Though it suffers with the turgid prose typical of books written in the Victorian era, Uncle Tom's Cabin is well worth the read.Contrary to some peoples' interpretations of the title character's behavior, I did not find him to be obsequious. I found Tom's character to be quietly compassionate in the face of very difficult odds (to say the least).While some of the racial stereotypes typical of the 19th Century were rather grating (assumptions that all people of color were naive and childlike, for example), Stowe's presentation on the horrors of slavery was very straightforward. It is easy to see why Abraham Lincoln called her "the little lady who started the civil war." Stowe and her family were abolitionists, and she took events witnessed by or told to members of her family and wove them into the novel that opened so many eyes to the plight of those sold into the slave states.I was unaware until reading this book that there were brokers in the "free states" who still profited by slavery; this is very much glossed over in modern history texts. I was able to verify the accuracy of Stowe's comments about the brokerages, and was disconcerted at my ignorance of the matter.I think it is important that books like this be incorporated into the curriculum of modern education so that people growing up will be aware of the nuances of the slave system.
