Uncle Tom's Cabin/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Anvilicious: But then again...
  • Complete Monster: Simon Legree.
  • Media Research Failure: The term "Uncle Tom" comes from the minstrel show version, written by people who had nostalgia for the slave trade. This has led many to assume the book is an apologia for slavery.
  • Crowning Moment of Funny: Yes, there's one of these in the whole drama. More exactly, the extremely sly and tricky antics that the Shelby slaves use to delay the slave trader who purchased Harry and Tom so they can help Eliza run away with little Harry.
  • Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: The reunion of the family at the end.
  • Memetic Mutation:
    • The phrase "sold down the river" is a metaphor for betrayal in modern American English, but most modern Americans don't know its origin.
      • The term was also used before the book; in fact, the modern map of Washington, D.C. (the part south of the Potomac being cut off) comes from when Washington abolished slavery, and those districts seceded. Today, the old slave market is now a farmer's market. Since going down the river was to an area which, if nothing else, made it more difficult to leave the United States, yeah.
    • Another common idiom that came from the book: as noted in That Other Wiki, the minor character Topsy "professes ignorance of both God and a mother, saying 'I s'pect I growed. Don't think nobody never made me.'" The phrase "grew like Topsy" is still sometimes used as a synonym for rapid or unplanned growth.
  • Overshadowed by Controversy: Not many people would claim to have read the book. It is widely known though that there was intense controversy of its publishing, particularly in years leading up to the American Civil War.
  • Purity Sue: Eva and Uncle Tom are this. Not surprisingly, they are also the least popular characters.
    • This is probably Values Dissonance, as Eva was easily the most popular character when it was first published due to representing what families openly wanted from little girls: a cute and kind Proper Lady... leading to an explosion of young girls named Eva in the northern states. Uncle Tom was also popular as a character, considering the popularity of Uncle Tom plays up until past the turn of the century, although racism tended to heavily color his depictions.
  • Tear Jerker: The whole damn book.
  • The Woobie: So very many.