# VI: Discovery explained — Uncle Tom’s Cabin

> Chapter companion for Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

## What happens

The Shelby household awakens to discover that Eliza has fled with her son Harry after overhearing the plans to sell them. Mr. Shelby is concerned about his honor and the implications with the slave trader Haley, while Mrs. Shelby secretly rejoices. The news spreads among the enslaved community, with Black Sam and Andy discussing the situation and Sam devising a plan to delay Haley's pursuit by placing a beechnut under the saddle of Haley's horse.

## Themes in this chapter

### Freedom and Escape

Eliza's flight represents a desperate bid for freedom, while the community's covert support highlights the collective desire for liberation.

### Hypocrisy of American Society

Mr. Shelby's concern for his 'honor' contrasts with his willingness to sell a child, exposing the moral contradictions of slaveholding society.

### Resistance and Agency

Sam and Andy's deliberate sabotage of Haley's pursuit demonstrates subtle but effective resistance against the slave system.

## Character check-ins

### Mr. Shelby

Discovers Eliza's flight and worries about his honor and the appearance of complicity with Haley.

### Mrs. Shelby

Secretly grateful for Eliza's escape and subtly instructs Sam to delay the pursuit.

### Eliza Harris

Has fled with her child Harry after learning of the sale.

### Haley

Angry and suspicious upon learning of Eliza's escape, he prepares to pursue her.

### Sam

Scheming and opportunistic, he plans to delay Haley by sabotaging his horse.

### Andy

Informs Sam of Mrs. Shelby's true wishes and assists in the plot to slow down the chase.

## Key lines

> The Lord be thanked! I trust she is.

Mrs. Shelby expresses relief and gratitude that Eliza has escaped.

_Reveals Mrs. Shelby's moral opposition to the sale and her secret support for Eliza's flight._

> It's an ill wind dat blow nowhar—dat ar a fact.

Sam reflects that misfortune for one person can create opportunity for another.

_Shows Sam's opportunistic thinking and his awareness of the social dynamics on the plantation._

> Missis don't want dis yer Mas'r Haley to get Lizy's boy; dat's de go!

Andy explains that Mrs. Shelby does not want Haley to recapture Eliza's child.

_Highlights the covert alliance between Mrs. Shelby and the enslaved community against the slave trader._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-i-vi-discovery
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters