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Symbols
The Bible is both a practical item in the novel—it is the only book Uncle Tom owns—and a symbol for the endurance of his, and other’s, Christian faith. Tom manages to keep his Bible from the hands of Simon Legree, and throughout his trials, as he moves from the Shelby estate to St. Clare’s home to the Legree plantation, the Bible is a source of comfort and strength. Tom forms bonds with Eva, Cassy, George Shelby, St. Clare, and other characters when they read the Bible together. And, of course, the Bible provides the religious wisdom enabling Tom to withstand his brutal treatment at the hands of Legree. Tom’s ability to read the Bible despite his circumstances gives hope to those who struggle with their faith, including St. Clare and Cassy.
The Bible Quotes in Uncle Tom's Cabin
The Uncle Tom's Cabin quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Bible. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 4
Quotes
Uncle Tom was a sort of patriarch in religious matters . . . . Having, naturally, an organization in which the morale was strongly predominant, together with a greater breadth and cultivation of mind than obtained among his companions . . . .
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Chapter 8
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Run up a bill with the devil all your life, and then sneak out when pay time comes! Boh!
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Chapter 9
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You ought to be ashamed, John! Poor, homeless, houseless creatures! It’s a shameful, wicked, abominable law, and I’ll break it, for one, the first time I get a chance . . . .
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Chapter 19
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On this abstract question of slavery there can, as I think, be but one opinion. Planters, who have money to make by it—clergymen, who have planters to please—politicians, who want to rule by it—may warp and bend language . . . they can press nature and the Bible . . . into their service; but, after all, neither they nor the world believe in it one particle the more.
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Chapter 33
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Mas’r, if you mean to kill me, kill me; but, as to my raising my hand agin any one here, I never shall,—I’ll die first!”
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Chapter
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A day of grace is yet held out to us. Both North and South have been guilty before God; and the Christian church has a heavy account to answer . . . .For, not surer is the eternal law by which the millstone sinks in the ocean, than that stronger law, by which injustice and cruelty shall bring on nations the wrath of Almighty God!
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The Bible Symbol Timeline in Uncle Tom's Cabin
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Bible appears in Uncle Tom's Cabin. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4: An Evening in Uncle Tom’s Cabin
George agrees to read a Bible passage for the meeting, and soon a large group of slaves from the plantation have...
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Chapter 11: In Which Property Gets into an Improper State of Mind
...Wilson warns George that the venture is risky, unlawful, and against the word of the Bible. He quotes the example of Hagar returning to her mistress. George replies that he is...
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Chapter 12: Select Incident of Lawful Trade
...has been to Tom—loosening his manacles—despite being tricked by slaves before. Tom, meanwhile, remembers a Bible verse in which God “hath prepared for us a city” (heaven). Haley spots a newspaper...
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Chapter 14: Evangeline
Tom takes out his Bible and reads, haltingly, “In my Father’s house there are many mansions . . . .”...
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Chapter 16: Tom’s Mistress and Her Opinions
...it means her household contains more people for her to love. She tells of her Bible studies and singing with Tom, and St. Clare relates that Tom has begun praying for...
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Chapter 20: Topsy
Miss Ophelia tries to teach Topsy the Bible, but Topsy learns the passages only by rote, and perhaps willfully misunderstands them, in order...
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Chapter 22: “The Grass Withereth—The Flowers Fadeth”
...contents. Eva and Tom grow closer, and the two of them take turns reading the Bible together, with Eva enjoying “Revelations and the Prophecies the most.”
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Reading from the Bible at the St. Clare summer home on Lake Ponchartrain, Eva believes she sees the lake...
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Chapter 23: Henrique
...Henrique responds that one may “like but not love” one’s servants. Eva says that the Bible asks people to love all humankind. Henrique promises that he will try to love all,...
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Chapter 24: Foreshadowings
...although Miss Ophelia and the doctor do not believe it. Eva finds comfort in the Bible, believing she is returning “home” to Jesus, but she acknowledges that she will miss her...
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Chapter 26: Death
...family into her room, asking them to care for their eternal souls and follow the Bible’s teachings. The slaves in particular are struck by her speech and sob intensely. Eva distributes...
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Chapter 28: Reunion
St. Clare’s personality changes: he begins reading the Bible and attempts to increase his oversight of household activities. He promises to set Tom free...
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...Ophelia is “softened” after Eva’s death, and Topsy has taken to reading a collection of Bible passages Eva gave her before her death. Miss Ophelia wishes to “purchase” Topsy so that...
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St. Clare reads Tom a Bible passage from Matthew ending, “Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least...
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Chapter 32: Dark Places
...Lord could abide with them there. Tom has a pleasant dream of Eva reading the Bible near Lake Ponchartrain and wonders if she has visited him in his sleep.
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Chapter 38: The Victory
...even though he is still gravely injured. Tom finds it increasingly hard to read the Bible in his minimal spare time.
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