Distinguishing between fact and fiction is what people are supposed to do.
And, perhaps, to understand when fiction points to truth. Uncle Tom's Cabin wasn't a documentary (not possible at the time, obviously) or a history (entirely possible at the time), and every detail in it was, quite literally, untrue, as it was, well, fiction. And it left out much of what was happening at the time, choosing to portray the worst of slavery that the public would tolerate the representation of.
It did, of course, leave out a lot of routine bad stuff.
But it was, all in all, and with some lacunae, a fair picture of some of what was wrong with the toleration of chattel slavery.
I can imagine some people arguing something to the effect of, "Why would you want to read Mrs. Stowe's latest work. Why get yourself all worked up over something that is fictional -- you'll act as those things really happened, rather than having been made up by some wild-eyed abolitionist fanatic."
Well, yeah
And, perhaps, to understand when fiction points to truth. Uncle Tom's Cabin wasn't a documentary (not possible at the time, obviously) or a history (entirely possible at the time), and every detail in it was, quite literally, untrue, as it was, well, fiction. And it left out much of what was happening at the time, choosing to portray the worst of slavery that the public would tolerate the representation of.
It did, of course, leave out a lot of routine bad stuff.
But it was, all in all, and with some lacunae, a fair picture of some of what was wrong with the toleration of chattel slavery.
I can imagine some people arguing something to the effect of, "Why would you want to read Mrs. Stowe's latest work. Why get yourself all worked up over something that is fictional -- you'll act as those things really happened, rather than having been made up by some wild-eyed abolitionist fanatic."