Uncle Tom's Cabin
An Analysis of Cultural Interactions - A Hafiz, E Wang
During the 1850s, through the attention and aid given to them, African Americans became more civilized and integrated into American society in the eyes of their white superiors.
UTC as Children's Book
Uncle Tom in Tomitudes
UTC as Song
UTC Tomitudes
Within this porcelain figurine, Uncle Tom is dressed in typical white clothing, with the little girl Eva standing upon his leg in similar fashion, demonstrating the influence of white culture upon Uncle Tom’s clothing as well as behavior, allowing him to become more assimilated into the self-proclaimed, civilized American society.
UTC Plates
UTC Souvenirs
Individual Questions - Ayaz Hafiz
2. The most surprising characteristic of the images related to UTC was the radical amount of pictures demonstrating civil interactions between the African Americans and the whites of the age; most specifically, between Uncle Tom and Eva. This was surprising because African Americans were typically seen as savages that white folk of the nation could not, and would not, be able to intermingle and spend common conversation with.
Individual Questions - Ellen Wang
1. Aside from the tendency of the African American society to depend on white culture in order to remold its own actions, various other visual images of the cabin itself depicted the isolation that surrounded the African American society, a clear indication of the general white resistance to the incorporation of people that seemed too different and inferior from them. This idea of separation between the two races was further perpetuated by the art pieces that focused on the difference in the civilized white actions and wild African American tendencies.
2. The most surprising aspect of the images seen was the sheer number of artworks that focused on the peaceful interracial interaction between whites and African Americans, a peaceful depiction of mutual dependency and support. Instead of the abuse that slaves endure that is voiced in the piece of literature, most of these images show both parties able to learn and grow from each other.