Systemic Racism as a Living Text: Implications of Uncle Tom’s Cabin as a Fictionalized Narrative of Present and Past Black Bodies

Abstract

This paper will explore the concept of Stowe’s work as a living text—that is, as a work of literature which transcends the bounds of periodization and continues to influence other literary movements, and even popular culture to this day. Scholars, with a propensity for consolidation and categorization, assign works of literature to narrow cultural and historical movements. Still, much of the scholarship concerning Uncle Tom’s Cabin serves as a cautionary tale for such an approach. Too often, Stowe’s work is analyzed primarily to illuminate societal and political ills of the nineteenth century. By doing so, Stowe’s’ work is understood as emblematic of the nineteenth century and is subsequently analyzed based upon modern day political and societal values. Specifically, this paper will examine how a fictionalized and living text is used to continuously create a script for the identity of black women, and how these narratives influence both past and current readings of black female identity.