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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 10 page essay analyzing the characterization of this little girl in Harriet Beecher Stowe's classic work. The paper concludes that Harriet Beecher Stowe intended to show through her portrayal of Topsy that blacks are not inherently morally bankrupt, but simply unsaved souls who have never been shown the true path to salvation. Thus it was intended to be a symbol, not a realistic characterization. Bibliography lists 4 additional sources.
Page Count:
10 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_Topsy.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
a polemic in a fictional cloak -- a fable in a sense. The subtleties of characterization and mood and imagery that we expect of a great novel are altogether absent
here. So the task becomes less one of analyzing the delicate construction of Topsys character than of analyzing Stowes intentions in creating her, the degree to which she is stereotyped,
and how -- or whether -- this stereotyping contributes to Stowes intentions in writing this novel. When we first meet Topsy, she has been purchased for Augustine St. Clares Northern
cousin Ophelia to raise. Ophelia, an abolitionist, has definite ideas about the treatment and education of black people. Augustine buys her a slave to have as her very own, to
force her to put her money where her mouth is. Despite her anti-slavery stance, Ophelia soon reveals that she does not even like black people, and finds even the idea
of touching Topsy repugnant. She cuts off "all [Topsys] little braided tails wherein her heart had delighted", thus in effect shearing her of her most distinctively black physical characteristic aside
from her color, and dresses her like a proper Vermont schoolgirl (Stowe, 39). But proper Topsy is not. Stowe lavishes considerable detail on the physical description and characterization of the
little girl, partially to contrast her as completely as possible with Little Eva, but also to make her as incorrigible as possible early in the story so that her redemption
through Evas love might be all the more dramatic. It is difficult to see Topsy as truly wicked, however, because even though she behaves badly, she does so in such
a spirit of innocence. Topsy doesnt know how old she is; she doesnt know who her parents are; she doesnt even really know where she lived prior to her purchase
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