Uncle Tom's Cabin - Chapter Summaries
Chapter 1: Mr. Shelby is having a meeting with a slave trader to settle a dept. The trader wants Shelby to sell his favorite slave (Tom), a little boy, and his mother (eliza). The mother overhears and complains to Mrs. Shelby who doesn’t think Mr. Shelby will fallow through.
Chapter 2: Eliza’s (the above mentioned slave girl) husband George Harris is an intelligent worker and invents a new machine to make the work place more efficient. His boss, who receives George’s pay, becomes jealous and pulls him out of the plantation. (Eliza and George live with different masters)
Chapter 3: George while running an errand stops to visit Eliza and tells her of the horrible predicament he is in and wishes his son had never been born into such a cruel world. She plans to run away to Canada.
Chapter 4: Chloe (Tom’s wife) is preparing a meal for Mr. Shelby’s son (13), there is a lesson being taught on reading and writing (Mr. Shelby’s son is teaching Tom). Then George reads scripture. Tom is the most caring spiritual slave, he believes that he will be redeemed with glory in the afterlife.
Chapter 5: Shelby signs papers to sell the three slaves. Eliza and Harry (little son) run away to the North. Tom refuses to join the escape and says he would rather be sold then Mr. Shelby being forced to sell all his slaves.
Chapter 6: Mr. Shelby discovers Eliza’s escape and send to slaves on horse to intercept her. Mrs. Shelby instructs the men not to move to hastily. The slaves understand and “accidentally” stir up the horses and the chase is delayed several hours.
Chapter 7: Eliza stops at an inn and begins to rest. Haley (the trader) and the two slaves chasing Eliza come to the inn. Eliza hears them before she is spotted and escapes out a side door, but Haley sees her and a chase commences. Eliza scrambles across floating ice islands to the other side of the Ohio River and finds a safe house to hide.
Chapter 8: Haley is disgruntled and returns the inn where he finds two professional slave catchers and makes a deal (let them have Eliza) to have them catch Eliza and Henry. Meanwhile the two slaves return to the Shelby’s and report the successful escape.
Chapter 9: The house Eliza escapes to is the house of Mr. Bird (Senator) and Mrs. Bird where she spends some recovery time. Mr. Bird gives Eliza a ride to another safe house and leaves.
Chapter 10: Haley picks up Tom and shackles him, even though everyone says that it isn’t necessary because Tom is trustworthy. Then George (son of Mr. Shelby) gives him a dollar as a reminder that George will one day rescue Tom.
Chapter 11: At an inn there is a paper offering a reward for anyone who knows the whereabouts of George (smart slave from chapter 2), dead or alive. A Spanish looking man comes in and talks to Mr. Wilson (owner of factory from chapter 2). Mr. Wilson discovers this person is George in disguise and gives him money to help escape.
Chapter 12: Haley and Tom go to a slave auction where Haley picks up two more slaves (one which he separated from his mother). Then they get on a boat where Haley purchases another woman with a 10 month old baby. He sells the baby while the mother sleeps, and upon discovery the woman jumps off the boat committing suicide.
Chapter 13: Eliza is at a safe house where she is informed that her escaped husband will be arriving the next day. Eliza is reunited with George and they are instructed that they will be taken to the next safe house.
Chapter 14: Tom wins Haley’s respect and is allowed to roam the ship. Tom befriends a little girl (Eva). She falls off the boat and he dives in to save her. Eva’s father (Augustine St. Clare) agrees to buy Tom from Haley.
Chapter 15: Tom’s new master is married to Marie. He is unsatisfied and unmotivated because of his horrible wife. He also lives with his cousin.
Chapter 16: Tom’s new family (Augustine, Eva, the cousin, Marie, and Mammy the servant) have different views on slavery. Marie is the only one who is completely for it and white supremacy. Eva likes to have more people around. Augustine learns of Tom’s strong religious beliefs and likes Tom more.
Chapter 17: The chase party catches up with George and Eliza. George shoots one of the chasers, but takes the chaser with them to be cared for because the rest of his group left him to die. They along with Loker (the shot chaser) escape to another safe house.
Chapter 18: Tom meets Prue (a poor slave girl who after losing her daughter resorts to stealing her master’s money to go drink). Tom tries to get her to fallow God and stop, but she says she would rather go to hell then have to be with white people in Heaven.
Chapter 19: Prue dies and many of Tom’s family feel bad except for Marie. Tom tries to write a letter but cannot. St. Clare offers to help when he returns from his ride.
Chapter 20: St. Clare brings home another slave girl named Topsy. Ophelia (St. Clare’s cousin) is put in charge of this child. Topsy does everything perfectly but is extremely mischievous. The only people that really like her are Tom, St. Clare, and Eva.
Chapter 21: Eva is becoming sick. She also seems to have an abnormal amount of care for everyone including blacks and thinks that blacks should be allowed to learn to read. Her mother is completely against that idea, but Eva teaches Mammy how to read secretly.
Chapter 22: Alfred (Augustine’s brother) and his son Henrique come to visit. Henrique beats his slave and Eva scolds him to be loving. He says he will do it because she said so.
Chapter 23: Eva is dieing and asks her father to do everything he can to free slaves. He promises to do anything he can including letting Tom go free.
Chapter 25: Topsy is a horrible mischief and Ophelia can’t stand it anymore and is about to get rid of the child. Then Eva talks to Topsy and gets a promise from her to be good. All she wanted was a little love, and that is what Eva showed her.
Chapter 26: Eva gives a lock of her hair to all the servants and instructs them to be loving and pray and read the bible. She then dies a few days later.
Chapter 27: Before Eva is buried Topsy brings a flower to Eva’s grave and sobs that she lost the only person to ever love her. Then Ophelia says that Eva has taught her how to love and that she now loves Topsy. Tom begins to teach Augustine to pray as Augustine reads Tom the bible.
Chapter 28: Augustine begins work on setting Tom free. He also gives Topsy to Ophelia. After realizing he has nothing else to lose Augustine decides to do everything he can to get rid of slavery, but his life is cut short when he is stabbed at a bar while trying to break up a fight.
Chapter 29: Marie now in charge decides to sell all the land and all the slaves except her personal slaves. Tom begs for her to let him go free but she refuses saying that slaves are meant to be kept in servitude. Ophelia notifies the Shelbys of the predicament.
Chapter 30: Tom is sold to a gruff man named Simon Legree, and so is another pretty slave named Emmeline.
Chapter 31: Tom’s new master is a complete jerk. He takes all of Tom’s possessions and keeps what he wants for himself. Then he throws the rest of the stuff (including gifts from Eva) overboard.
Chapter 32: The new home is a horrible home. They live in horrible conditions and get one meal a day. Tom still remains kind to all the others and reads them the bible.
Chapter 33: Tom meets Cassy who is a slave who is not accustomed to cotton picking, but she seems to have some power. He is caught putting cotton into another woman’s basket to help her. He is beaten.
Chapter 34: Cassy comes in and helps Tom with his wounds and tells Tom about her life and why she doesn’t believe in God. He asks her to reconsider.
Chapter 35: Sambo (one of the head cruel slaves) brings in Eva’s curl and thinks it’s a witch’s thing. It startles Simon and he orders it to be destroyed. Simon is afraid of Cassy and they both know it.
Chapter 36: Emmeline asks Cassy about escaping, but she is warned against it. Cassy tells Emmeline of the horrible beatings of those who have tried before. Simon has a bad dream and awakens angry. He goes and beats Tom, but he is stopped by Cassy who brings up the fact that he cannot win a bet to have the best crop if he doesn’t have Tom.
Chapter 37: Loker after being cared for by George and Eliza gives up his slave chasing job and becomes a better man. George and Eliza finally make it to Canada.
Chapter 38: Tom is getting close to being broken from religion. He then sees a vision and puts his attitude back into full gear. This angers Simon who then beats Tom. Cassy later comes to Tom with an easy opportunity to kill Simon. Tom refuses and Cassy becomes more pushed towards God. Tom tells her to find a way for herself and Emmeline to escape.
Chapter 39: Simon is really superstitious and is afraid of his attic. Cassy uses this to her advantage and scares him completely away from ever going into the attic. She stock piles the attic and fakes an escape. Her and Cassy move up to the attic until the heat settles.
Chapter 40: Simon is angry and sends out a big search party for Cassy and Emmeline. After not finding them he beats Tom badly when he refuses to give the whereabouts to Cassy. Sambo and Quimbo (the two head slaves) are touched by Tom when he forgives Simon. They turn good and Simon still doesn’t know the whereabouts of Cassy and Emmeline.
Chapter 41: The Shelby’s have finally tracked down Tom. Mr. Shelby has died. When George Shelby arrives at Simon’s plantation Tom is dieing but happy to see George. George is furious at Simon for murdering Tom, but Tom begs George to forgive. Shortly later Tom passes away and George goes and buries him. He vows to do anything one man can do to get rid of slavery.
Chapter 42: Cassy and Emmeline escape and meet George Shelby and Madame de Thoux. Madame de Thoux is George Harris’s sister and the Eliza is Cassy’s daughter. George Shelby tells the group that George and Eliza are both in Canada and Cassy is overwhelmed with the thought of seeing her daughter again.
Chapter 43: All the family is reunited, including Cassy’s long lost son who had escaped to the north. Madame de Thoux had inherited a small fortune and divided it among the family. Topsy was raised by Ophelia and is now a missionary. They all end up living in Africa.
Chapter 44: George Shelby returns home and tells Chloe (Tom’s wife) of the horrible news, but of how Tom died happy knowing he was going to heaven and had given his love to all. George then sets all his slaves free, but many of them stay on the plantation being paid a wage and he vows to never own a slave again.
Chapter 45: This chapter is the author explaining her feelings about slavery.