What is an “Uncle Tom”? I get the impression it is a derogitory term used to describe Negros who were submissive, I WAG? But, descriptions of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” claim it is a detailed description of the life of a slave, horrific conditions, etc…these two descriptions seem incongruent. Can someone clarify?
Thanks,
Uncle Tom was the Good Slave, who always did what Massa said, and even (if I recall) sacrifices his life for the family. Eliza, on the other hand, runs away with her baby, and Topsy was always mouthing off in a wise-ass manner.
Good book. Read it.
Calling someone an Uncle Tom is a derogatory term for a submissive black or for a black who is a white apologist, etc.
It comes from the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which is indeed not a nice depiction of slavery. But one of the slaves is, as I see Eve points out, a good slave.
Still a little fuzzy: Is the book an historical fiction novel, or more like a true, documentary testimonial…with real people cited? I do plan to read it soon…
No, it’s historical fiction. Sort of. It wasn’t historical at the time it was written back in the 1850s. If you want a more historical account of slavery, read Frederick Douglass’s autobiography.
Uncle Tom, I think, gets a bit of a bad rap. He is not always obedient. His master Simon Legree has him beaten to death because he refuses to tell what he knows about some runaway slaves. Tom also refuses to commit any "act of inhumanity’ at Legree’s behest.
From here:
Tom in the book is a Christlike martyr. He may be compared in some ways to Gandhi or Martin Luther King as a non-violent resistor. This model, however, was rejected vehemently by many more militant blacks in the 1960s, and “Uncle Tom” for them became an insult.
The term “Uncle Tom” was probably created by someone who hadn’t actually read the book but was going by just a summary of the story. Uncle Tom in the book was only submissive in the sense that he didn’t attempt to run away or to kill his master. He was as defiant as one was allowed to be in the slave system. The term was probably created by someone who hadn’t read the book and thought that the character Uncle Tom was more submissive than he actually was.
Simon Legree was not the master, he was the evil overseer of the good (but weak-willed master, Mr. St. Claire (father of the fabled Little Eva).
I agree that whomever started the term “Uncle Tom” must not have read the book. To me, he is truly the hero of the novel–not an asskiss, but someone who is deeply moral and loving and religious. As I was reading it, I kept thinking–when does he do something that would make him a derogatory character?
My slip. It’s been about 35 years since I actually read it.
Oops - I conceded too fast. Legree was Tom’s owner, not an overseer. Mr. St. Clare was a previous owner; Tom was subsequently sold to Legree at auction at the slave warehouse. (Note in the passage above, Legree is repeatedly referred to as Tom’s master.)
I seem to have read somewhere that the derogatory use of “Uncle Tom” stems not directly from the book but from the myriad dramatic (and melodramatic) adaptations of it, most of which were simpler, cruder versions of the story. However, as I have no cite for this, I may well be talking off the top of my head…
FWIW I remember reading something similar (although I don’t have a cite either). The huge popularity of the book spawned a number of minstrel shows and other knockoffs that used the name “Uncle Tom” in the title (again to capitalize on the immense popularity of the book) but that had almost no connection with the storyline of the book.
These minstrel shows capitalized on and of course perpetuated extremely disparaging, prejudiced views of blacks.
Thus the term “Uncle Tom” in the sense of a stupid, subservient black man derives from these execrable minstrel shows, not from the Stowe’s book. I confess I have only read part of the book, but the accounts I have heard all describe Stowe’s character Uncle Tom as heroic and honorable.
My dictionary, by the way, puts the term “Uncle Tom” as an insult as being first in print in 1922.