The Stowe Debate: Rhetorical Strategies in Uncle Tom's Cabin

Westbrook, Ellen E.; Lowance, Mason I.

ISBN 10: 0870239511 / ISBN 13: 9780870239519

Published by University Of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, 1994

About this Item

318 pp. A collection of essays examining the impact and controversy surrounding the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin by Stowe, studying its language, ideology and other aspects of the novel, especially in the context of a 19th century literary tradition. NEAR FINE with very light edgewear.

Seller Inventory # 008932

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Stowe Debate: Rhetorical Strategies in Uncle Tom's Cabin
• Publisher: University Of Massachusetts Press, Amherst
• Publication Date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0870239511
• ISBN 13: 9780870239519
• Binding: Cloth
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Literary Criticism

About this title

Synopsis

This collection of essays addresses the continuing controversy surrounding Uncle Tom's Cabin. On publication in 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel sparked a national debate about the nature of slavery and the character of those who embraced it. Since then, critics have used the book to illuminate a host of issues dealing with race, gender, politics, and religion in antebellum America. They have also argued about Stowe's rhetorical strategies and the literary conventions she appropriated to give her book such unique force.
The thirteen contributors to this volume enter these debates from a variety of critical perspectives. They address questions of language and ideology, the tradition of the sentimental novel, biblical influences, and the rhetoric of antislavery discourse. As much as they disagree on various points, they share a keen interest in the cultural work that texts can do and an appreciation of the enduring power of Uncle Tom's Cabin.