Uncle Tom's Cabin-Themes Part Two

The other major theme we need to consider when reading Uncle Tom's Cabin is Stowe's understanding of Christian Ethics. This theme goes two ways for Stowe. On the one hand, Christian ethics are lauded on the part of Tom and ultimately George Shelby. They are Christ figures in the novel. Tom accepts the humiliation of his life with the understanding that as long as he trusts his life to God he will persevere. Tom is seen reading his Bible, accepting his humiliating position in life, and taking cruel and undeserved punishment from an authority figure, much as Christ. George Shelby, though a late-comer in the novel, is seen acting out his ethical principles to find and rescue Tom from Legree.
The other way Stowe uses Christian ethics is to condemn most of the white characters in the novel and convict readers of the novel. While each person in the novel confesses Christ, they do not truly represent Christ-likeness as Stowe understands it. True Christ-likeness, as Stowe understands it, would immediately free the slaves since she holds slavery itself to be antithetical to Christian love and charity. Rather, many white characters use Christianity as a means to gain and keep power as opposed to a way of changing the world. In this respect we can see Stowe’s link to the social reform movements of Transcendentalism in America.