Most Significant Content

"It was on his grave, my friends, that I resolved, before God, that I would never own another slave, while it was possible to free him; that nobody, through me, should ever run the risk of being parted from home and friends, and dying on a lonely plantation, as he died. So, when you rejoice in your freedom, think that you owe it to that good old soul, and pay it back with kindness to his wife and children. 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, and be as honest and faithful and Christian as he was." (Chapter 44, 467)

I felt like this passage was a heart touching climax to the story and showed a symbolic theme. In this book, there are two worlds melted into one. The world of the slaves and the world of their masters. In the slaves point of view, you see them struggling to be people when most of society treats them as if they were not. As for their masters, there are some who lack empathy and are cruel like Marie St. Clare and Simon Legree, but there are others that are kind and do have empathy like George Shelby and Augustine St. Clare. Even though there is plenty of sorrows, there is also the message of how love can over power hate. Yes, Uncle Tom died a violent death, but his deep Christian love for his friends and enemies was so touching and inspiring to many people that it made George Shelby, the son of Tom's first master, motivated to change. Dear old Uncle Tom was still be remembered for who he was and what he died for, in the name of the Lord and his love.
So it was on his dear friend's grave that George vowed to never own another slave again. He freed them all and would start paying them for their work as well as help them become freedmen. This passage made me feel satisfied. There was quite a lot of pain and suffering going on in the book, and for someone, who is a Southerner, to finally see the true error of slavery and actually acted upon his conscience, made me feel like goodness has won in a sense. The passage also reminded me that even though hate can feel very strong at times, love can be more powerful and live on even after death. Love never dies after all.