Author: Otfried Preußler
Original Title: Die kleine Hexe
Genre: Children's book
Original publisher: Thienemann Verlag
Date first published: 1957
Date first read: ca. early 1993
Main character(s):Die kleine Hexe (the Little Witch), Abraxas (her raven)
Favorite quote: N/A
Synopsis: *SPOILERS*
The little witch is only 127 years old, and though she lives alone with her raven Abraxas, the older witches don’t take her serious. When she is found sneaking into the yearly witches dance at the Blocksberg, her broom snapped in half, and she’s given a year to become a “good witch” if she is to be accepted. So the little witch spends the year doing good deeds, such as saving kittens, only to find out the next year that a good witch is actually an evil witch! The other witches punish her by making her gather wood for the next annual witches dance around the great witch bonfire (“Walpurgisnacht”), but the little which tricks them and burns their brooms and spell books in the bonfire, taking away their powers.
Review:
The Little Witch is a beautiful children’s book, written by one of the most eminent German children’s book writers. According to him, the book was written for his own children, as an explanation of why they do not need to fear evil witches. It is a classic of German children’s literature and a must for everyone who enjoys reading to their kids.
I read it as one of the first books in Germany. I think I may have borrowed it from my best friend - she has the original editions, I believe.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Onkel Toms Hütte (Uncle Tom's Cabin)
Author: Harriett Beecher-Stowe
Original Title: Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly
Genre: Historical
Original publisher: National Era (Serial); John P. Jewett and Company
Date first published: 20. March 1852
Date first read: ca. 1993
Main character(s):Uncle Tom, Eliza, Harry
Favorite quote:N/A
Synopsis:*SPOILERS*
The novel starts out with Kentucky farmer Arthur Shelby finding himself so deeply in debt that he decides to sell two of his slaves: Tom, an elderly man with family who became a mentor to the Arthur’s son, and Harry, the son of one Eliza, the maid of Arthur’s wife. The novel follows then the stories of Tom, who is sold as expected by Arthur, as well as those of Eliza and Harry, who flee the farm because Eliza just cannot bear having one more of her children sold away.
Tom’s life away from Arthur’s farm is both good and bad. Initially he’s bought by a good-natured man Augustine St. Clare, whose daughter Eva Tom saved from drowning. Living with the St. Claires, Tom befriends Eva due to their mutual and deep Christian faith; however when Augustine dies, his wife sells Tom to a vicious plantation owner Simon LeGree, who, having been defied by Tom previously, resolves to make him lose his faith. Though Simon eventually orders Tom to be killed, he’s never able to strip Tom of his faith, leaving Tom ultimately with the upper hand.
Eliza’s story equally has both ups and downs, but contrary to Tom’s, she gets a happy ending. Fleeing to Canada with her son, she meets her husband and manages to cross the border together as a family. Having arrived there, she finds her long-lost daughter, whom Tom has helped escape from the LeGrees. Eliza’s daughter, who also has a child, left the LeGree plantation and traveled to Canada with Eliza’s husband’s sister. Together the family leaves the American continent and goes to Liberia, a country set up in Africa for former slaves, where they are united with Eliza’s grandson.
Review:
Uncle Tom’s Cabin is an abolitionist story, whose main purpose is to show the horrors of slavery. This underlying theme is spun via two vehicles, Christianity and motherhood, each driving one part of the overall story, showing that slavery is incompatible with both of these fundamental values. The novel is written in what was known as sentimental and domestic style, attributed mostly to women writers of the 19th century, which is meant to evoke strong emotional responses from the reader. Beecher-Stowe, who was moved by the plight of the slaves after seeing a mother separated from her child during a slave auction, was a strong supporter of abolitionism and wrote the story in an effort to convince others that slavery is wrong because it is incompatible with Christianity.
The book was very wildly read and had a humongous impact in that it brought the abolitionist cause in front of people, especially the Northerners. However, the book was not enough to actually achieve the abolition of slavery. The entire premise of the abolitionist movement that they could peacefully convert and convince slaveholders that they were wrong was not effective, and a bloody civil war had to be fought actually free all slaves. Nevertheless, the book success lay in the fact that it moved not only those who before had not thought about slavery, but also made the abolitionists understand that they would have to actually fight for what they believed was right.
Naturally criticized by the South in in its era, the book is not without critics even today. Modern scholars are particularly vehement in their criticism for the condescending racist views of the black characters in the book. Everything from their appearance to their behavior to their speech has become a racist stereotype in literature, thanks in part of the book’s significance as the best-selling novel in its time.
Original Title: Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly
Genre: Historical
Original publisher: National Era (Serial); John P. Jewett and Company
Date first published: 20. March 1852
Date first read: ca. 1993
Main character(s):Uncle Tom, Eliza, Harry
Favorite quote:N/A
Synopsis:*SPOILERS*
The novel starts out with Kentucky farmer Arthur Shelby finding himself so deeply in debt that he decides to sell two of his slaves: Tom, an elderly man with family who became a mentor to the Arthur’s son, and Harry, the son of one Eliza, the maid of Arthur’s wife. The novel follows then the stories of Tom, who is sold as expected by Arthur, as well as those of Eliza and Harry, who flee the farm because Eliza just cannot bear having one more of her children sold away.
Tom’s life away from Arthur’s farm is both good and bad. Initially he’s bought by a good-natured man Augustine St. Clare, whose daughter Eva Tom saved from drowning. Living with the St. Claires, Tom befriends Eva due to their mutual and deep Christian faith; however when Augustine dies, his wife sells Tom to a vicious plantation owner Simon LeGree, who, having been defied by Tom previously, resolves to make him lose his faith. Though Simon eventually orders Tom to be killed, he’s never able to strip Tom of his faith, leaving Tom ultimately with the upper hand.
Eliza’s story equally has both ups and downs, but contrary to Tom’s, she gets a happy ending. Fleeing to Canada with her son, she meets her husband and manages to cross the border together as a family. Having arrived there, she finds her long-lost daughter, whom Tom has helped escape from the LeGrees. Eliza’s daughter, who also has a child, left the LeGree plantation and traveled to Canada with Eliza’s husband’s sister. Together the family leaves the American continent and goes to Liberia, a country set up in Africa for former slaves, where they are united with Eliza’s grandson.
Review:
Uncle Tom’s Cabin is an abolitionist story, whose main purpose is to show the horrors of slavery. This underlying theme is spun via two vehicles, Christianity and motherhood, each driving one part of the overall story, showing that slavery is incompatible with both of these fundamental values. The novel is written in what was known as sentimental and domestic style, attributed mostly to women writers of the 19th century, which is meant to evoke strong emotional responses from the reader. Beecher-Stowe, who was moved by the plight of the slaves after seeing a mother separated from her child during a slave auction, was a strong supporter of abolitionism and wrote the story in an effort to convince others that slavery is wrong because it is incompatible with Christianity.
The book was very wildly read and had a humongous impact in that it brought the abolitionist cause in front of people, especially the Northerners. However, the book was not enough to actually achieve the abolition of slavery. The entire premise of the abolitionist movement that they could peacefully convert and convince slaveholders that they were wrong was not effective, and a bloody civil war had to be fought actually free all slaves. Nevertheless, the book success lay in the fact that it moved not only those who before had not thought about slavery, but also made the abolitionists understand that they would have to actually fight for what they believed was right.
Naturally criticized by the South in in its era, the book is not without critics even today. Modern scholars are particularly vehement in their criticism for the condescending racist views of the black characters in the book. Everything from their appearance to their behavior to their speech has become a racist stereotype in literature, thanks in part of the book’s significance as the best-selling novel in its time.
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