Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Chapter 34 summary
Chapter 34 of 45 · Volume 2 · 19 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 34, Cassy tends Tom's wounds and tells him how enslavement destroys her family and leaves her in despair. Tom refuses to preserve his life by becoming cruel, while Cassy's account of betrayal, stolen children, and her infant's death explains her anger toward both her enslavers and God.
What happens
- Cassy brings Tom water and cool bedding, treats his wounds, and argues that resistance to their master is useless.
- Tom insists that becoming cruel would cost him more than physical suffering, and Cassy reads him an account of Jesus's death.
- Tom chooses death over wrongdoing, while Cassy begins describing her childhood, sale, and love for Henry.
- Cassy recounts how Henry's cousin Butler engineers her sale, controls her through her children, and then sells them.
- She describes attacking Butler, Captain Stuart's unsuccessful efforts to recover her children, and deliberately killing her newborn with laudanum.
- Cassy threatens revenge against her present master, then returns to caring for Tom and leaves him with water.
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In this chapter
What to notice
Tom directly challenges Cassy's belief that oppression proves divine abandonment. His faith supports his refusal to become cruel under pressure.
Quick check
Why does Butler threaten to sell Cassy's children?
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