UTC part 2
OKAY...I must admit, I liked the last half of the book much more than the first. Stowe did a great job at expressing the importance of religion and religious values. Her writing brought forth so many emotions. Many of which I felt over and over again. When babies were taken from their mothers, my heart hurt. When Eva died, I had to skip one or two pages (sorry Ms. S.) But tears filled my eyes and my heart was breaking even more.
Tom was truly made in the image of "God." He never questioned or gave up on his faith, even in the most desperate of times. Many people question "God" when bad things happen to them but Tom never did. He looked at it as an opportunity to preach his faith. It seemed the more he suffered the stronger his faith became. Darla suggested we put our self in the place of one of the characters. I don't think I would have been able to survive. First I would not have had the strength to survive slavery. Next... on a lighter note..I would not have been able to keep my opinions to myself..probably getting myself into a lot of trouble!!!
Legree was a horrible man. Unfortunately, this world still has people like this. Our society does not value human life.Children being sexually and physically abused. Abandoned by their parents left to be raised by their grand parents. Women being battered. Kids shooting kids. Gangs killing other gang members.
Freedom..we all have freedom yet we take it for granted. Our society tends to concentrate on what material things we have...money, house, car and fun toys. Maybe it is time to get back to what we should really be grateful for in our life. Family, friends, health and love for our fellow man. Darla made a good point when she posted the amount of money that was/is put on human life. How much is my life worth? How much are my children's lives worth? No amount can replace or compensate for my children's lives. Tom did not care for the "good" things in life. He just wanted his freedom, nothing else mattered.
"Mas'r, I'd rather have poor clothes, poor house, poor everything, and have 'em mine, than have the best and haven 'em any man's else, -I had so, Mas'r; I think it's natur Mas'r." pg. 314
But, we must keep the faith. That is the only way to survive. Do our part to make the world better and keep the faith.
One of my favorite lines from the book:
One had given him money;
and one had given him what he wanted far more,--
a kind word, kindly spoken.
(pg.276)
REMEMBER
KIND WORDS ARE FREE
BUT
CAN BE WORTH MILLIONS :)
posted by NurseKim @ 11:57 AM
5 Comments:
Boy Kim, I second that "emotion"! I could not keep my mouth shut either, if I were in Tom's place. I would more likely be Topsy.
"The expression of her face was an odd mixture of shrewdness and cunning, over which was oddly drawn, like a kind of veil, an expression of the most doleful gravity and solemnity."
"Cause I 's wicked,—I is. I 's mighty wicked, any how. I can't help it."
I don't know if I'm really wicked, but I sure am onery!
You are absolutely right about kind words. Kinds words can make a lot difference in someone's life. I remember in one of my devotions last year, the scriptures I was meditating on spoke about kind words and it also compared that to what a virtuous woman is suppose to speak.
I am glad to find a fellow softy. I too cried like a fool for about 10 pages. I cried that cry that makes your throat hurt, it was ridiculous. But I was so impressed with Stowe's ability to draw emotion from the reader (me). In reference to Tom, I also thought it interesting that he suffered more because of his faith. I appreicated that Tom never hid his belief, even when it would bring him more abuse or trouble. Lastly, I think that in the novel, items of value like property etc. still were placed higher than human life. It's scary how that seems to be a prevalent trend today as you pointed out. Have we learned nothing as a people?
It's a wonder that in the culture he was raised, Tom still thought it was natural to want freedom and to live a free life. I think that shows his intelligence more than many other actions. It also gives us quite a bit to think about.
Probably this reading, more than the first two books have really given cause to think about what's important in life. You touched on this in your post and it's really made me think about how important it is to stop and think about the things we have and the things/people we should really appreciate while we have them. Tom's faith was an inspiration not only to those in the book, but to those reading the book as well. Stowe did an excellent job at portraying him as someone to follow.
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