# George Shelby — Uncle Tom’s Cabin character guide

> George Shelby in Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** young Master George, Master George, George Shelby, Mas'r George

**First appearance:** 0000-volume-i-i-in-which-the-reader-is-introduced-to-a-man-of-humanity

## Snapshot

The young master who learns to read his own conscience, he grows from a boy who promises to free Tom into a man who keeps his word.

## Who they are

George Shelby is the son of Tom's Kentucky owners, a boy who loves Tom like a second father and promises to bring him home again. His education in the novel is moral: as he witnesses the consequences of his family's financial decisions, he becomes determined to act justly rather than merely feel kindly. His journey from affectionate boy to responsible man gives the novel one of its few hopeful arcs and embodies the possibility of a changed South.

## In the story

### [An Evening in Uncle Tom's Cabin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-i-iv-an-evening-in-uncle-tom-s-cabin)

Acts as Tom's teacher, joins the family for supper, and agrees to read scripture at the meeting, relishing his importance.

### [X: The Property Is Carried Off](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-i-x-the-property-is-carried-off)

Young Master George arrives to bid Tom farewell, expressing outrage at the sale and promising to free him someday.

### [XXI: Kentuck](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-ii-xxi-kentuck)

Young Master George agrees to write a letter to Uncle Tom about the plan and shows affection for Aunt Chloe.

### [XXII: “The Grass Withereth—The Flower Fadeth”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-ii-xxii-the-grass-withereth-the-flower-fadeth)

George writes a letter to Tom with news of home, including Aunt Chloe's work, the children, and plans for Tom's cabin upon his return.

### [The Young Master](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-ii-xli-the-young-master)

The young master who has grown from a boy to a man; he searches for Tom, witnesses his death, buries him, and vows to fight slavery.

### [An Authentic Ghost Story](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-ii-xlii-an-authentic-ghost-story)

Traveling on a steamboat, he meets Madame de Thoux and learns she is George Harris's sister; he also witnesses Cassy's fainting spell.

### [The Liberator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/chapters/volume-ii-xliv-the-liberator)

Returns home, delivers news of Tom's death, and frees all the enslaved people on the estate.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/characters/george_shelby
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/uncle_tom_s_cabin_se/characters