So, I just read Uncle Tom's Cabin. No, really. I really did. Now, I don't think I'll talk too much about it. It's actually a rather uncomfortable book to read, for obvious reasons. There's lots to unpack here, of course, but I can't really do that effort justice. Rather than digging out my critical race theory books, let's go in another direction.
UTC is one of those books that you simply can't read without having pre-associations. Let's talk about my three:
1) Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown. Such a great book, of course. This is the last of the childhood ones before the high school ones, and you already start to feel some of the tonal shifts. The girls are growing up, and you start to really see their ambitions and dreams in this book. Why is that relevant? Because they go see a play version of UTC as part of the first story arc, which will then have implications later in the book. I love the illustration of the friends sitting in the box watching the play. This book was probably my first encounter with UTC.
2) Shirley Temple film version. Now, I never actually sat through this. I'm not sure I've ever actually watched an entire Shirley Temple film (because, gnat-like attention span); I just get too bored. Now, she went on to be an amazing adult and defy all the stereotypes of child stars, and her films aren't really her fault, but some are so problematic.
3) The King and I. Of course. As a child, I really only cared about the beginning. Because, so many children! Children everywhere! I loved stories with lots of children. For some reason, I thought I wanted to be part of a super large family. I'm not sure why I thought that. I was obsessed with books like Cheaper By the Dozen. I rarely made it all the way to their production of UTC, but man is it memorable. Come, let's all sing Poor Eliza together now!
Prize for the first person to understand the title!
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