Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Stowe’s Cabin (1852) posits sympathy as a powerful engine of social change. The novel also raises questions about the efficacy of enlisting fellow-feeling in the service of social reform. Sympathy could thus be read as a disturbing emotion, an excessive one perhaps, in need of regulation or rethinking. This last statement is echoed in works by Paul Bloom, James Baldwin, Slavoj Zizek and Robert Alexander( very important to use and mention works, and how they are related to the book, of at least one of these authors), all of whom have reservations about projects of social reform that echo Stowe’s reliance on fellow-feeling. Drawing on an idea articulated by one of the aforementioned, read two or three scenes from the novel in relation to that idea. You choose the writer and the idea. To be sure, you do not have to agree with what these writers have to say about sympathy, charity or sentimentality. You do, however, have to represent their views fairly and engage their ideas to think about the novel.
Organize your essay around a clearly articulated thesis. Support your thesis with textual evidence and/or experiences that you then analyze in order to support your claims. Organize your evidence in well-constructed paragraphs that are unified under topic sentences that the paragraphs then logically develop. I’m looking for how well you develop your ideas throughout the essay. Remember to write with an audience in mind. While I’m your primary audience, your essay should be understood by anyone not familiar with the texts you’re writing about or the discussions we’ve been having in class.
Avoid absolute statements, vague generalizations, and clichés. Don’t be boring.
Don’t forget to title your essays (your titles should echo your thesis) and number your pages.
