The first half of a passage from the Book of Jeremiah (13:23) is included on the title page: "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?" While the full passage is about evildoers refusing to turn away from evil to good,[4][5] the title conveys the idea that, as leopards could not change their spots, people of African origin could not change what Dixon, as a racist and white supremacist,[1] viewed as inherently negative character traits.
Harriet Beecher Stowe's landmark novel of 1852, Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly, had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U.S. and is said to have "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War".[6] It was still widely read fifty years after its publication. According to Dixon, whose contact with the work was a dramatized version, Stowe "grossly misrepresent[ed]" the American South, and he felt her sympathetic portrayal of African Americans demanded revision. So as to make it clear he is answering Stowe, he presents his version of Stowe's characters, using Stowe's character names.[7]
Characters
Leading characters of the story (as listed in the book) [8]
Charles Gaston – A man who dreams of making it to the Governor's Mansion
Sallie Worth – A daughter of the old-fashioned South
Gen. Daniel Worth – Her father
Mrs. Worth – Sallie's mother
The Rev. John Durham – A preacher who threw his life away
Mrs. Durham – Of the Southern Army that never surrendered
Tom Camp – A one-legged Confederate soldier
Flora – Tom's little daughter
Simon Legree – Ex-slave driver and Reconstruction leader
Hon. Everett Lowell – Member of Congress from Boston
Helen Lowell – His daughter
Miss Susan Walker – A maiden of Boston
Major Stuart Dameron – Chief of the Ku Klux Klan
Hose Norman – A dare-devil poor white man
Nelse – A black hero of the old régime
Aunt Eve – His wife – "a respectable woman."
Hon. Tim Sheldby – Political boss of the new era
Hon. Pete Sawyer – Sold seven times, got the money once
George Harris, Jr. – An Educated Negro, son of Eliza
Dick – An unsolved riddle
Using names of characters in Uncle Tom's Cabin
Simon Legree – In Uncle Tom's Cabin; a cruel master, hateful of religion, superstitious, and determined to “break” Tom
Tom Camp – In Stowe's novel Tom (no last name) is a humble African-American slave and "Mr. Shelby's best hand". Dixon's Tom is a former Confederate soldier, a poor white Christian whose family is victimized by black men.
Hon. Tim Shelby – Political boss. In Uncle Tom's Cabin Arthur Shelby was Tom's owner, who "sold him South". His son George Shelby is also a character.
George Harris, Jr – An educated negro
Dramatization
A dramatization by Dixon, with the same title, was produced in New York in 1913.[9]: 70
References
^ abLeitner, Andrew, Thomas Dixon, Jr.: Conflicts in History and Literature, Documenting the American South, University Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, retrieved May 6, 2019
^Merritt, Russell (Autumn 1972). "Dixon, Griffith, and the Southern Legend". Cinema Journal. 12 (1): 26–45. doi:10.2307/1225402. JSTOR 1225402.
^Crowe, Karen (1984). "Preface". In Crowe, Karen (ed.). Southern horizons : the autobiography of Thomas Dixon. Alexandria, Virginia: IWV Publishing. pp. xvii–xviii. OCLC 11398740.
^Larson, Jennifer L.; Kirkpatrick, Mary Alice. "Summary [of The Leopard's Spots]". Documenting the American South. University Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
^"The leopard's spots; a romance of the white man's burden--1865-1900". New York, Doubleday, Page & Co. 1903.
Bloomfield, Maxwell. "Dixon's "The Leopard's Spots": A Study in Popular Racism", American Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 3 (Autumn, 1964), pp. 387–401 in JSTOR, October 21, 2021, at the Wayback Machine.
External links
Full text of The Leopard's Spots, Documenting the American South, University of North Carolina
The leopard's Spots public domain audiobook at LibriVox
January 25, 2023
leopard, spots, this, article, about, novel, general, leopard, patterning, leopard, pattern, romance, white, burden, 1865, 1900, first, novel, thomas, dixon, reconstruction, trilogy, followed, clansman, historical, romance, klux, klan, 1905, traitor, story, fa. This article is about a novel For general leopard patterning see Leopard pattern The Leopard s Spots A Romance of the White Man s Burden 1865 1900 is the first novel of Thomas Dixon s Reconstruction trilogy and was followed by The Clansman A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan 1905 and The Traitor A Story of the Fall of the Invisible Empire 1907 1 In the novel published in 1902 Dixon offers an account of Reconstruction in which he portrays a Reconstruction leader and former slave driver Northern carpetbaggers and emancipated slaves as the villains Ku Klux Klan members are anti heroes While the playbills and program for The Birth of a Nation claimed The Leopard s Spots as a source in addition to The Clansman recent scholars do not accept this 2 3 The Leopard s Spots A Romance of the White Man s Burden 1865 1900First edition coverAuthorThomas DixonIllustratorC D WilliamsCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenreNovelPublisherDoubleday Page amp Co Publication date1902Media typePrintOCLC12852953The first half of a passage from the Book of Jeremiah 13 23 is included on the title page Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots While the full passage is about evildoers refusing to turn away from evil to good 4 5 the title conveys the idea that as leopards could not change their spots people of African origin could not change what Dixon as a racist and white supremacist 1 viewed as inherently negative character traits Contents 1 A reply to Uncle Tom s Cabin 2 Characters 2 1 Leading characters of the story as listed in the book 8 2 2 Using names of characters in Uncle Tom s Cabin 3 Dramatization 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksA reply to Uncle Tom s Cabin EditHarriet Beecher Stowe s landmark novel of 1852 Uncle Tom s Cabin or Life Among the Lowly had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U S and is said to have helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War 6 It was still widely read fifty years after its publication According to Dixon whose contact with the work was a dramatized version Stowe grossly misrepresent ed the American South and he felt her sympathetic portrayal of African Americans demanded revision So as to make it clear he is answering Stowe he presents his version of Stowe s characters using Stowe s character names 7 Characters EditLeading characters of the story as listed in the book 8 Edit Charles Gaston A man who dreams of making it to the Governor s Mansion Sallie Worth A daughter of the old fashioned South Gen Daniel Worth Her father Mrs Worth Sallie s mother The Rev John Durham A preacher who threw his life away Mrs Durham Of the Southern Army that never surrendered Tom Camp A one legged Confederate soldier Flora Tom s little daughter Simon Legree Ex slave driver and Reconstruction leader Allan Mcleod A scalawag Hon Everett Lowell Member of Congress from Boston Helen Lowell His daughter Miss Susan Walker A maiden of Boston Major Stuart Dameron Chief of the Ku Klux Klan Hose Norman A dare devil poor white man Nelse A black hero of the old regime Aunt Eve His wife a respectable woman Hon Tim Sheldby Political boss of the new era Hon Pete Sawyer Sold seven times got the money once George Harris Jr An Educated Negro son of Eliza Dick An unsolved riddleUsing names of characters in Uncle Tom s Cabin Edit Simon Legree In Uncle Tom s Cabin a cruel master hateful of religion superstitious and determined to break Tom Tom Camp In Stowe s novel Tom no last name is a humble African American slave and Mr Shelby s best hand Dixon s Tom is a former Confederate soldier a poor white Christian whose family is victimized by black men Hon Tim Shelby Political boss In Uncle Tom s Cabin Arthur Shelby was Tom s owner who sold him South His son George Shelby is also a character George Harris Jr An educated negroDramatization EditA dramatization by Dixon with the same title was produced in New York in 1913 9 70 References Edit a b Leitner Andrew Thomas Dixon Jr Conflicts in History and Literature Documenting the American South University Library University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill retrieved May 6 2019 Merritt Russell Autumn 1972 Dixon Griffith and the Southern Legend Cinema Journal 12 1 26 45 doi 10 2307 1225402 JSTOR 1225402 Crowe Karen 1984 Preface In Crowe Karen ed Southern horizons the autobiography of Thomas Dixon Alexandria Virginia IWV Publishing pp xvii xviii OCLC 11398740 Chabad Jeremiah 13 23 Biblehub Jeremiah 13 23 Kaufman Will 2006 The Civil War in American Culture Edinburgh University Press p 18 ISBN 9780748619351 Larson Jennifer L Kirkpatrick Mary Alice Summary of The Leopard s Spots Documenting the American South University Library University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Retrieved June 4 2019 The leopard s spots a romance of the white man s burden 1865 1900 New York Doubleday Page amp Co 1903 Slide Anthony 2004 American Racist The Life and Films of Thomas Dixon Lexington Kentucky University Press of Kentucky ISBN 0 8131 2328 3 Further reading EditBloomfield Maxwell Dixon s The Leopard s Spots A Study in Popular Racism American Quarterly Vol 16 No 3 Autumn 1964 pp 387 401 in JSTOR archived October 21 2021 at the Wayback Machine External links EditFull text of The Leopard s Spots Documenting the American South University of North Carolina The leopard s Spots public domain audiobook at LibriVox Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Leopard 27s Spots amp oldid 1134683038, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
