) Legree and Tom are in conflict largely because Tom is Good and Legree is Evil 38 All of his actions show that he is an immoral sadist, evil and degenerate His actions are totally contrary to the values of Christian One of the most important Christian beliefs is that “every person has worth as a creation of God” (Alvord, D 2009, p 77) It means that God is in everyone and people were bought at a price Therefore honoring God is respecting human body In contrast to the values of Christian, Legree had some immoral evils which Jesus mentioned such as evil thoughts, murder, sexual immorality and greed This striking contrast is emphasized between antagonist and protagonist, Christian and non-Christian, Good and Evil While compassion such as love, care, kindness are seen as the central theme of the Bible, nonChristian does not have them Hence, though the activities of figure system in the novel, the reader can be easily approach, come closer to the Christian religious beliefs and values wonder if Christian is likely easy to become a better person 5.2.3 Forgiveness and sacrifice Besides faith and compassion, the appreciated virtues of forgiveness and sacrifice are seen as a mean that Harriet Beecher Stowe conveys the Christian beliefs and values in the central theme of the Bible In “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, forgiveness and sacrifice is seen obviously through the death of the two protagonists – Uncle Tom and Evangeline According to the Bible, God provides ways to deliverance from sin and spiritual death through repentance and faith Christian belief is mentioned that forgiveness and salvation is offered to all people and comes only by grace through the blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection from the dead Therefore, forgiveness is the gift of God to all who personally put their faith in Jesus as their sin-bearer In Harriet Beecher Stowe’s writing, the death of Uncle Tom seals this Jesus’ teaching about forgiveness 39 Firstly, the Christian beliefs about forgiveness and salvation clearly seen in the similarity between Tom’s destiny and Jesus’ one When Jesus dies, two criminals are crucified together with him; one of them believes Jesus is Messiah and is saved at the very moment and spot In the same way, two Legree’s cruel overseers change their mind because of Uncle Tom’s Christian fortitude and patience: "we's been awful wicked to ye!" (Qimbo) Even if Qimbo and Sambo beat Tom almost to death, he still forgives their sin and prays for them: “I forgive ye, with all my heart!" "I'd be willing to bar' all I have, if it'll only bring ye to Christ! O, Lord! give me these two more souls, I pray!" (Stowe, p.275) Furthermore, when Sambo and Qimbo would not want to hurt Tom any more, Legree will not be satisfied until he sees Tom’s death Although Legree struck him ferociously almost to death, Tom “[couldn’t] tell anything” and say: “I forgive ye, with all my soul!” as Christ’ teaching in the Bibles: “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, is one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Sarkissian, 2009, p.116) Therefore, to forgive even those who kill one requires spiritual strength; thus, being brave and forgiving like Uncle is so admirable Through Uncle Tom’s words and actions, Harriet Beecher Stowe wants to emphasize the value for living that is mentioned most strongly in the Bible – forgiveness and salvation Jesus said that there is no place for hatred, holding a grudge, revenge, retaliation or getting even in the life of a Christian: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven He causes his sun to rise on the 40 evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Kohlenberger, 2003, p.32) Like Uncle Tom, Evangeline also expresses the Christian belief about salvation and forgiveness in her words and actions Her willingness to sacrifice is revealed obviously when she sees the poor slaves Before Evangeline dies, she approaches Tom, who is a very devout and pious Methodist and explains to him that she understands why Jesus would want to die for our sins When Tom asks her why, she explains that she “[feels] so” and the continues saying: “When I saw those poor creatures on the boat, you know, when you came up and I, —some had lost their mothers, and some their husbands, and some mothers cried for their little children, —and when I heard about poor Prue and a great many other times, I’ve felt that I would be glad to die, if my dying would stop all this misery, I would die for them, Tom, if I could” (Stowe, P.85) This heart-wrenching scene of a frail matured Evangeline who has not lost her innocents as she has matured contrasts the deplorable realizations that Evangeline has come to understand about slavery with her willingness to sacrifice herself Truly, Stowe does a very effective job in painting this young girl as a very pure and even divine figure in Christ’s image, willing to even make the greatest sacrifice for the slaves, despite having grown up in a society ruled by slaves Besides, Eva’s sacrifice is seen in her preach of the Bible to the slaves On her deathbed, she insists that Miss Ophelia cut off her locks of curly blonde hair so that she can distribute them to her family and the family’s slaves It was common in the Victorian period for mourners to keep locks of hair from the deceased, but usually they were cut off after death Eva decides to give her hair away while she’s still living partly to create an opportunity for preaching of the Bible In this way, people may always remember her and know that they are loved She calls the slaves into her room, and as she 41 presents them with her parting gift, she advices them that she will no longer be around She also leaves them with kind and thoughtful words: “You must be Christians You must remember that each one of you can become angels, and be angels forever I have prayed for you; and I know Jesus will help you, even if you can’t read Try all to the best you can; pray every day; ask Him to help you; and get the Bible read to you whenever you can; and I think I shall see all of you in heaven” (Stowe, p.264) Just as Jesus ministered to his disciples and warned them of his sacrifice, so did Evangeline minister loving words to her friends and warned them of her sacrifice Being Christian means having a strong spirit and beautiful soul; death for them is not frightening or ugly Even facing with death, Eva is still just as loving and just as compassionate as she was before Harriet Beecher Stowe demonstrates Evangeline’s unrelenting love, compassion and concern for the slaves in the same manner that Christ would This scene is truly meant to compel her readers to feel the sacrifice of Eva as well as the compassion for slaves Through the forgiveness and sacrifice of the two protagonists, Stowe surely intends to spread the universal love in Christianity by the beliefs and values conveyed in life of Eva and Uncle Tom Both the deaths of them stand for the eternal life, victory and the new beginning and reflect of heroism rather than the end Besides, the author always wants to emphasize the valuable meanings, lofty lessons and basic tenets of the Christian faith Causal principles about faith, love, compassion, forgiveness, salvation and sacrifice is revealed obviously in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” as a tool to change the society for the better and save people 42 PART III: CONCLUSION ISSUES ADDRESSED IN THE STUDY The researcher found out that the basic Christian beliefs and appreciated virtues are revealed obviously in the masterpiece “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” Throughout the novel Evangeline and Uncle Tom are build up as very Christ-like characters up to and including their deaths Specifically, being Christians like Eva and Uncle Tom, they have a strong belief of eternal life which make the death for them is not frightening Besides, through the image of Uncle Tom, Eva and Harris, the belief in God as well as Christian values about worship only God are showed clearly; Whether they are all pious Christians or not, after experience and sufferings, almost of them believe in God, always pray to God and find a way to keep their faith as a Jesus’ teaching in the Bible Moreover, the unrelenting compassion of Christ-like characters like the two protagonists throughout the stages of their life is expressed successfully in order to reveal to the reader the true nature of slavery Thus, the humane feelings about slavery abolishment are stimulated in the readers: If the black slaves have the same rights as the white, being well-educated and preached Bible, they are all kind and pious Christians like any others Furthermore, the researcher also found out that Christianity beliefs and values are linked to forgiveness and salvation of the two protagonists in the novel Tom’s and Eva’s religious convictions transform them into Christ like figures, and their deaths, like Christ’s, are meant to be redemptive In using religion to define the characters, Stowe communicates directly to the 19thcentury audience Slaves are portrayed as pious-devoted to divine worship and even saintly would be more sympathetic to that audience And then, causal principles about faith, love, compassion, forgiveness, salvation and 43 sacrifice revealed obviously in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” which the author conveys in her message are used as a tool to change the society for the better In conclusion, this paper has examined the role of Christian beliefs and values in the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” to the reader’s sense of morality, religion and emotion Used as a weapon to appeal the public for slavery abolishment, this novel is considered as one of the most influential cultural events or factors that precipitated the movement to finally end slavery in the United States And just as the author had hope, just as she had prayed, quite literally millions of people were moved from apathy and ignorance to passion and action LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY Finally, a number of important limitations need to be considered However, the most important limitation lies in the fact that this study focuses on the Christian values and beliefs seen in several typical characters in the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe, but not in plot, theme and setting SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH This study has thrown up many questions in need of further investigation Not only are inestimable lessons and basic tenets of the Christian faith about causal principle revealed clearly through some typical characters, but they can be also seen more specifically and clearly through the plot and theme of this novel In “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, the author also portrays equal rights for all slaves in plot and theme On the whole, a study on the discussion about Christian beliefs and values seen in plot and theme of the novel is highly recommended 44 REFERENCES Alvord, D (2009) I Was You, Good New Publisher, Retrieved January 20, 2014, from http://books.google.com.vn/books/about/I_Was_You.html? id=GnEEngEACAAJ&redir_esc=y Brock, W.R The character of American history Harper Colophin Books Crossan, J.D (2008) Sayings Parallels: A Workbook for the Jesus Tradition Fortress Press Retrieved March 10, 2014, from www.books.google.com.vn/books?isbn=1556358350 Ditchfield, C (2010) A Way with Words: What Women Should Know about the Power They Crossway Donahue, J & Harrington, D (2002) The Gospel of Mark Liturgical Press James, H (1884) The Art of fiction Longman's Magazine Kathryn VanSpanckeren, USA literature in brief Retrieved January 26, 2014, from http://www.usembassy- mexico.gov/bbf/le/0507_LiteratureInBrief.pdf Kohlenberger, J.R (2003) The Evangelical Parallel New Testament Oxford University Press Litch, J & Grant, M (1859) The Doctrine of Everlasting Punishment Damrell & Moore 10 McLoughlin, K (2009) The Cambridge Companion to War Writing Cambridge University Press 45 11 Perrin, J (2005) A New Life With Jesus: For Friends In Jails and Prisons United of America 12 Sarkissian, M.J (2009) Before God Good New Publisher 13 Scott, S (2008) The Greatest Words Ever Spoken: Everything Jesus Said About You, Your Life, and Everything Else Water Brook press 14 Stowe, H B (1852) Uncle Tom’s Cabin John P Jewett & Company Publisher 15 Thom, Nguyen Xuan (1997) Giao trinh van hoc My The Gioi Publisher 46 ... TIẾNG ANH KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP NIỀM TIN VÀ GIÁ TRỊ ĐẠO CƠ-ĐỐC ĐƯỢC THỂ HIỆN TRONG MỘT SỐ NHÂN VẬT TIÊU BIỂU Ở TÁC PHẨM “TÚP LỀU BÁC TÔM” CỦA HARRIET BEECHER STOWE Giáo viên hướng dẫn: THẠC SĨ VĂN... CHAPTER IV: HARRIET BEECHER STOWE AND THE NOVEL “UNCLE TOM’S CABIN” 14 4.1 The author Harriet Beecher Stowe 14 4.1.1 The author’s life 14 4.1.2 The author’s writing career... denominations ignored this issue CHAPTER IV: HARRIET BEECHER STOWE AND THE NOVEL “UNCLE TOM’S CABIN” 4.1 The author Harriet Beecher Stowe Born in a Christian family, Stowe was influenced deeply by the