Legree, Tom is pitted against materialism, which is the basis of slavery. This materialism denies the spiritual, denies human love, turns every human connection
or virtue into something to be used for profit. Topsy is also an example of what happens when human beings are treated as commodities. She is raised on a farm
like a herd animal, not knowing who her mother was or, probably, that she even had a mother, taught absolutely nothing that she could not learn from her own
observation. Her only use is as physical labor since she is not light-skinned and thus potentially beautiful to white men, and since she is not yet old enough to be
worth much as breeding stock herself. Slaves has no control over their own lives and are considered as property,
just like cattle or other livestock. They are often sold at slave auctions, where they could be inspected from head to toe by potential buyers. Slave families are not
recognized as valid. All of the scenes above shows how slave masters treat their slaves badly which is just to be bought and sold and has no value in their eyes.
Their only purpose is only to make profit and work overtime. It is also shows many woman slaves is used as master’s sexual satisfaction.
4.1.2 Object of Physical Abuse
Uncle Tom’s Cabin shows slavery is frequently a brutal institution, in which slaves are whipped, beaten, abused, starved, worked to death, sexually
violated, and even murdered. Especially, many slaves are object to physical abuse such as beatings or rapes in spite of laws limiting such mistreatment. They are
whipped and kicked by their masters so they will not dare to fight back or run away.
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In Uncle Tom’s Cabin, we can find slaves are physically abused in some of the chapter. For example, in chapter XI, George tells Mr. Wilson that he sees her
mother and sister are kicked, whipped, and chained to be sent to the market. “I saw my mother put at sheriff’s sale, with her seven children.
They were sold before her eyes, one by one, all to different masters; and I was the youngest. She came and kneeled down
before old mas’r, and begged him to buy her with me, that she might have at least one child with her; and he kicked her away with
his heavy boot. I saw him do it; and the last I heard was her moans and screams, when I was tied to his horse’s neck, to be carried off
to his place.” XI. 104-105 “I have stood at the door and heard her whipped, when it seemed
as if every blow cut into my naked heart, and I couldn’t do anything to help her; and she was whipped, sir, ....” “At last I saw
her chained with a trader’s gang, to be sent to market in Orleans – sent there for nothing else but that – and that’s the last I know of
her.” XI. 105
The other the victim of abuse is Prue. Slavery ruins Prue’s life. After her
master uses her as breeding stock, she is whipped to death. “What has got Prue, anyhow?” she said. “Well, you musn’t tell
nobody. Prue, she got drunk again and they had her down cellar and that they left her all day; and I heard ‘em saying that the flies
had got to her and she’s dead.” “What now? Why those folks have whipped Prue to death” said Miss Ophelia, going on, with great
strength of detail, into the story and enlarging on its most shocking particulars.
Another scene of abuse is also suffered by a young girl named Topsy. Topsy is one of the victim of physical abuse from her previous owner. Her former
master, St. Clare, sees that the child’s back is left multiple scars. “....I was tired of hearing her screaming, and them beating and
swearing at her. So, I bought her and I’ll give her to you.” XX. 222
“I’ve seen this child whipped with a poker and knocked down with the shovel or tongs, whichever came handiest..” XX. 229
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“Lor, yes, mas’r Old missis used to say so, too. She wipped me a heap harder and used to pull my har, and knock my head again the
door; but it didn’t do me no good” XXV. 260 Slave becomes the target of their master’s anger. They’re brutally punished
if they do something wrong. It’s happened when St. Clare’s brother, Alfred, visits his brother, Augustine, with his son, Henrique. Henrique strikes his slave Dodo
because he makes his horse to get dusty. “What’s this, Dodo, you little lazy dog You haven’t rubbed my
horse down this morning. Henrique struck him across the face with his riding-whip, and, seizing one of his arms, forced him on to his
knees, and beat him till he was out of breath.”
After the death of her husband, Augustine St. Clare, Marie takes over the
slaves. She sends one of the slave, Rosa, out to be whipped. “...She’s going to send me out to be whipped – look there” and
she handed to Miss Ophelia a paper. It was an order, written in Marie’s delicate Italian hand, to the master of a whipping
establishment, to give the bearer fifteen lashes.”XXIX. 297
All of Marie’s slaves are brought to the slave warehouse. There, Tom is sold to Simon Legree, an evil man who has a very different view of slaves than
Augustine or Mr. Shelby. Simon Legree works his slaves to death. According to him “When one nigger ’s dead, I buy another, and I find it comes cheaper and
easier, every way.” Simon Legree is a cruel man and master, who sets his slaves against each other, even putting two of the slaves as task masters over the others.
Tom is brought to his plantation and suffers worse experience which lead him to be beaten by Legree and his overseers. It happens when Tom works in the cotton
fields in Legree’s plantation, he helps another slave woman who’s struggling to fill her sack. Legree tells Tom to whip the woman but he refuses. The two overseers
drag him outside where they beat him nearly to death.
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“Ain’t I yer master? Didn’t I pay doen twelve hundred dollars, cash, for all there is inside yer old cussed black shell? An’t yer
mine, now, body and soul?” he said, giving Tom a violent kick with his heavy boot; tell me” in the very depth of physical
suffering, bowed by brutal oppression, this question shot a gleamof joy and triumph through Tom’s soul. XXXIII. 331
“Here, Sambo Quimbo Give this dog such a breakin’ in as he won’t get over this mouth” The two gigantic negroes that now laid
hold of Tom, with fiendish exultation in their faces, might have formed no unapt personification of the powers of darkness. The
poor woman screamed with apprehension, and all rose, as by a general impulse, while they dragged him unresisting from the
place.”XXX. 331
The misery continues when Legree suspects Tom knows something about Cassy and Emmeline’s plan of escaping and investigate him but Tom refuse to say
anything. Legree is angry and beats Tom all night then orders Sambo and Quimbo to continue the beating.
“Hark’e, Tom, ye think, ‘cause I’ve let you off before, I don’t mean what I say; but, this time I’ve made up my mind, and counted
the cost. You’ve always stood it out again me, now I’ll conquer you or kill you One or another, I’ll count every drop of blood
there is in you, and take ‘em, one by one, till ye give up.”XL. 382 “He’s most gone, mas’r,” said Sambo, touched, in spite of himself,
by the patience of his victim. “Pay away, till he gives up Give it to him Give it to him” shouted Legree. “I’ll take every drop of
blood he has, unless he confesses”XL. 383
From the quotations above, we can see that most of the slaves include Tom has to endure physical brutality by his masters. Topsy also shares the same
experience with Uncle Tom as one of the novels headline characters. Topsy is someone who has been so battered by slavery. The physical abuse which Topsy has
endured is awful. The worst of all is the spiritual abuse because she’s called a “thing”. Before she is bought by St.Clare, her previous owner has abused her and
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leave bears multiple scars on her back. This is the real crime committed against Topsy, and it allows Topsy to show the crime that slavery commits upon humanity.
4.2 The Impact of Slavery
