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10107 Yea, So Yeon
ESSAY
Depiction of the Misery of Discrimination
¡®Uncle Tom¡¯s Cabin¡¯ and ¡®The Autobiography of Malcolm X¡¯ are two novels that depict the hardship of blacks during the period of the American Civil War. ¡®Uncle Tom¡¯s Cabin¡¯, advocates the emancipation of the slaves while ¡®The Autobiography of Malcolm X¡¯, which was written after the Civil War, fights for full acknowledgement of black rights after the war. While these two books are similar in terms of their argument of equal rights for slaves, they are different regarding their views towards whites and religious adaptation in life.
Harriet Beecher Stowe in her novel, ¡®Uncle Tom¡¯s Cabin¡¯ mainly discusses the equal rights for slaves. Master George, Tom¡¯s previous master, shows the novel¡¯s argument of equal rights of mankind. ¡°Witness, eternal God! . . . [F]rom this hour, I will do what one man can to drive out this curse of slavery from my land!¡± This quote shows how the master strongly supports the abolishment of slavery. Another statement of Master George, ¡°... Think of your freedom, every time you see UNCLE TOM¡¯S CABIN; and let it be a memorial to put you all in mind to follow in his steps... as he was.¡±, the cabin becomes a metaphor of the destructive power of slavery. It portrays that the inequality of humans will lead to a destruction of a certain class.
Meanwhile, Malcolm realizes that the white society doesn¡¯t consider him a human being, recognizing the unfairness between whites and blacks. ¡°... Human rights! Respect as human beings! That's what America's black masses want ....¡± We see that Malcolm tries to achieve complete equal rights for African American. Furthermore, he realizes that blacks will be successful in their struggle for equal rights only if they identify oppressed peoples across the globe.
The two books also have differences regarding the view towards whites. ¡°... This is a God's curse on slavery! ... such a deadly evil ... you know I never thought that slavery was right¤Ñnever felt willing to own slaves.¡± This is an argument between Tom's first masters, about the cruelness of tearing off slaves from their family. The book portrays slaves and masters having positive relationships. Thus, the novel mostly views whites in a rather positive point of view.
In contrast to the previous book, ¡®The Autobiography of Malcolm X¡¯ expresses the whites negatively. ¡°... history had been ¡°Whitened¡± in the white man's history books, and that the black man had been ¡°brain-washed for hundreds of years.¡± .... ¡°The devil white man, ... had pillaged, murdered, raped, and exploited every race of man not white... ¡± From this doctrine from the Nation of Islam, Malcolm upholds the party line that all whites are devils.
Another major difference between the two novels is that they differ in style of the religious adaptation in life. ¡°... my Bible; ¡¦ If Missis would only be good as read that ar',¤Ñit's better than water. ... Lord han't forgot us,¤ÑI'm sartin' o' that ar'.¡± While Tom¡¯s deep belief that God hasn't forgotten the slaves makes him morally perfect. However he doesn't stand up and fight against slavery aggressively and therefore, we see him as a passive character.
Malcolm X is a thoroughly progressive character who stands out and fights against the racial discrimination. ¡°... according to its poll ¡¦ as ¡°the second most sought after¡± speaker at colleges and universities... I had spoken at well over fifty colleges and universities ... ¡± We see that Malcolm X's adaptation of religion was very aggressive by his activity in the public. The book reflects Malcolm as an active person not only in fighting against matters but also in the religious adaptation.
Consequently, the previously introduced two works have their similarities in their argument of equal rights of all people, as well as their differences in the view towards whites and religious adaptation in life. I found the Malcolm X book more interesting because Malcolm¡¯s enterprising spirit and aggressive attitude seemed to be one of my own characteristics. However, I do not totally agree with Malcolm X because his negative attitude towards whites wasn¡¯t agreeable and his assumption that whites were all devils was a baseless and ridiculous presumption. There are indeed some agreeable and also disagreeable points in both books. Thus, it will be wise to adopt the helpful points and morals of the two works and remember the repulsion and struggle of the blacks for their human rights.
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