It wasn't the death of Tom that did me in. The author did a decent job of foreshadowing that event and it would have been more surprising if it didn't happen. It had to happen. It was envisioning Chloe, standing by the table, anticipating his return, thinking about all he had missed in the children's growth and how hard she had worked to secure his freedom. The futility of her hope is what finally moved me to tears.
It was 3 o'clock in the morning and I had just finished reading Uncle Tom's Cabin. (Apparently appropriate March reading.) I've been trying to catch up on the so called classics- and this one definitely fits the bill, a statement I now feel qualified to make. Previously I had only 'heard' about it and even then the details never clearly surfaced. (And as with so many of the messages received in my youth, I have done little to examine them closely and to properly question them.) All I knew of the novel was the expression "Uncle Tom," meaning someone who accepts an oppressive system without fighting back. A sell-out.
Having now finished the story I can't really figure out how that meaning ever came to be attributed to Tom. He is the furthest example of a sell out that I can imagine. What I can grasp an inkling of is the image of his weakness. Not weakness as I define it but as others might.
The book is heavy on Christianity but even as a Muslim reader I did not find it a deterrent. For the most part, the beliefs emphasized fit with everything a believer in God can support. No real conflicts there. Obviously this is a debate past its time, and yet, timeless. I don't agree with the definitions given of what a 'Tom' is, or is not, especially Sharpton's definition:An Uncle Tom is one that in a deliberate way, seeks personal favor or acceptance at the expense of his race and at the expense of what he or she knows to be right.
I didn't see Tom accepting personal favors or doing anything at the expense of his race. In fact, in his steady way, he spread belief and hope and changed some hardened hearts. He seemed to benefit very little personally from his chosen path. In fact, he stuck to his personal morals to such a degree that he was murdered for them. Of course, I'm probably missing something. I suppose it has to do with which lens the reader is using and a host of other background schema that the individual reader brings.
Perhaps surprisingly, as a white woman, I am not completely removed the ability to empathize with Tom's situation. It is more about power and control and the frustration that comes from having it lorded over you. It's living everyday with the frustration of not being able to change one's circumstances and being regarded as not valid- invalid- in the face of the law. It's facing illogical reason and having no recourse. Every day. Until you are nearly driven mad with the thought of how your life is not really your own, and the simplistic ease that someone else can come along and wipe out everything- more importantly, everyone- you held dear.
I know something about all of those things. The headlines of the current days show that plenty of people out there do. Even this white male living in Indonesia. Which is not to detract from the (still) very real issue of race in America but just to point out the underlying global relevance of deeper themes. Hence, the classic label.
While reading, I kept in mind the year of publication which made the whole experience even more astounding. The stuff with which wars are made, I suppose. Wars can change laws but they don't necessarily reach in and change ideals, as evidenced by the number of recent incidents.
This has been a book that's stayed with me - one that, despite my initial reluctance to read, has found me wanting to return and continue the story, long after I've finished turning the pages. Tom's individual story may be over but the collective realities continue to live on. My journey back in time has only brought me forward to the main idea found in this video- one a friend sent to me which sends a message that seems to keep popping up for me lately. I'm not crazy about many of the elements of the clip, the original text is here and other versions abound- but I can get behind the big idea. All this pain and suffering we keep inflicting on each other isn't going to stop until we learn that whatever we do unto others we are actually doing unto ourselves. Simple and yet so hard to achieve.
As I do my own walking and wondering and trying to survive, I'm led to think of other stereotypes that maybe don't deserve to be or that have somehow gotten the wrong rap but following that line of thinking is likely to bring me too far from where I've begun. So I'll close this one out just by saying I'm still thinking of Tom- not the sell out Tom, not the martyr Tom but the patient, strong, firm believing Tom who always knew he was never alone and never forgotten.
