Harris

George is a slave of a cruel master in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 anti-slavery novel, which was outsold only by the Bible in the 19th century. He has an impenetrable dignity that cannot be destroyed by his brutal treatment at the hands of the white slave owner. Handsome and well spoken, George endures many humiliations in silence, but when his wife and child are sold, he escapes to Canada with them. After attaining an education, he and his family move to France and eventually to the nation of Liberia in Africa, and he turns his back on the nation that would whip him into submission. For today’s reading audience, he offers a telling counterpoint to the very Christian, long-suffering Uncle Tom, who stays with his “folks” and forgives all his tormentors. George Harris not only eschews white society; he also dares to challenge a God who would allow such evils to exist in the first place. We think he’s right.

Eliza Harris is a major character in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s very important 1852 novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. She is a sweet, Christian, acquiescent slave who accepts her lot in life, until – oh mama – someone tries to mess with her baby. That someone is her master, Mr. Shelby, who had promised otherwise, but decides to sell her son to an evil slave-holder. Eliza goes into action. Seizing her baby, she makes a heroic getaway across the frozen Ohio River, jumping from ice flow to ice flow, ripping her feet to shreds in the process, but always hoping for the eternal redemption of freedom – which hope is realized. She seems to us to be the quintessential icon of motherhood – do what you will to me, but don’t even think of hurting my child! God bless Eliza! And don’t forget – her plight was almost single-handedly responsible for the Civil War!