Uncle Tom's Cabin Illustration

UTC Writing I

Text to Text

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

            Throughout the book so far, I am constantly thinking of this verse. As I read about how Eliza is running away with her son in order to save him from being sold, I can’t really imagine how difficult it must be for her to actually go on. The reason why I really keep thinking of this verse is because Eliza herself emphasizes that God is always there with her and gives her strength. Really without that thought going through her mind, I doubt that she would have been able to get as far as she has now. All we need to do is put our faith in Him and He would never leave us, even when it seems like we are all alone.

Text to Self

            As I was reading, I was totally lost at some points due to the completely different dialect. Yes, I understand, it is English, but with all the southern accents, I’m getting lost in my own thoughts as I try to read what is being said. And also I start hearing southern voices in my head and sometimes it drives me crazy because I’m doing other work and my thoughts are still talking in an accent. With the different dialect, the thought about how back then certain language was not much of a bother to them as it is today. It shows how man throughout the years have twisted the human language from something that was totally normal for someone in that time to say, but in modern time, that exact word could be taken as extremely offensive and cause so much issues.

Text to World

            Pretty much this entire book reminds me of the countless history lessons we had about slavery and how it brought about the Civil War in America. However, as I am reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the point-of-view is completely different from the lessons that I learned. Instead of just hearing about how slavery was terrible and that all the blacks were mistreated by the whites, the book provides a view from a black family perspective. Although I knew about the Underground Railroad which helped runaway slaves escape, I never really thought much about it. Uncle Tom’s Cabin sheds some light on how the blacks felt during this time and how they had to face so much danger as they tried to escape. Although I know that all men are equal, just this perspective from a slave shows me that although they were thoughts less during that time, a slave was just the same as a white man, a human. They all have their own personality, the emotions, and the dreams of any other human. I guess the book has opened my eyes more on the fact that everyone is a creation of God and that we are all equal no matter our race or our status in society.

Monte Cristo Assessment

Dumas did an excellent job of writing The Count of Monte Cristo with its coverage of themes, along with the suspense and action throughout the story. The main protagonist, Dantes, had a wonderful life; an excellent job position and the girl of his dreams, what more could a man wish for? However, due to the jealousy of others, all this happiness was taken away from him and he suffered. After countless years of captivity, he was able to escape and gain a large amount of wealth which would later fund his quest for revenge on those who took everything away from him. Along with suspense of what Dantes would do, there is the presence of love between the characters that drastically impact the story.

Throughout the story the main theme is revenge. Due to the jealousy and pride of his “friends,” Dantes was imprisoned for many years. After his escape and gaining his great wealth, Dantes learns the truth of the plot against him and he seeks vengeance out of anger and hate. Using the pseudonym, Count of Monte Cristo, and his vast riches, he quickly gained favor in the eyes of his enemies Danglars, Morcerf, and Villefort. However, his form of revenge was not actual murder, but rather manipulated their families and their past to turn against them. This caused great interest in how all his actions of manipulation would gain him his goal of revenge.

Although Dantes’ main goal was to get revenge on the men that ruined his life, he did show a heart of love and compassion to others. This is ultimately seen when Mercedes, the girl he loved and was to be marry, pleaded for her son’s life and Dantes agrees to spare him. Although so many years had passed, and she married one of the men that ruined him, he still loved her and spared her son. Another character that he loved was Haydee. Although his original purpose of buying her was to use her as a testimony against Morcerf, their relationship was great and she was greatly dedicated to him. Finally, Dantes supported Maximilian in his quest to marry Valentine. He executes this elaborate plot throughout his revenge to ensure that they would be together and be able to start a life that he was meant to have but was robbed of.

Personally, I greatly enjoyed reading this book and recommend this to anyone that enjoys sitting down and reading a book full of suspense and plot twists. At first I thought that The Count of Monte Cristo would be a dull love story that would end with everyone happy. However, with the theme of revenge and the use of the power of wealth, I quickly grew interested in the reading. The balance of how love mixed with the desire for revenge created so many plot twists that at times it was difficult to stop reading. However, the length was a bit long, with the abridge version only being a little over 400 pages. Yet I think that this amount of pages was necessary in order to provide a clear image and plot in the readers mind. Along with the great storyline that entertained the reader, this book taught life lessons that could apply to everyone. The main lesson was that revenge through your own power is not going to provide all satisfaction. There is a risk that someone innocent would get caught in your actions and thus changing your acts of “justice” into something that would cause more strife toward you and a greater burden on yourself. Instead of seeking revenge, it’s better to trust in God to bring the wrong to justice.

Literary Analysis Ideas