Abstract

In light of the relationship between history and literature, there is a famous Chinese saying that “history and literature are the family members of one family.” In other words, to some degree literary works can reflect some features of a specific period of time during which they are created. Different literary forms cause different reflecting ways or different carriers of these time features. The most important feature of a novel is that it centers on the characterization. As a result, the time features are frequently embodied in the typical characters of this novel.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin is an anti-slavery novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1952. It is considered one of the reasons which trigger the anti-slavery movements of America in mid-19th century. In the form of a novel, this work reflects the changes, contradictions and conflicts of American different classes during its transition from the backward feudal slavery society to the advanced capitalist society in mid-19th century. The distinctive time features reflected in the changes, contradictions and conflicts of these classes are worth to research.
This paper consists of three parts. The first part introduces the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, its writer and creation backgrounds. The second part analyzes of the time features of typical characters. The last part of expounds the influence and significance of these time features. It is hoped that the analysis of the time features can help the readers have a better understanding of this novel.

Key words: Uncle Tom’s Cabin; time features; typical characters

摘  要

对于历史和文学的关系，中国有一句名言“文史不分家”。那就是说文学作品可以反映他们所创作时代的一些时代特征。文学体裁不同，这种时代特征的体现方式，或者说载体就不同。小说这种文学体裁的最大特点是以人物刻画为中心，因此，它的这种时代性特征就最大程度上地以小说中典型人物为载体体现出来。
《汤姆叔叔的小屋》是由斯托夫人于1952年所著的废奴小说，它被认为是19世纪50年代美国废奴运动兴起的诱因之一。这部作品以小说的形式呈现19世纪中期美国各个不同阶级在美国社会由落后封建奴隶制社会向先进的资本主义社会转变的这一过程中改变、矛盾与冲突。在这些阶级的改变、矛盾与冲突中所体现的鲜明时代特征值得我们探索、研究。
论文分为三部分。论文在第一部分介绍了《汤姆叔叔的小屋》这部小说、其作者及创作背景。第二部分分析了《汤姆叔叔的小屋》中的典型人物的时代特征，第三部分阐释了这些时代特征的影响和意义。本文希望通过对《汤姆叔叔的小屋》中典型人物时代特征的分析，可以帮助读者更好的理解这部小说。

关键词：《汤姆叔叔的小屋》；时代特征；典型人物