Reply to comment

I carry Uncle Tom's Cabin around, like I do with most books I read, so that when I have free time I can just dive right in. However, I have never gotten so much attention for reading in public on Bryn Mawr's campus before. Even my custom's group acts weird about it. We were all walking to dinner the other day and I was innocently carrying my copy of the book, when suddenly I notice the look on their faces. All five of them had a facial expression that was some sort of mix between confusion, terror, and repulsion. Then came the loaded question, "Your reading Uncle Tom's Cabin? WHY?" Noticing their reaction I quickly explained it was an assignment for class. Everyone laughed off the tension, but I still felt strange for the rest of the evening.

Then today someone else said something to me. They asked the same  question and when I supplied them with my answer they suggested that I "put a sign on the front of my book so that when you get questioned again you can just hold it up for them to read." But the most recent occurrence was also the most surprising. At dinner tonight, upon spying the book behind me on my seat, one of my companions told me "to be careful with that." They acted as if I had a loaded weapon or something. 

I guess what I was trying to get at with this is that I had no clue that people were so upset just by the mere thought of someone reading this book. It really makes you think about weight of the topic and how much racial issues are still present in our society today.