Compare And Contrast Shelby And St. Clare

Although Mr. Shelby and St. Clare are slightly different in their beliefs about slavery, in that Mr. Shelby tolerated the use of slavery and St. Clare felt that slavery was evil, they are significantly similar in that they both treated their slaves like they were family and were kind to them; however Mr. Shelby and St. Clare are significantly different from Legree, who fully supported slavery and used extreme violence against his slaves . To begin, Mr. Shelby and St. Clare are slightly different in their morals about slavery. Mr Shelby was Tom’s first owner and he was a very kind and educated man who owned a smaller plantation with a small amount of slaves. Due to Mr. Shelby’s gambling problems, the Shelby family ran into financial issues,
Shelby and St. Clare are significantly similar in that they both treated their slaves with kindness, and Mr. Shelby and St. Clare are substantially different from Legree, who fully supported slavery and he used extreme violence against his slaves . On the Shelby plantation, all of the slaves living and working there was a second family to Mr. and Mrs. Shelby and also their son George. As Stowe mentiond, “The cabin of Uncle Tom was a small log building close adjoining to “the house” as the negroes par excellence designates his master's dwelling.”(Stowe, 1852, pg 66) That particularly showed how Tom and his family was treated with kindness and that they lived a good life. In having their own home, they actually got to experience what life as a freedman would be like. In addition, the Shelby’s provided their slaves with nice clothes and didn’t treat them with any violence, which again proves that they were kind to their slaves. Similarly, St. Clare treated his slaves with kindness and he didn’t ever beat his slaves. Alike the Shelby’s, the St.Clare's provided their slaves with fine clothing to wear. In addition, St. Clare displays kindness to Tom while offering him his freedom, “I’m going to make a free man of you; - so have your truck packed, and get ready to get set out for Kentuck.”(Stowe, 1852, pg 441) He knew that Tom had desired to be a freedman his whole life and in that moment he was willing to give Tom his freedom. Also, St. Clare talked to Uncle Tom as a friend rather than a slave, which really displays St. Clare’s kindness as a slave owner. On the other hand, Tom’s third master, Legree, was a nasty, violent man who treated his slaves very poorly and believed in slavery whole heartedly. When Legree had just bought Tom, he put him in handcuffs, ransacked his belongings, and made him put on pair of boots that were of poorer quality than the ones he had on. Legree owned a large cotton plantation with many slaves, and he would flog his slaves whenever he