Review of Diller's "Sentimental Types and Social Reform in Uncle Tom's Cabin"

Christopher Diller, in his article "Sentimental Types and Social Reform in Uncle Tom's Cabin," meanders from subject to subject without focusing long enough to make a substantial point. He begins his article discussing Stowe's religious opinions and how they tie into sentimentality in the novel The Minister's Wooing. He segues into the explanation of types, the different types that were prominent when Stowe was writing Uncle Tom's Cabin, and the way Stowe uses types in Uncle Tom's Cabin. When Diller finally reaches his thesis, pages later, he does not mention sentiment and barely touches on the idea of "social reform." Although Diller uses extravagant words and the article reads intelligently, the ideas he expresses and the thesis he extends do not collaborate.

Diller's ideas do not match up in his article, "Sentimental Types and Social Reform in Uncle Tom's Cabin." His opening paragraph, instead of stating what he will address in his article, speaks of a novel Stowe wrote after Uncle Tom's Cabin. Five lines into his essay he quotes a long passage from The Minister's Wooing that can, with a stretch of logic, be tied back to Uncle Tom's Cabin. The stretched explanation would be that both books speak of religion and sentimentality and she gives a high amount of sentimentality to objects of death. Diller's opening statements are confusing and seem to be for another topic altogether.

After the confusing opening statements, Diller moves on to an elaborate section describing in three and four syllable words the different "types." He says there are three types that exist culturally. According to Diller, the first is theological, the second is philosophical and the third, according to Diller, is best used among activists. The third type is what critics say Stowe took advantage of in Uncle Tom's Cabin describing each character in shiny terms instead of the negative more often seen. Diller goes on to describe the characters in Uncle Tom's Cabin and the types that Stowe prescribed them. Diller also describes the critiques on Uncle Tom's Cabin, including the most common argument that Stowe wrote her characters as stereotypes or as a result of her religious upbringing. He delves into these theories a bit more by describing the critics that were assigned these views. One can only assume that this section is supposed to coexist with the "typologies" he mentions later in his thesis. Throughout this section he puts forth wordy sentences but does not state a clear point.

After his thesis and a brief paragraph on the character of Uncle Tom, Diller brings up the prefaces of Uncle Tom's Cabin and Stowe's treatment of each. He tells how she wrote differently for each preface depending on the country it was addressed to. He then bridges out to different critiques of Uncle Tom's Cabin without agreeing or disagreeing with the comments he is publishing. At the end of his section on prefaces he brings in types and religion once more but still not to the purpose of stating his thesis. The next section Diller separates is "Categories, Characters and Change." In this section he semi-addresses his thesis by discussing the beginning of the novel and how Stowe pieced together the different elements. He deconstructs her opening chapter and tells how the two men are known by their vocabulary. He shows their distinction further through her attention to detail for the supposed gentleman and her lack of information for the other. She leaves Shelby alone with the readers assumptions. Diller then goes on to describe the "plastic" nature of African Americans. He gives Harry and Topsy as prime examples of the flexible nature of these slaves. Their flexibility provides entertainment for the white slave owner. At the end of this section Diller mentions typology and sentimentality but still not to the extent to be considered the main theme of the article.

Diller continues his talk of characters, missing his talk of his thesis or any point, through the rest of his article. On the character of Miss Ophelia, Diller deconstructs that she is characterized in harsh words existing mainly in the present. Her urgency Diller connects to her "Orthodox Puritan heritage." He suggests that because of the time spent on Ophelia and Topsy that critics were wrong in pushing this relationship to the side. He continues to speak of sentimentality and types of characters by quoting long passages from Uncle Tom's Cabin and loosely relating these quotes back to the subject at hand. Diller tries to correlate his scattered thoughts by quoting passage, deconstructing characters, and speaking of the types of characters present in Stowe's famous novel.

Diller carelessly combines his thoughts on sentiment, types, characters, and religion together towards the end of his article. He speaks of the main characters, the types of characters they are, and their sentimentality towards each other, such as Eva's sentiment towards Tom. By trying to bring up social issues, Diller swerves to the subject of economy and the labor done by the slaves. He further delves into types and characters surrounding the Master/Slave relationship. The very end of "Sentimental Types and Social Reform in Uncle Tom's Cabin" offers the reader new ideas about government and politics. Diller ties his most common thread of religion into a new theme of republican ideals. Diller's last sentence, the conclusion of his drawn out article, feeds off a part of the novel he did not speak about. Furthermore, he uses his three-syllable words to make an extremely long, rambling conclusion that hardly concludes anything he has been researching. Even at the end of his article, when Diller should be tying up loose ends, the article fails to come together.

Christopher Diller has many great ideas but fails to initiate them into a whole argument in his article, "Sentimental Types and Social Reform in Uncle Tom's Cabin." He begins his essay speaking of a different book and ends his article with brand new ideas. Throughout the article Diller throws in sentiment and typology and how these two words relate to the characters in Uncle Tom's Cabin. He deconstructs the characters, showing interesting views, but does not continue along one path for too long. Because of Diller's constant subject changes, the article only half expresses many great ideas that could be developed further into many intelligent articles. Diller is an intelligent writer with great ideas but failing to contain these ideas and focus them more intently, makes "Sentimental Types and Social Reform in Uncle Tom's Cabin" an article for a reader with a short attention span instead of a serious and intelligent article about the need for change in Stowe's most controversial novel.