Haley Character Analysis in Uncle Tom's Cabin

A slave-trader, Haley is owed a debt by Mr. Shelby and is given, as payment, Uncle Tom and Harry. Harry and Eliza escape, thus angering Haley, and he dispatches Tom Loker and Marks to find the two runaway slaves. He is able to sell Uncle Tom to Augustine St. Clare. Haley professes that slavery, for him, is “just business,” and although he is not nearly so cruel as other masters in the novel, he believes that slaves should only be treated humanely enough to keep their prices high.

Haley Quotes in Uncle Tom's Cabin

The Uncle Tom's Cabin quotes below are all either spoken by Haley or refer to Haley. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Lor bless ye, yes! These critters an’t like white folks, you know; they gets over things, only manage right.

Related Characters: (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 6

Explanation and Analysis:

I know this yer comes kinder hard, at first, Lucy . . . but such a smart, sensible gal as you are, won’t give way to it. You see it’s necessary, and can’t be helped!

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 147

Explanation and Analysis:

Haley Character Timeline in Uncle Tom's Cabin

The timeline below shows where the character Haley appears in Uncle Tom's Cabin. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Christianity and Christian Charity Theme Icon

...Kentucky, Mr. Shelby, a gentleman and farmer, discusses repayment of a debt he owes to Haley, a rough and coarse slave-trader. Shelby offers to sell his most reliable slave, called Uncle... (full context)

...year old slave, Harry, enters the room, Shelby has the boy perform for his and Haley’s amusement. The boy’s mother Eliza, a beautiful mixed-race slave, soon comes to retrieve Harry. After... (full context)

Haley replies by arguing that black people don’t feel for their children as white people do,... (full context)

Eliza is standing near the door and overhears that Haley wishes to buy someone on the estate, but she hears Mrs. Shelby calling and must... (full context)

Soon after Haley’s visit to Shelby, George visits Eliza at the Shelby estate. He bitterly complains of having... (full context)

Meanwhile, in the main house, Mr. Shelby and Haley the trader are finalizing the sale of Uncle Tom and Harry. Shelby appears displeased after... (full context)

...truth, Shelby reveals that business conditions have forced him to sell Tom and Harry to Haley. (full context)

...did not want to sell anyone, and that he did not offer Eliza even though Haley wished dearly to purchase her. Mrs. Shelby, at first upset and surprised, apologizes to her... (full context)

...realize she and Harry have run off. Although Mrs. Shelby is relieved, Mr. Shelby fears Haley might think he has arranged for Eliza’s flight; he claims that this “touches [his] honor.”... (full context)

Haley arrives to pick up the slaves and is greatly angered at the news of their... (full context)

...Shelby doesn’t actually want them captured. Sam understands this subterfuge and slips a nut under Haley’s saddle, to aggravate the horse and disrupt the chase. Mrs. Shelby, emerging on the balcony,... (full context)

When Haley attempts to mount his horse, the hidden nut causes it to buck and run away;... (full context)

Back at the Shelby estate, Aunt Chloe prepares a meal for Haley and others with great care, following Mrs. Shelby’s implied desire to slow down the search... (full context)

Tom reports to the parlor and tells Shelby and Haley he will report to be sold on the appointed day, with no “trickery.” Mrs. Shelby... (full context)

...that his hat is blown off, and calls out, thus alerting Eliza to their presence. Haley sees her as she flees from the house with Harry. At the river, extremely cold... (full context)

As Eliza flees, Haley finds a tavern and mulls his fate. He runs into his acquaintance Tom Loker, a... (full context)

Haley repeats to Loker his theory of slave-trading: always keep profits in mind, and only be... (full context)

Marks proposes that he and Loker will catch the two, return Harry to Haley, and sell Eliza into enslaved prostitution in New Orleans, since she is fair-skinned and attractive.... (full context)

Haley shackles Tom, arguing that he has already lost 500 dollars at the Shelby estate. Tom... (full context)

Haley stops with Tom at a blacksmith’s shop to tighten his shackles. The smith claims that... (full context)

George promises Tom he will be good and bring Tom back. When Haley returns outside to the carriage, George argues with him, saying it is evil to trade... (full context)

Tom and Haley ride to the riverboat. Haley thinks of how he might market Tom on the trading... (full context)

...woman named Aunt Hagar worries that her fourteen-year-old son, Albert, will be sold without her. Haley offers to buy Albert for plantation work but not Hagar, since she is too old... (full context)

On La Belle Riviere, a riverboat, Haley tells the assembled slaves, including Tom, to behave on the journey south. Above-deck, white families... (full context)

...husband, is informed that they have instead been tricked by their master and sold to Haley. Haley meets a man who offers to buy the child for 45 dollars; Haley agrees,... (full context)

...felt Lucy brush by and heard her fall overboard. Others on the boat remark on Haley’s cruelty, and Beecher Stowe argues that they, and anyone, who even allows the institution of... (full context)

La Belle Riviere continues down the Mississippi. Tom’s conduct has convinced Haley he is trustworthy; Tom is therefore allowed to sleep without fetters and to walk as... (full context)

The next day, St. Clare does in fact offer to buy Tom from Haley. Haley sets the price at $1300. St. Clare jokes that Tom’s Christianity, intelligence, and trustworthiness... (full context)

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Haley Character Analysis

Haley Quotes in Uncle Tom's Cabin

Haley Character Timeline in Uncle Tom's Cabin

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