Saint Joseph College

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

Maasin City, Southern Leyte

Module IV
GE EL- 3 GREAT BOOKS
1st Semester, AY 2023-2024

Prepared by
Kim S. Dedicatoria
Noeme Garces
Beverly Briones
Edgarino Tabinas
Chester Fernandez

Instructors
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Course Description

Great Books is a three-unit course that develops students’ ability to appreciate,

analyze, and critique literary works. It is a survey of the selected greatest
masterpieces of literature from all over the world, embracing more than 5000 years
of development of world literature, in different literary forms or genres, with
representative pieces from various places, cultures, and periods that produced
them.

Grading System

Each student shall be assessed on the following:

MIDTERM:
Assignments/Activities – 10%
Quizzes/Attendance - 30%
Pre-Midterm Exam - 30%
Midterm Exam - 30%

FINAL EXAMINATION:
Attendance - 10%
Assignments - 10%
Quizzes - 20%
Pre-Final Exam - 30%
Final Exam - 30%

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the semester, the students must be able to:

1. Appreciate the historical context of literature, how it affects and reflects the age in
which it was written;

2. Enjoy literature in its broader social context by garnering insights into the human
condition;

3. Gain intellectual growth by strengthening students’ abilities to read analytically

and creatively;

4. Transform and extend creatively literary materials to other artistic and digital
expressions; and

5. Analyze a piece of literature from the assigned period and effectively write about
it using appropriate critical strategies.
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Prayer before Study

by St. Thomas Aquinas

Creator of all things, true Source of light and wisdom, lofty origin of all being,
graciously let a ray of Your brilliance penetrate into the darkness of my
understanding and take from me the double darkness in which I have been born, an
obscurity of both sin and ignorance.

Give me a sharp sense of understanding, a retentive memory, and the ability to

grasp things correctly and fundamentally.

Grant me the talent of being exact in my explanations, and the ability to express
myself with thoroughness and charm.

Point out the beginning, direct the progress, and help in completion; through Christ
our Lord. Amen.

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Module 4

Topics:

 Victorian Period and the 19th century

 Harriet Beecher Stowe’s ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’

Lesson 2

I. Objectives

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

 Describe the major themes of the Victorian novel;

 Identify the influence of ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ in the life of Jose Rizal;
 Read ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’; and
 Explain the concept of freedom as highlighted in the novel.

II. Introduction

“The Old has passed away, but alas, the New appears not in its stead; the Time is still
in pangs of travail with the New.” ~Thomas Carlyle

The Victorian period of literature roughly coincides with the years that Queen
Victoria ruled Great Britain and its Empire (1837-1901). During this era, Britain was
transformed from a predominantly rural, agricultural society into an urban,
industrial one. New technologies like railroads and the steam printing press united
Britons both physically and intellectually. Although now the period is popularly
known as a time of prim, conservative moral values, the Victorians perceived their
world as rapidly changing. Religious faith was splintering into evangelical and even
atheist beliefs. The working class, women, and people of color were agitating for the
right to vote and rule themselves. Reformers fought for safe workplaces, sanitary
reforms, and universal education. Victorian literature reflects these values, debates,
and cultural concerns.
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Engage

The 19th century is widely considered to be the Golden Age of English Literature,
especially for British novel. It was in the Victorian period that the novel became the
leading literary genre in English. Find out three (3) major themes of Victorian novels
and describe each by completing the table.

Major Themes of Victorian Novels Description

1.

2.

3.

Explore

One significant literary piece from the 19 th century is the novel ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’
by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Research about the connection of this novel to our
national hero, Jose Rizal and write your answer inside the arrow below

Explain

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Key facts about the novel:

 Full Title: Uncle Tom’s Cabin or, Life Among the Lowly
 Author: Harriet Beecher Stowe
 Facts about the Author: She was a world-renowned American writer, staunch
abolitionist and one of the most influential women of the 19th century.
Although she wrote dozens of books, essays and articles during her lifetime,
she was best known for her novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin Or, Life Among the
Lowly, which brought unprecedented light to the plight of enslaved people
and, many historians believe, helped incite the American Civil War.
 Type of Work: Novel
 Genre: Anti-slavery novel, novel of social protest
 Time and Place Written: 1850-1851; Brunswick, Maine

Elaborate

In-depth Facts about Uncle Tom’s Cabin:

Narrator The narrator is sometimes omniscient—informed of the

histories of the various characters unknown to other
participants in the plot—and sometimes a plausible real
person, reporting what he or she has perceived or
experienced. In both modes, however, the narrator is far
from objective and often lectures the reader.

Point of View The novel is told largely in the third person but often in
the second. The narrative enters the minds of many of the
characters but sympathizes mostly with the slaves in the
book.

Tone Stowe’s attitude toward the story seems to be identical

with that of the narrator.

Setting (Time) Around the early 1850s

Setting (Place) The American South (Kentucky and Louisiana). Eliza and
George’s escape takes them through Ohio and several
Northern Quaker settlements, then into Canada.
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Protagonist Uncle Tom in the main narrative; Eliza and George Harris
in the subplot

Major Conflict Whether practiced by kind or cruel masters, slavery

injects misery into the lives of Southern blacks, testing
their courage and their faith.

Rising Action Uncle Tom comes to live under increasingly evil masters;
his faith begins to falter; while working at the Legree
plantation, he encourages Cassy and Emmeline to escape;
he refuses to compromise his values by helping Legree
hunt them down

Climax The sequence of events surrounding Uncle Tom’s renewal

of religious faith and his death, Chapters XXXVIII-LXI

Falling Action George Shelby’s emancipation of his slaves in Chapter

XLIII, which is motivated by his witnessing Tom’s death

Themes The evil of slavery; the incompatibility of slavery and

Christian values; the moral power of women

Motifs Christ figures; idealized women; the supernatural

Symbols Uncle Tom’s cabin (the destructive power of slavery and

the power of Christian love to defeat it); Eliza’s leap
across the Ohio River (the transition from slavery to
freedom); geography (North represents freedom, South
represents slavery and oppression)

Sources:

[Link]

[Link]

Discussion Questions:

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1. According to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, what are the causes of slavery? Are some of those
causes still in existence today?

2. Which characters articulate the idea that blacks are an inferior race? In what
context do they express this idea and why?

3. In what ways do characters use religion (or the Bible) to support slavery? In what
ways do they use religion (or the Bible) to condemn it?

4. What are the differences in the portrayal of men and women in the novel?

5. Given that the cabin is featured only briefly in the novel, why do you think the
book is called Uncle Tom’s Cabin?

Evaluate

After reading the novel, write a reflection paper with this question in mind:

What is the concept of freedom in Uncle Tom’s Cabin?

Criteria:

Depth of Reflection - 15

Ideas - 10

Organization - 5

TOTAL - 30
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Prayer after Study

T hank You, Lord God, for opening my eyes to the light of Your wisdom. You
have delighted my heart with the knowledge of truth. I ask You, Lord, help me
always to do Your will.

Bless my soul and body, my words and actions.

Grant that I may grow in grace, wisdom and virtue, that Your name may always be
glorified, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.