Thomas A. Shippey

There__ no happy ending ... Nevertheless, we might well say that is exactly Harriet Beecher Stowe__ point. In 1852 slavery had not been abolished. Slaves were still on the plantations and many of them were in the hands of people like Legree. Her book was written to shame the collective conscience of America into action against an atrocity which was still continuing. So a happy ending would have been, frankly, a lie and a betrayal. ...Most of the charges are basically true. Stowe did stereotype. She did sentimentalize. She offered a role model which later offended African American pride. On the other hand, what she did worked. She wasn__ trying to provide a role model for African Americans. She was trying to make white Americans ashamed of themselves. ...Perhaps the short answer to her critics is to ask, __o you want glory, approval, all those good things? Or do you want to achieve your goal?