Category: 12 Years A Slave

Introduction

“12 Years a Slave” by Solomon Northup and “Frederick Douglass: An American Slave” by Frederick Douglass are two seminal autobiographical works that provide powerful accounts of the brutality and dehumanization of slavery in America. While both narratives offer firsthand perspectives on the horrors of enslavement, they differ in terms of their personal experiences, writing styles, and perspectives on the institution of slavery. In this comparative essay, we will explore the similarities and differences between these two influential works, shedding light on the distinct experiences of Northup and Douglass and their contributions to the abolitionist movement.

Background and Context:

Both narratives provide essential historical context and shed light on the institution of slavery. “12 Years a Slave” recounts the harrowing journey of Solomon Northup, a free African American man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. Northup’s narrative offers insights into the diverse experiences of slaves, highlighting the brutality, psychological trauma, and systemic oppression they faced. In contrast, “Frederick Douglass: An American Slave” is an autobiographical account by Frederick Douglass, who escaped from slavery and became a prominent abolitionist speaker and writer. Douglass’s narrative focuses on his personal journey of self-education, resilience, and ultimate freedom, providing a unique perspective on the transformative power of knowledge and self-determination.

Narrative Structure and Writing Style

Both works employ distinct narrative structures and writing styles. “12 Years a Slave” follows a chronological order, detailing Northup’s life before enslavement, his experiences as a slave, and his eventual liberation. Northup’s writing is straightforward and descriptive, emphasizing the objective reporting of events and his emotional responses to them. In contrast, “Frederick Douglass: An American Slave” is divided into multiple chapters, each focusing on different stages of Douglass’s life. Douglass’s prose is more eloquent and rhetorically powerful, employing vivid imagery, metaphors, and persuasive language to convey the horrors of slavery and the need for its abolition.

Perspectives on Slavery

While both narratives condemn the institution of slavery, they offer different perspectives based on the authors’ unique experiences. “12 Years a Slave” exposes the stark contrast between Northup’s former life as a free man and the nightmare of his enslavement. Northup’s narrative challenges the notion of slavery as a system that only affects those born into it, highlighting how free individuals could be subjected to the same atrocities. In contrast, Douglass’s narrative emphasizes the systematic dehumanization and physical abuse endured by slaves from birth. Douglass’s firsthand experience informs his searing critique of the institution of slavery and his call for its eradication.

Themes of Identity and Freedom

Both narratives explore themes of identity and freedom within the context of slavery. In “12 Years a Slave,” Northup grapples with his identity as a free man forcibly stripped of his freedom and treated as property. His journey highlights the enduring power of his identity and his relentless pursuit of freedom. Similarly, Douglass’s narrative focuses on his quest for personal identity and liberation through education and self-awareness. Douglass’s self-discovery and resistance against the dehumanizing forces of slavery serve as a testament to the indomitable spirit of enslaved individuals.

Impact and Contributions

Both works made significant contributions to the abolitionist movement and had a profound impact on public perception. “12 Years a Slave” garnered widespread attention upon its publication and provided firsthand documentation of the brutality of slavery, further fueling the abolitionist cause. Northup’s narrative humanized the experiences of enslaved individuals and challenged the prevailing narratives of the time. Similarly, “Frederick Douglass: An American Slave” captivated audiences with its eloquent prose and impassioned pleas for justice. Douglass’s powerful speeches and writings played a crucial role in galvanizing public opinion against slavery and advocating for its abolition.

Conclusion

“12 Years a Slave” and “Frederick Douglass: An American Slave” are two seminal works that provide invaluable insights into the brutal realities of slavery and the quest for freedom. While both narratives share themes of resilience, identity, and the condemnation of slavery, they differ in their personal experiences, writing styles, and perspectives on the institution. Through the lens of these narratives, readers gain a deeper understanding of the multifaceted nature of slavery and its lasting impact on American history. Both Northup and Douglass contributed significantly to the abolitionist movement, using their voices and experiences to shed light on the injustices of slavery and advocate for a more just and equitable society.

McQueen exquisitely showcases how oppression and racism were motives behind the atrocities of slavery while giving his audience a platform to engage and connect with the astounding story being told. One of the most graphic and painful scenes in the movie is when Northup is hung from a tree after a confrontation with Tibeats. Northup is left on the tree for countless hours and his feet barely touch the mud. The amount of physical and psychological torture slaves had to go through is inexpressible. While hung, Northup could see the whole plantation life: the slaves working, the children running around, and the white man nowhere to be found. Slave life was unpredictable. One could be whipped, killed, or sold on any given day.

The United States Congress even passed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 which required the slaves to be returned to their owners even if they were in a free state. Despite slaves massively contributing to the nation’s wealth, America treated them both brutally and inhumanely. This cruel reality of slave life McQueen paints for his audience allows us to understand the sheer brutality they endured on a daily basis. Another powerful scene is when the slaves bury Uncle Abram. During the burial, the slaves start singing “Roll, Jordan, Roll,” but Northup remains silent. Midway through the song, he finally sings along. He realizes that the slaves around him are his community and that he, too, belongs in that community. He now understands that they are powerful together and he feels a sense of belonging. The audience gets a true grasp of the importance of community and belonging. Although physical violence is a prevalent aspect of the movie, McQueen also stresses the interactions between the slaves and the unexplainable connection they have with one another. This makes the movie so beautiful and insightful despite the fact that slavery was and still is a heart-wrenching subject.

McQueen includes some events that are not discussed in Northup’s memoir and dramatizes certain aspects of his life in order to stress the harsh reality slaves were faced with. He begins the movie with a painful sexual encounter between Northup and a female slave. She uses Northup’s hands as a means of sexual pleasure and sobs afterward. This incident is nowhere to be found in Northup’s memoir, but McQueen’s inclusion of this incident truly showcases the brutal reality of slave life: a longing for sweet bliss during enslavement. The extent she went to have a brief moment of pleasure indicates the emotional, physical, and psychological toll slave life on the enslaved. The audience is left speechless. How can one have sex with a complete stranger? McQueen tackles this question with a simple answer: no pleasure in being a slave. The most crucial scene in the movie is probably when Patsey comes to Northup begging him to drown her and free her from all the evils of slavery. However, in Northup’s memoir, it was Mistress Epps who bribes Northup to drown Patsey. Patsey does want to escape slave life, but she does not want to die. McQueen purposefully attributes Mistress Epps’s words to Patsey trying to showcase to the audience the dread of slave life. Although he may not accurately reflect Northup’s memoir, McQueen delivers the same message about the horrific times.

An aspect McQueen also forgets to discuss is the complexity of the slave life. Many slaves practiced religion secretly: “Within the privacy of the southern slave quarters, the Bible told a different table. The slaves had their preachers too, as well as their own secret religious gatherings. Black preachers were often among the few literate slaves, and they created powerful stories of redemption, freedom, and retribution against their white masters” (Stout). Slaves were put to work by their white masters and had no other life outside plantation work. They practiced their religion in safe places and also used it as a means of gathering. They dreamt of freedom and life with their families again. With that common hope in mind, they worked tirelessly together on the field and remained hopeful that one day, change will happen. Since they had no one on their side, most slaves relied on God and each other during times of hardship. They believed God would eventually free them of captivity. Religion became a common practice among slaves as they had no other outlet to digress. McQueen does not address the varying circumstances of slaves. Some slaves made agreements with their masters which allowed them to have autonomy. They did not live in terrible conditions and were not treated as poorly as depicted in the movie. Some, in fact, made it out of plantation life.

Twelve Years a Slave excellently portrays the brutality of the slave system as well as the cruel oppression and treatment forced upon the slaves by their white slave masters. The United States House released a statement about slavery in 2008: “Africans forced into slavery were brutalized, humiliated, dehumanized, and subjected to the indignity of being stripped of their names and heritage.” McQueen’s direction of the film details the abuse slaves endured as well as the physical, emotional, and spiritual scarring of slavery in general. The movie marvelously discusses the evil nature of slavery while portraying the profound power of the human spirit as well as the willpower and longing for hope. While Twelve Years a Slave effortlessly showcases the terrors of slavery and the trauma thus inflicted upon these slaves, it does not dig deep into the motive behind such actions. The historical factors for slavery were focused on the country’s wealth and economic growth: the United States wanted to become the most powerful country. It also does not mention slave life outside of plantation work; although most of their time was spent on the plantation, slave life was complex. This obscurity somewhat distorted history in order to make it more accessible to the audience.

The motion picture opens with a gathering of slaves accepting directions on cutting sugar sticks. A man sits lazily on a wagon of pure sugar cane stick root, watching the men work. The scene moves to a gathering of shacks. The slaves are eating. Solomon Northup sees the dull juice of blackberries and it gives him an idea to make ink and a plume. Lamentably, the plan comes up short. The juice is too thin. Afterward, in the swarmed slave quarters, a female blends in her rest and advances on Northup sexually, utilizing his hand for discharge. Solomon flashes back to more joyful circumstances with his better half and kids and the title card flashes. We see bits of Solomon’s life as a liberated individual. He plays the violin wonderfully and is much sought after as an entertainer in his home of Saratoga. Soon thereafter, in the wake of settling the kids in their beds, he chats with his better half, who will presently take the kids with her as she functions as a cook. He energetically communicates his desire at being denied of her cooking. The next morning he sees them off in a carriage. Later that evening, he experiences a companion who acquaints him with two voyagers (Brown and Hamilton) asserting to work with a carnival-like show. They guarantee him an over-the-top total to go with them to Washington DC and guarantee his arrival before his better half gets back. He consents to go along with them. We next observe the trio at an eatery in DC. His supporters plunk down a pack of coins in the abundance of their guaranteed total. They share wine and one of them observes nearly as Solomon depletes his glass. Everybody is having an extraordinary time. All of a sudden, Solomon rises and shines in a damp cell, affixed to the floor. In a progression of flashbacks, we see his ‘companions’ convey him up to his inn room, pardoning his tanked daze to different benefactors. Dark colored urges Hamilton that time is short, and they should be finished with it. Their flight closes the flashback, and then I found out that Solomon was in the cell where he is informed that he is a runaway Georgia slave. In spite of his dissent of being a liberated individual, he has no papers. Solomon is cruelly beaten and in the long run, sent into a slave pen with others.

He talks about his circumstance with Clemens, an obviously instructed slave who educates him on the critical nature of their circumstance. Before long a mother (Eliza) and little girl are conveyed to the pen to join a formerly caught child. She attempts to keep overcome confrontation while understanding the prospective catastrophe. Under the front of dimness, they are pulled from their cell, bonded, and transported to a stream pontoon. They are directed to the hold, packed with other human payloads. Clemens emphasizes his recommendation that Solomon keeps up a position of safety, denying his capacity to peruse and compose. They experience another slave (Robert) who needs to revolt and assume control over the ship. They think about their chances of previously selecting an alert. Soon thereafter, a slaver visits the hold and stirs Eliza to assault her. Robert endeavors to stop the assault, however, is wounded and executed. Clemens and Solomon are accused of dropping the body in the stream, inciting Clemens to comment that Robert is in an ideal situation in death. Afterward, they touch base at a dock. Clemens’ lord is sitting tight for them and quickly requests the arrival of his stolen property. Clemens appreciatively hurries down into the grasp of his lord, relinquishing all confirmation of his beforehand showed keenness. Solomon has lost his solitary companion. A slave names Freeman calls his new property to their feet by reporting their names. He calls Solomon ‘Platt’ which he clearly doesn’t perceive. Solomon is slapped for denying the name.

The outrage at Freeman’s slave task is shown as the stripped slaves shower in cans at his workplaces. Inside, he puts on his business spiel to anxious clients. A respectable manor proprietor (Ford), communicates enthusiasm for Platt (Solomon) and Eliza. She implores him to take her kids too, yet Freeman shies away, quickly pitching her child to another purchaser. Portage endeavors to get her little girl (obviously of blended legacy), however again Freeman won’t change his cost. Portage can just bear to pay for the two. Eliza is troubled and uncontrollably shouts in her anguish, irritating the deal. Solomon is summoned to play the fiddle to help the state of mind. Passage transports his buys back to his manor. Eliza has been wailing the entire outing. Passage’s better half specifies that sustenance and a night’s rest will enable her to overlook them. The following morning, the slaves are acquainted with Tibeats, a slave handler, and Ford’s supervisor, Chapin. TIbeats sings a ridiculing melody cautioning the slaves against escape as they play out their work. They keep slashing timber and at last experience a little band of local individuals with whom they share a short relief. Solomon sees a stringed instrument and seems to recollect his own violin.

The following day, Solomon (against Clemen’s guidance) approaches Ford with a clever plan to transport the wood by means of the stream. Tibeats is to a great degree belittling, however, Ford is inspired by Solomon’s conclusions and is induced. The plan was to humiliate him and that’s exactly what happened. Portage offers Solomon a violin to play as a reward. Back at the slave quarters, Eliza is groaning in pity over the loss of her youngsters. Solomon is disappointed by the clamor and verbal confrontations about making due under Ford’s ‘not too bad’ treatment. Eliza speaks up and informed him that Ford should clearly understand that Solomon isn’t a slave, yet does nothing to free him. Solomon is given an interruption. Eliza is in the end sold off as Ford’s significant other can’t ‘tolerate the commotion.’ Over the following couple of days, Tibeats endeavors to wreak negligible retribution on Solomon, prompting a verbal showdown. Tibeats endeavors to beat Solomon who battles back and shows signs of improvement of him. Chapin happens upon the scene and sends Tibeats running. He cautions him that he can’t ensure him on the off chance that he runs and infers that he will motivate Ford to rectify it. Afterward, we find that Tibeats has assembled a few hooligans to lynch Solomon for setting out to battle him. They have the noose around his neck and are getting ready to hang him when Chapin returns, just waiting to draw their weapons. He pursues them off, yet enables Solomon to hang there, scarcely ready to help his weight, on tiptoes (discipline for striking a white man). Continuously, slaves rise up out of their lodges and seem to fail to acknowledge their situation. A lady subtly presents him with some water but rapidly withdraws. What gives off an impression of being hours after the fact, Ford at last returns and cuts the rope, sparing Solomon. He hauls him into the house for insurance, however, concludes that he should be sold. Tibeats won’t be denied his retribution. It is here that we learn Ford has sold Solomon to an infamous manor proprietor named Epps, who is known for barbarous beatings. Epps peruses a Bible section, inclining the sacred writing to strengthen his responsibility for slaves. The following day brings a multi-day of picking cotton. Toward the day’s end, the heaviness of every laborer’s group is checked. Solomon’s yield is not as much as normal. Slaves that picked not as much as the earlier day get lashes. In the meantime, Patsey surpasses the best creation of any specialist by about twofold. Epps waits around Patsey and offers broad acclaim for her. It is clear he is captivated by her, and his better half is none excessively satisfied. Epps enters the slave quarters and rouses them from rest, making an off-the-cuff move where Patsey is the focal point of consideration. Epp’s spouse tosses a substantial gem decanter at Patsey’s face, fiercely scarring her. She requests that Epps offer Patsey, however, he asserts that he would send his better half away before losing Patsey.

Special lady Epps sends Solomon on an errand to the store. She gives him a rundown and notices him understanding it. She makes it obvious that he ought not to do it once more. On his way to the store, Solomon is motivated to endeavor to get away, yet bumbles into a lynching. Seeing the destiny of the two men, his soul is broken, and he proceeds to the store. Seeing the paper, he builds up the plan to take an extra sheet each time with the goal that he may make a letter. Sometime later, Epps dispatches Solomon to an adjacent manor claimed by Shaw. Shaw has hitched one of his slaves and lifted her status (in any event on his manor). Patsey is there for a visit, getting a charge out of the delicacy, yet clearly, Epps is desirous that Shaw may endeavor to bed her. After a short refreshment, Solomon persuades Patsey to go along with him. As they come back to Epps’ estate, he is obviously smashed. Solomon whispers to Patsey that she maintains a strategic distance from Epps, which Epps deciphers as Solomon makes a lewd gesture. After an intoxicated pursuit around the yard, Mistress Epps intercedes, if just to express her nausea at her significant other’s fixation on Patsey. Soon thereafter, Epps lurches to the slave quarters and assaults her. Fancy woman Epps has had enough of her significant other’s undertaking and berates Patsey before remorselessly slicing her face. Soon thereafter, Patsey asks Solomon to choke her and discard her body. She can never again bear the weight of Epps’ assaults and his significant other’s torments. Solomon can’t, in spite of her supplications.

Sometime later, we discover a group of laborers assembling a structure with a contracted hand, Bass. Bass is from the North and holds solid perspectives that contradict Epps’ unequivocally professional servitude leanings. They gab forward and backward before Solomon, provoking his advantage. Afterward, Epps is in foam about Patsey. She’s disappeared, and Epps supposes she has fled. He debilitates every one of the ladies with viciousness over her misfortune; be that as it may, she has basically been returned to Shaw’s manor to visit her companion. She endeavors to persuade Epps that she is dedicated to him and went there to get some cleanser, an ‘extravagance’ that Epps’ significant other has denied her. She uproariously declares her value and demands that she should be perfect. Epps is pushed over the edge by his significant other’s quarreling and calls for Patsey to be attached to the whipping post. As he gets ready to strike, he gets himself unfit to perpetrate the discipline. Timidly, he demands that Solomon do it. At initially, Solomon endeavors to be delicate, But Mistress Epps sees through the trickery and bumps her better half to build the seriousness. Epps indicates a firearm on Solomon’s head and claims he will slaughter each slave he checks whether he doesn’t whip Patsey harder. Looked with an unspeakable decision, he whips her harder, a pink fog of blood going with each new strike. After he delays, Epps surges forward, fuming with seethe lastly whips Patsey himself. The severe discipline rips her substance to shreds, and she crumples.

Solomon gets himself alone with Bass, the procured hand. He asks where he’s from and when Bass answers, ‘Canada,’ Solomon offers to persuade learning about the nation. Bass asks how he’s so all-around voyaged, and Solomon clarifies his desperate situation. Bass comes to trust Solomon’s story and knows its shocking foul play. As they proceed with work, Solomon takes a risk and requests that Bass compose letters to his companions in Saratoga. Bass concurs. At that point, the work is done, and he takes off. A long shot waits on Solomon. He has no clue whether Bass has kept his oath. We don’t know to what extent Bass has been gone, however, the tears in Solomon’s eyes demonstrate that maybe he’s starting to feel that he has been sold out once more.

Presently we see a gathering of men working the dirt and planting seeds. A carriage pulls up to the Epps manor, and an official watching man gets out for Platt (Solomon). He answers and methodologies the man (a sheriff). The man puts forth a few inquiries and movements to another man in the carriage. It is Mr. Parker, a shop proprietor from Saratoga and a companion of Solomon’s. With minimal further provoking, the sheriff is persuaded, and Solomon hurries to grasp his companion. Epps is rankled and yells void danger. The sheriff disproves the contentions and Parker helps Solomon into the carriage that will take him to security. Patsey is there and shouts at him. Solomon jumps from the carriage to grasp her one final time before his flight. As he leaves, Patsey crumples in despondency. Presently Solomon has been conveyed home. Outside his entryway, he shows up defeated at having been conveyed from his bad dream. After entering, he sees his family. They are 12 years more seasoned, yet overpowered at seeing him. His little girl has hitched and named their child, Solomon Northup. Tears stream as they accumulate around him and welcome him home. A progression of title cards discloses that he endeavored to sue his criminals however fizzled. Northup turned into an abolitionist and supported numerous runaways in accomplishing their opportunity.

The first film to be looked at is the Academy Award-winning film, 12 Years a Slave by black British director, Steve McQueen. The story is a biographical period drama that adapted Solomon Northup’s slave memoir of 1853, titled Twelve Years a Slave. The film follows Solomon Northup, who was a New York State-born free African American man. Northup is tricked into taking a ‘job’ opportunity, offered by two white men, Brown and Hamilton. He is then kidnapped in Washington D.C and sold into slavery, where he was put to work on plantations in the state of Louisiana for twelve years, before being able to prove he is a free man.

When looking at the representation of black people in 12 Years a Slave there are multiple avenues to go down. Focusing on the main character Solomon Northup, it can be argued that this story and his portrayal, fail to execute the idea of black resistance. Many films that tell the stories of those enslaved, often leave out attempted escapes, rebellion, and resistance; these stories tend to showcase submission and degradation, and whilst this did occur and many did not fight back, there was always opposition. Which unfortunately leaves 12 Years a Slave as a very one-sided story and not an accurate reflection of history. A Guardian article by Davies (2014) explains this notion very well. She brings forth valid points, highlighting that when the film is compared to the original memoir, written by Solomon Northup, the memoir is filled with stories of attempted escapes, fighting back, and opposition – evidently, this is completely left out of the film. Furthermore, the film fails to bring attention to Northup’s emotional resistance to his enslavement. This is a big problem when regarding representation, as the story is not told to the fullest and misses out on key information that would inform the viewer of who Northup really was and his story of enslavement. How McQueen decided to portray Northup is problematic as it plays into the typical themes and ideas that are so prevalent in American media and filmmaking when regarding black people. Two examples of these typical themes are slavery and black people being lesser. Whilst films on slavery can be very informative and needed, in order to witness a fraction of the ugly acts black people went through, these films have to be true representations of what happened, otherwise, they could face backlash. 12 Years a Slave misses multiple opportunities to showcase a different side of slavery, that usually is overlooked. Referring back to Davies’ (2014) article on this film, she notes that whilst the film remains true to some of Northup’s accounts in his memoir, such as choosing to stay on the plantation, until he could ‘legally’ free himself, the film ignores the many others.

Maya Angelo once said “You can’t really know where you are going unit you know where you have been” That quote is powerful because it shows the connection between the past, present, and future. Every person that walks this earth is a reflection of their past. However, sometimes there’s a contradiction when someone’s past is not always important to the next person as it may be to them. In the story “12 Years A Slave” by Solomon Northup one can see that one’s past and identity are not always the same. Solomon was born a free black man in Minerva, New York, he was a farmer, and violinist and had a loving family, yet his identity was not one of a free man in his society whether just a black man. Because of racial profiling, Solomon was stripped away from everything he knew, and his past no longer matters his identity was changed into a slave one who was answered by the name “Platt”. Solomon’s autobiography is powerful because of the impact that it holds one it shows the connection between the past and the present of African Americans, two it contributes to the body of African American literature, and lastly, the feature of orality found throughout the book made Solomon’s message more effective.

African American literature is defined as the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. There are many ways in which “12 Years A Salve” contributed to African American literature for starters it is the autobiography of an African American man. The relevance of Solomon’s story is the lasting impact that he had. His story interested people to want to learn more about African American literature and want to hear more stories of what people like Northup had experienced while living as a slave. Northup’s story is not just telling his life it is also telling African American history through the writing of his story and sharing his own experience to have a bigger impact on the readers. Northup choosing to share his story with the world and make it a book is contributing to African American literature all by itself. Even to this day, his story lives on through his book and a movie for generations to come so all people with a desire to learn will know his story.

One of the main reasons that Northup’s story was so successful was that it was because of how relatable it was and its ability to link the past and present. Slavery did not end with emancipation there are still people outside of the United States who are slaves. There are even slaves in the United States such as sex slaves who have lost their freedom just like Solomon did. African American today walk around looking over their shoulders and hoping that they won’t lose their lives to police brutality and justice and that they, not their families would ever get justice which is not too far from what happened to Solomon who lost the life he once had through injustice and discrimination and was forced to be a slave. This goes to show that yes years have passed but that conflict that some have faced in the past is one that people in this generation still have to deal with.

Orality in literature is commonly defined as an oral tradition. In the book, one can see many traditions such as blacks being slaves and whites kidnapping blacks and forcing them to work for them. The diction throughout the book also shows orality for example ‘Master Bass, I want to ask you what part of the country you came from?’ (Northup 270) Northup addressing Bass as “master” was a tradition back in their time and shows how Northup was beneath Bass. Also, it was normalized for whites to be superior to blacks and mistreatment was not frowned upon in their generation. In fact, through literary devices, Northup was able to show just how cruel they could be for example “Still he plied the lash without stint upon my poor body until it seemed that the lacerated flesh was stripped from my bones at every stroke. A man with a particle of mercy in his soul would not have beaten even a dog so cruelly” (Northup 45) Using imagery and metaphor in this quote Solomon compared himself to a dog. He used descriptive words that created imagery of just how painful he would get beaten and compared himself to an animal by saying not even a dog would be treated so cruelly. Despite the harsh treatment he is subjected to, Solomon does not criticize excessively his masters, no matter how cruel they are to him and the other slaves. Instead, he argues that society made the slave owners cruel and that it is society’s fault that they behaved in such a way. This is an example of a paradox because of how Solomon suffered at the hands of slave owners

What is interesting about the book is its use of pathos and how it can appeal to the readers’ emotions in various ways. It was quite amazing how when something good happened to Northup something bad happens also, his hope is constantly being lifted and breaking into pieces. What was most disturbing is when Solomon said, ‘If justice had been done, I never would have been here.’ (Northup270) to Bass as he asks for help in contacting someone that could provide the document to provide that he is indeed a free man. That is the most heartbreaking line in the story to think that all of what Solomon had encountered could’ve been avoided and his children didn’t have to go twelve years without a father if people had listened when he first said that he was a free man and investigated to see that he was telling the truth is truly heartbreaking. The main theme of this book is the journey of Solomon Northup. In the end, justice was served and Solomon receive his freedom and was reunited with his family, which is not always the case with others, but this book represents how far African Americans have come. Freedom is no longer something that African Americans have to fight for anymore, and although African Americans have come a long way there is still a long way to go when it comes to getting the proper justice and social equality.

This story has a lasting impact because many people can read and understand how Solomon feels to be free yet not have freedom. And it’s stories like his that make learning about African American literature so important. The readers can learn from Solomon and his desire for freedom and never giving up on it. His determination is wanted so powerful because everyone faces some form of adversity in their life and Solomon sharing his story to the world is him showing his readers that if they want something out of life no matter how much hope they have lost they should never give up on that desire.

Stories as therapy: Bibliotherapy

• Topic: Suffering
• Book: 12 Years a Slave
• Author: Solomon Northup
• Published in the year 1853

Summary

At the beginning of the story, we can see that Solomon before being captive was a free man. He was born in July 1808. His father was a slave who has been liberated upon his master’s death. His childhood was spent mainly on his farm and also was educated and even played violin. He was happily married to Anne Hampton, she was a working woman and eventually, they settled down. Solomon worked everywhere, including performing violin, farming, and lumberjacking. And they even had three beautiful children named Elizabeth who was 10 years old, Margaret was 8 and Alonzo was 5.

In the year 1841, Solomon met two guys who offered top dollar for working with a circus, and the place of work was Washington D.C So as the pay was good and he had three children to feed he went there, and after a day of being a part of a festival and few rounds of drinks he fell ill. Before he reached the doctor, he was unconscious. When he got up, he was chained and was moving towards a new face of his life, He understood that he has been held in captivity by James H. Burch, Mr. Burch was infamous in Washington DC for the slave trade. When Solomon starts to talk about his rights as a free man Burch started to beat him and even told that he would kill him if he ever speaks of his freedom again. He is then transported to New Orleans, Louisiana. All the slaves along with Solomon transferred to Brunch’s associate Theophilus Freeman. For erasing his past and reducing suspicion of kidnapping his name was changed to Platt. Finally, Solomon was out for sale but due to the reason of his getting smallpox there was a slight delay, but as soon as he recovered, he was sold to a man named William Ford.

Now Platt works on the plantation of Mr. Ford, a kind Christian master who is kind towards his slaves. It was a good time considering the life of a slave. Then suddenly Ford sold Platt to a person named John M. Tibeats due to financial issues. He was a very bad man and a worse master, while working, Tibeats becomes so furious that he attempts to whip Platt, but as Platt is stronger, he wipes his master instead. Tibetats tries to kill him two times but his attempt was in vain. If it wasn’t for William Ford and Chapin, the slaves wouldn’t be alive. As he failed to kill Platt in order to hurt him Tibetans sells Platt to a person known as the nigger breaker and his name was Mr. Edwin Epps. After being sold to Edwin Epps he lived under oppression in two separate plantations in Bayou Boeuf. Epps is a bad man who takes a whip everywhere he goes. As Solomon served under him for 10 years, he describes him and the stories of exploitation, degradation, and deprivation among slaves. For instance, a slave named Patsey was raped by Epps multiple times and he used to whip every slave throughout the day. One day she visits a friend at a nearby plantation to get soap because Epps wife doesn’t give it. When Patsey after borrowing a soap came back from the plantation, Epps got very angry because he thought the slave was having an affair with another man, as a punishment she was stripped naked and Epps even told Platt to whip the naked woman in front of everyone crying for a little bit of mercy.

Ten years of his life went as a slave and Solomon (Platt) is almost on the verge of breaking and losing hope, at this hard time Solomon meets Mr. Bass who was working with the current owner of Solomon Mr. Epps as a carpenter. Bass as an abolitionist helps Solomon, because of Mr Bass’s efforts Henry B. Northup who was a white relative of Mr. Immanuel Northup the former master of “Mr. Mintus Northup” or Solomon’s father, with the support of the law and sheriffs liberates Solomon. Finally, they travel to New York stopping in Washington, D.C., for a trial against James H. Burch for kidnapping him but didn’t get justice due to racism and finally, he gets reunited with his family.

The process of bibliotherapy

1. Identification

In this story, as we go through we will come across a Verity of characters who are facing different types of problems. The book talks about both master, slave, and their psychology. We can see that there are different types of people who get into slavery by being kidnapped and people who are born into slavery from their birth, some of the characters are rape victims and some are scared for life due to separation of family. The story also talks about different types of masters and other people who come in contact with the slaves. There are kind masters who treat slaves as they would treat their sons and daughters, there are other kinds of masters who are brutal and even brutality. The book also talks about random people who come across these slaves, in this a few percentage are afraid to do the right thing even though they know it and the others are willing to go to any extent to do what’s right even if it hurt them or threaten them in any way. Some people in the story are having strong morals and follow a religion. So a reader can identify themselves with any character who has suffered a lot in their life. Even though if you haven’t suffered at the same intensity you can relate.

2. Catharsis

When we go through the story and relative ourselves with the characters the reader also goes through the same feeling. As we keep on relating to all the characters in different ways, we will be able to understand in depth the situation that they are in and will start to feel what they are going through. This may even make us stop then and there and it may give us the feeling that we can’t continue to read because of all the suffering that is happening around the character’s life. When we relate this suffering with our own all the small and big things which happened in our life, we will suddenly start to feel the intense emotion of the character and the connection even deepens as the move along the story.

3. Insight

As we go through the suffering at the peak point we will realize that the things which are happening in our life are minimal suffering and pain compared to what may or what can happen. We know that life is volatile and it may lead to different opportunities or misfortune. In the story, we can see that there are certain people who risk their own life in order to save or help someone else in need. By this, we can understand that even though it is bad in the world and nothing is happening according to plan, If you have a little bit of hope and a positive mind you can achieve anything and move forward even though you are in the worst situation. As we complete the story we can realize that life is precious and we should be happy with all the things that we have like having food on our plate three times a day, having the opportunity of being educated, having a home to go to, having a family and many more. If we start to appreciate the things the have instead of whining about the things we don’t have our life would be happier and it will be much easier to flourish.

12 Years is a memoir that was published in 1853 and coauthored by Solomon Northup and David Wilson who intended to record Solomon’s experiences between 1841 and 1853 as a Slave in the Southern States of America. Solomon’s father was released from slavery when his master died, this enabled Solomon to live in freedom as a farmer and a violinist with his family. Like many black men, he was kidnapped and spent twelve years in slavery, before being set free by Henry B Northup (a member of the family that Solomon’s father had served.) The Help is a fictional novel by Kathryn Stockett that was published in 2009. It’s set in 1960’s Jackson Mississippi (where Stockett grew up) and it’s about the lives of black maids and an aspiring white writer who desires to write a book about them. Despite the novel is fictional, in the afterword, Stockett states her influence from witnessing Demetrie (her childhood maid) facing discrimination through having a separate toilet and dinner table for the family. Stockett entwined fiction with personal experience when writing ‘The Help,’ in contrast ’12 Years’ entirely focuses on Solomon’s life experience so is completely factual. This shows the author’s contrasting intentions, as Northup wanted to record his exact experiences to highlight the racial inequality in the Southern states, whereas Stockett wanted to entertain and educate her readers on racism. Both texts are based in the Southern States of America and have themes of racial discrimination, therefore, despite being set over one hundred years apart, the characters have similar experiences, which is why I’ve chosen to analyze and compare how both authors use narrative points of view.

Both texts are written in first person, but The Help also uses multiple narrators, so that each chapter is narrated by either Minnie, Aibileen, or Miss Skeeter. This allows the point of view of both white and black characters to be shown and reflects the novel’s theme of equality, in contrast, 12 Years only portrays Solomon’s point of view, and not that of his masters. This could suggest Solomon to be an unreliable narrator, however, due to the frequent enslavement of black men during the 1800s, this is unlikely. It was noted by D. Driftless that ‘the author frequently shows great restraint in the descriptions of the horrors he witnesses, lest he be accused of hyperbole’ (Readers Lane, 2017) and this suggests Solomon’s experiences in slavery to be worse than suggests in the memoir, so if the truth was dialed down it was for the sake of being believed. Stockett’s use of multiple narrators is a feature of modernism which was a popular genre from 1910-the 1960s, so shows the novel is based during the 1960s. Contrasting idiolects are used for the narrators to highlight their different educational backgrounds, this is specifically relevant to Minnie and Miss Skeeter. Stockett uses Minnie’s blunt tone to allude to Medgar Evers’ (‘NAACP Field Secretary’ page 195) being ‘shot…right in front of his children,’ (page 195) which highlights that the novel is set during the civil rights movement. This use of dialogue reflects Minnie’s blunt idiolect which symbolizes the black people’s anger at the discrimination they faces during the 1960s Her lack of euphemisms in this phrase suggests her shock that discrimination had reached as far as murder. The noun ‘children’ symbolizes innocence and highlights the contrast of the crimes of white men, against the innocence of the black people. This reverses the racial role society lived by, as Stockett portrays the racist white people as despicable but the black people as victims of abuse. To contrast Minnie’s blunt tone, Miss Skeeter uses a reflective tone when saying ‘many of their stories are sad, bitter’ (page 255). This phrase euphemizes the maid’s devastating stories, as stories such as the death of Aibileen’s son are more than just ‘sad.’ Her use of the determiner ‘their’ separates herself from the black people and this shows that her upbringing has led to her developing a sociolect of categorizing white and black people separately. This contrast in Minnie and Miss Skeeter’s idiolect creates irony, as despite being better educated than Minnie, Miss Skeeter wrongly uses her education to avoid addressing society’s flaws. In contrast to Minnie’s lack of education, Solomon had ‘an education surpassing that ordinarily bestowed upon children in our condition’ (page 3) and throughout 12 years this surprises many of his masters, as slaves typically couldn’t read but Solomon could. His use of low-frequency lexis such as ‘surpassing’ and ‘bestowed’ show that Solomon intended to use his lexical choices to portray that race doesn’t impact intelligence. By writing this memoir Solomon shows the benefits of his education, as it’s allowed him to be an advocate for change. The irony is created when both texts are considered together, as in 12 Years, despite his race, Solomon uses a higher register than Miss Skeeter does in The Help. This reflects that the authors share the point of view that race shouldn’t separate society.

Both texts use character development to present the text’s morals and themes. The chapters in The Help with Miss Skeeter as the focaliser symbolize society’s option to change from their discriminative attitudes, as Miss Skeeter changes from naïve and discriminative into a mature and independent activist. This is shown through the discourse of marriage, which was a stereotypical young woman’s life goal during the 1960s, in her first chapter as focaliser (pages 54-69), this contrasts the discourse of work in her final chapter as focaliser (pages 414-425) which highlights a modern belief that women can provide for themselves without a husband. Similarly, Solomon’s character changes throughout the memoir but less drastically than Miss Skeeter does. He begins the memoir as a free man aware, then becomes helpless as a slave but this memoir is an example of how he regained his voice after slavery. His character’s development is highlighted through his change in attitude, at the beginning of the memoir Northup says, ‘I possessed the same feelings and affections that find a place in a white man; too independent to conceive how anyone could be content to live in the abject condition of a slave'(page 7). The comparison between himself and a ‘white man’ suggest Solomon’s belief that regardless of race, anyone who hasn’t experienced slavery is ignorant of its hardship. The adjective ‘independent’ denotes self-sufficiency, suggesting that because he’d experienced the ability to provide for himself, he found it harder to be controlled by a Master once he became a slave. This contrasts his view in the final paragraph of the memoir when he describes himself as ‘subdued in spirit by the sufferings I have borne,’ (page 234) this shows he was changed by his suffering as a slave. The adjective ‘subdued’ connotes a sad reflection that all slaves wouldn’t be restored to freedom as he was. This was part of Solomon’s intention for the memoir, as he wanted to pay his respects and acknowledge those he met during his time in slavery. The journeys of both Solomon and Miss Skeeter add to the narrative point of view of the books to which they belong by presenting the theme of how life shapes people.

12 years is written in first person and mostly past tense, apart from the ending where Solomon says in the present tense, ‘I forebear… thankful to that good being through whose mercy I have been restored’ (page 234). By continuously using first-person Northup reflects the personal nature of the style and this is added to when he swaps to present tense, by creating a reflective tone. In contrast, Stockett uses an omniscient third-person narrator in chapter twenty-five of The Help to highlight the genre of metafiction- suggesting the chapter to be a segment of Skeeter’s book. Northup creates a lexical field of positivity through the noun ‘mercy,’ the verb ‘thankful’ and the adjective ‘good’, these show his gratitude for his freedom. He was extremely fortunate as even after Lincoln commanded for all slaves to be freed in 1862 (nine years after this memoir), many remained captive. These lexical choices create a tone of relief, which suggests Solomon’s gladness to have escaped the trauma he experienced in the South. Just as Solomon’s renewed freedom created hope for an eventual end to slavery, Stockett creates hope at the end of the novel by repeating this phrase from within the novel, in her afterword, ‘We are just two people. Not that much separates us.’ (page 418 and 451). The use of two simple and short sentences reflects Stockett’s belief that equality is simple and her intention of making this clear to her readers. Her chosen lexis are monosyllabic apart from the noun ‘people’ and the verb ‘separates’ and this foregrounds them, highlighting her intended moral of equality as nothing should separate people from each other. In a review on the novel, Thabiti Anyabwile says, ‘the book both tells the uneasy, risky truth and… hope’ (The Gospel Coalition 2011), this suggests that despite highlighting the hardships of those living in 1960s Mississippi, Stockett wanted to create hope for a better future through her views on equality which are voiced throughout the novel. Similarly, Solomon’s belief that change is a universal movement is shown throughout the entirety of the memoir.

At the opening of the novel, Northup states that the purpose of his memoir is ‘to give a candid and truthful statement of facts’ (page 1). The adjectives ‘candid’ and ‘truthful’ create a lexical field of outspoken honesty, suggesting Solomon’s intended to pre-warn his readers that he was going to be honest about his horrific experiences in slavery. This establishes the absence of hyperbole in the memoir, which may be seen in The Help. This is because The Help is part of the genre of Historical fiction, so alludes to some real-life events that were prominent in black history (such as when Mae Mobley mentions ‘Rosa Parcs’ on page 431) but uses fictional characters and an overall fictional storyline. Northup’s memoir was written in the Northern States of America, so his initial readers would reside there, and would be mostly supportive as by 1804 the Northern States had abolished slavery, whereas the Southern states continued to use black slaves for cheap labor. Solomon only wrote the ‘facts’ of his experience and this was noticed by literary critics who wrote ‘unlike many slave narratives, Northup’s named names… the people who mistreated him were still alive.'(The Guardian, 2014) Criticizing his slave masters could have decreased the memoir’s popularity, but Solomon didn’t care- he wanted to do his part in fighting for change. After losing twelve years with his family, Solomon would be angry, so by ‘naming names’ he was giving his previous slave masters the shame they deserved for the horrific way they treated him. In contrast to this, Stockett entwined names of real people within her fictional storyline to show respect to black activists. In 2013, Amy Sharp reviewed The Help, stating that ‘Stockett manages to merge fact and fiction perfectly… using some of her personal experience of growing up in the deep South’ (The Guardian, 2013.) This suggests that alongside allusions to events in black history, Stockett used her memories from childhood to inspire her storyline. The fluidity of the novel and the distinct character voices makes it believable to the reader, particularly when Mae Mobley says, ‘Back-a-the-bus’ (page 431). The plosive ‘B’ sounds foreground this line, highlighting the prominence of a white child living in a racist town referencing Rosa Parcs. Altogether, the use of phonology in this line allows the reader to believe this is the voice of a real child, so the reader should remind themselves of the fictional nature and only learn from the real events alluded to. Despite 12 Years being non-fiction and The Help being fictional, both authors express the importance of the events in black history that led to closer equality amongst all races.

Both authors portray similar points of view through their thematic choices of equality, hope, and advocacy for freedom. Solomon wrote in his own blunt and matter-of-fact idiolect which gives the reader a stronger understanding of his background, whereas in The Help Stockett created characters with a variety of sociolect, making each character symbolic of key personalities within society in the 1960s. Both authors use emotive language to have an impact on the reader, Northrup this is when he’s reflecting on his experience in slavery and his gratefulness to be free at the close of the memoir, but in The Help, emotive language is seen throughout the novel, specifically at the climax when the characters are worried about the reaction to the book they’ve written. Stockett’s choice of historical fiction allowed her to create characters to whom the reader could create an emotional attachment, which made the novel easier to read than 12 Years, which as a non-fiction memoir described hard-hitting and real-life experiences of black slaves and intentionally made the reader feel uncomfortable due to their inability to change the past.

Slavery in America around the 1850s was about half free states and half slave states. Even free african americans were treated differently and relationships varied since there is still racism present whether slavery was allowed or not. Relationships definitely varied and were affected by slavery.

Before the Reconstruction which took place after the Civil War, many slaves began to acquire their freedom by many things, including escaping plantations, buying their freedom, or being granted freedom from their former owners. Once slaves entered the North, they were able to finally be seen as free African American. The thing that scared African Americans the most, frequently happened, was being sent back to the South into slavery. The technical definition of a slave is “a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them. Slavery was and is great oppression of multiple races, while they are sold, separated from their families, and forced to work until they die, in certain circumstances.

Slavery affected Solomon’s relationship with his family in the book 12 Years a Slave, for he was born a slave and subjected to labor on a farm in Louisiana in his early life until he turned legal age and was released from slavery. It seemed that he was close to his father before he passed away and his father also gave his children an education not usually bestowed on African children. The dynamic of the connections between slaves and their masters was one which was intended to undermine and demean the slave. The master practiced total position and domain over his slaves and treated them cruelly. The masters’ impression of blacks was that they needed self-restraint and morality. They legitimized Slavery by asserting that they were preparing the slaves to master self-control through work and furthermore train them in the statutes of God. Not all masters were unforgiving and cruel. Some treated their slaves with generosity and in this way were very much cherished. In any case, despite everything it rises that a dominant part of even the kindest masters still didn’t connect a lot of human value to their slaves.“When it was said that I would die, Master Epps, unwilling to bear the loss, which the death of an animal worth a thousand dollars would bring upon him concluded to incur the expense of sending to Holmesville for Dr. Wines” This shows that slaves can’t rely on their holders for they don’t particularly care for them in any way other than producing manual labor and that they are only animals.

”while lying in a slave hut in the distant and sickly regions of Louisiana, smart-ing with the undeserved wounds which an inhuman master had inflicted, and longing only for the grave which had covered him, to shield me also from the lash of the oppressor.”

From this passage, we can tell that the african american slaves would rather be dead, and would wish death on their children than be oppressed and forced into manual labor that they do for the rest of their lives. In this passage, there is also evidence that slaveholders and their slaves would have a very one-sided relationship. Meaning, that a master only has a slave and keeps them alive for personal gain. The white people that own slaves don’t think of slaves as human, at most slaves could be compared to mules or working animals, as well as incapable of thinking for themselves that’s why they have to be “controlled” and oppressed into manual labor.

In the book 12 Years a Slave, there is a slaveholder that buys solomanFord preached of ‘kindness towards each other’. Ford would praise his slaves and servants frequently and in return, the slaves would work more than the bare minimum to please him. ‘It is a fact I have more than once observed, that those who treated their slaves most leniently, were rewarded by the greatest amount of labor. I know it from my own experience. It was a source of pleasure to surprise Master Ford with a greater day’s work than was required, while, under subsequent masters, there was no prompter to extra effort but the overseer’s lash. It was the desire of Ford’s approving voice that suggested an idea that resulted in his profit’. But Ford would allow a slave the opportunity to own and read a bible although reading and writing were not allowed of the slaves, Northup looks back to these days as the ‘bright side of slavery’ and would have served him forever had he had his wife and children with him. Though Solomon still wanted to return to his free man status as well as his family. There was not a slave who did not want their freedom. No matter how good or bad a master was, it is human nature to need freedom. In Twelve Years a Slave it does not appear that a master would feel to care for his slaves from birth to death. Even if a master is considered nice you are still considered property in their eyes. As a slave lost his ability to serve they would start working easier jobs such as a house slave or watching over the master’s children. In this time slaves would only work until death of old age or die a premature death of disease or something other than old age.

Though White people during the 1800 thought of black people and slaves as dumb, uneducated people. They still thought that they would be useful in manual labor. the whites justify slavery as these people, because of their environment, were not built to be smart as the white people. They Justified this by saying that in Africa the heat melted their brains and because white people had to live through winter and survive that white people are smarter. The white people then had a “valid” argument that slaves only have the brain power to do manual labor and be controlled by the “smart” white people.

Before Solomon was kidnapped and forced into slavery even though being a free man, he had a wife and two children who he loved. Slavey took him away from his family and he used all of his power to get back to them

‘From the time of my marriage to this day the love I have borne my wife has been sincere and unabated; and only those who have felt the glowing tenderness a father cherishes for his offspring can appreciate my affection for the beloved children who have since been born to us’.

We see from this passage that Solomon is a loving devoted husband and father. He understands the relationship between a father and his children. Solomon though only had a father for a small amount of time, understood what a relationship should look like with his children.

Thesis Statement

Norman R. Yetman in Voices from Slavery: 100 Authentic Slave Narratives says “the view that slavery could be best described by those who had themselves experienced it”. As per his statement slave experience has found expression in a voluminous number during the 19th century. Over 6,000 commentaries, autobiographies, narratives, and interviews with those who had endured have been published to seek the attention of the public. Although most of these accounts appeared prior to the Civil War, about one-third of them are the results of the ambitious efforts of the Federal Writers’ Project of the Workers Progress Administration to interview surviving ex-slaves during the 1930s. The result of the efforts of the Federal Writers was the Slave Narrative Collection. A group of autobiographical accounts of former slaves even today stands as one of the most enduring and unexpected achievements of the Writers’ Project compiled in seventeen states during the years 1936-38.

The Collection consists of over 2,000 interviews with ex-slaves. The exclusive interviews were the evidence concerning antebellum slave life and the respondents’ personal reaction to bondage. It was an unparalleled opportunity for the aged slaves to give their personal account of life under the “peculiar institution,” and to describe in their words how it felt like to be a slave. The Collection constitutes an illuminating source about antebellum Southern life, the institution of slavery, and most importantly, the reactions and perspectives of those who had been enslaved. It also provides a unique and virtually unsurpassed group portrait of a historical population. Aside from the large number of autobiographies contained in it, its most attractive feature is the composition of the sample of the slave population represented. Whereas the antebellum slave narratives had been employed primarily as abolitionist propaganda and represented an altered sample of the total slave population, which achieved great diversity and inclusiveness.

The recollection of the past is always a highly subjective phenomenon, one continually subject to modification and distortion. The alleged untrustworthiness of slave narratives does not have any frequent and insignificant objection to using it in historical research. Therefore, the utility of the narratives depends upon the context of the objectives of the researcher. Several uses for the Collection are immediately apparent. First, it provides important source materials for an understanding of antebellum life, the nature and effects of the institution of slavery, and the impact of Emancipation and Reconstruction. Also provides an invaluable reference source for testing historical and social scientific generalizations, in addition, to suggesting new subjects for research.

The Collection has relevance to literary as well as to historical and socio-scientific analyses. It represents a unique literary style and once flourishing cultural form that is today rapidly becoming extinct under the impact of modern mass communications. The former slaves interviewed by the Federal Writers were among the most able practitioners of this style. More specifically, the recording of the recollections of these aged Black people has preserved an important component of the oral tradition of Black Americans. In these interviews folk speech, idiom, and vernacular storytelling are fused with folk images, symbols, and myths to convey a sense of the experiential significance and reality of life in bondage. The Collection thus contributes to an understanding of the ‘folk’ or ethnohistory of Black America and can become an integral component in the task of reconstructing the rich heritage of Black people.

Selected Slave Narratives

Damian Alan Pargas and Felicia Rasu in Critical Readings on Global Slavery state nobody knew slavery like an enslaved person, and few enslaved people experienced the complexities of human bondage in such diverse settings and from as many perspectives as Olaudah Equiano. Born an Igbo prince in the Kingdom of Benin’s Essaka district in 1745 (in what is now eastern Nigeria), Equiano grew up in a society that accustomed him to slavery from early childhood. His father had many slaves, and in his region enslavement through warfare, kidnapping, and as punishment for the severest of crimes was common. Considered for all intents and purposes property, enslaved people in his village could be bought, sold, and bequeathed, and many slaves entered elite households as part of a woman’s dowry, along with cattle and other household goods, The practice of slavery was so ubiquitous that, as Equiano later recalled in his now classic 1789 memoir, “some of these slaves have even slaves under them, as their own property, and for their own use.”! (Pargas 1)

Until the age of eleven, Equiano knew West African slavery exclusively from the perspective of his father’s household—i.e., an elite slaveholder’s household—but that changed one day when he and his sister were kidnapped in a raid and reduced to bondage themselves. Marched on a several-day journey from his home community Equiano now discovered first-hand what it really meant to be enslaved. Permanently severed from kin and forcibly moved as a tradable commodity, his experiences echoed those of enslaved people in most world societies: “outsiders, rootless and historical individuals who were ultimately held against their will by the threat of force,” in the words of Herbert Klein (Pargas 2). Equiano was sold to a chieftain in a pleasant country, and although he claimed that his master used him extremely well, he also feared corporal punishments and concocted desperate schemes to escape and return to his family—a dream that was only definitively dashed when he was sold yet again and carried through a number of places, steadily becoming further and further removed from his place of birth. Some six or seven months after having been kidnapped, Equiano finally arrived at the sea coast, where he was crammed onto a transatlantic slave ship and subsequently endured all the horrors of the middle passage. Confusion, despair, disease, the groans of the dying, and even the suicides of fellow captives formed the grim backdrop to his experiences during the tortuous voyage.

Equiano had entered the world of Atlantic slavery. Although he had already experienced slavery in the hinterlands of the Niger Delta, he consistently expressed shock at the slave system in which he now found himself. In West Africa, he had known slavery to be a universal yet relatively small-scale practice, confined mostly to elite households. He had known enslaved people to be treated harshly as non-persons, but he had also known them to be treated well and over time become integrated into their masters’ extended families. Nothing prepared Equiano for the brutal and inhumane treatment he witnessed on the plantations of the New World. Indeed, he described slavery in the Americas as “nothing but misery, stripes, and chains” (Pargas 2). Its strict racial hierarchies as well as the infrequency with which enslaved people existed baffled him. Moreover, the extensive geographic scope of the Atlantic system which connected three continents and systematically transported millions of enslaved people across the ocean initially surpassed the young boy’s comprehension.

Arriving weakened and exceedingly miserable in the Americas, Equiano passed through the West Indies and briefly resided on a Virginia plantation before being sold to the captain of a British merchant ship. From then on he found himself almost exclusively in the service of captains of British navy vessels and West Indian slave ships. During this, he sometimes had to assist in the process of transporting newly arrived African slaves between the insatiable labor markets of the Caribbean islands. After years of forced exile, a process of acculturation took place, and Equiano found himself identifying with both his native land and with the land of his enslavers. Criss-crossing the ocean several times, the enslaved Igbo prince gradually came to adopt elements of his masters’ culture, learning English and ultimately converting to Christianity. He also never lost hope of becoming free one day, and in 1766, when he was in his early twenties, he was permitted to purchase his own freedom with earnings from extra-economic activities. This made him extraordinarily lucky compared to the vast majority of his fellow captives, and he knew it. As a free man, Equiano continued to live a seafaring life—on one occasion he even assisted an English acquaintance in the purchase and transportation of slaves from Jamaica to the Mosquito Coast—but he ultimately settled in England and became a prominent abolitionist, playing a major role in the British abolition of the Atlantic slave trade.

In the course of his lifetime, Olaudah Equiano developed a broad and multi-faceted understanding of slavery. He had been born into a slaveholding culture and become an ardent antislavery activist; he had been the free son of an elite slaveholder and a slave himself; he had been enslaved by Africans in Africa and by Europeans in the Americas; he had traveled the seas chained as cargo in the filthy hold of a slave ship and later again as an assistant to European enslavers; he had been, in the words of Orlando Patterson, a “natally alienated outsider” who later adopted the customs and culture of his enslavers’ (Pargas 3). In short, Equiano experienced slavery as both a global and a globalizing phenomenon—global in the sense that it existed in diverse settings around the world, from Essaka to the Caribbean, and globalizing in the sense that it connected world societies, from England to Benin to Virginia. Much like Equiano’s story, this anthology promotes the examination of slavery from global and globalizing perspectives. Building upon a recent surge in slavery research, it encourages the readers to view slave systems across time and space as both ubiquitous and interconnected.

Twelve Years a Slave was recorded by David Wilson, a white lawyer and legislator from New York who claimed to have presented “a faithful history of Solomon Northup’s life, as received it from his lips”. Dedicated to Harriet Beecher Stowe and introduced as “another Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” Northup’s book was published in 1853, less than a year after his liberation. It sold over thirty thousand copies. It is therefore not only one of the longest North American slave narratives but also one of the best-selling.

Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup, A Citizen of New York, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, and Rescued in 1853, From a Cotton Plantation near the Red River in Louisiana, was published in 1853. Solomon Northup was a free black living in New York who was lured south, kidnapped, and sold into slavery. His memoir, written shortly after his escape, recounts the harrowing events of his kidnapping and his dehumanizing and violent treatment as a slave on plantations in the interior of Louisiana where he worked in the cotton and sugar cane fields. During all those years, Northup looked for a chance to escape and was finally helped by an abolitionist carpenter with whom he chanced to work. With legal documents from the state of New York, Northup was finally freed and was able to bring legal action against his captors.

Solomon Northup was born a free man in Minerva, New York, in 1808. His father Mintus was originally enslaved to the Northup family from Rhode Island, but he was freed after the family moved to New York. As a young man, Northup helped his father with chores and worked as a raftsman on the waterways of upstate New York. He married Anne Hampton, a woman of mixed (black, white, and Native American) ancestry, on Christmas Day, 1829. They had three children together. During the 1830s, Northup became locally renowned as an excellent fiddle player. In 1841, two men offered Northup generous wages to join a traveling musical show, but soon after he accepted, they drugged him and sold him into slavery.

He was frequently sold at auction in New Orleans. Northup served a number of masters, some brutally cruel and others whose humanity he praised. After years of bondage, he came into contact with an outspoken abolitionist from Canada, who sent letters to notify Northup’s family of his whereabouts. An official state agent was sent to Louisiana to reclaim Northup, and he was successful through a number of coincidences. After he was freed, Northup filed kidnapping charges against the men who had defrauded him, but the lengthy trial that followed was ultimately dropped because of legal technicalities, and he received no remuneration. Little is known about Northup’s life after the trial, but he is believed to have died in 1863.

Researching and writing about the life of Solomon Northup has been both fascinating and inspiring. Following the Civil War, many slaves wrote about their experiences. Solomon Northup’s narrative, written prior to the Civil War, is particularly gripping. Having previously lived as a free man in New York State, his enslavement seemed all the more bitter. His desire to escape fueled his determination to survive. Solomon drew strength and solace from his music, which allowed him a temporary refuge from his seemingly endless years in Louisiana cane and cotton fields. Soon after he returned to his wife and family, Northup published his autobiography, Twelve Years a Slave. Solomon Northup’s memoir, co-authored with David Wilson, reflects not only Northup’s memory of his experiences but also his deepest feelings about them. Judith and Dennis Fradin in Stolen Into Slavery say, “Of course, memory can be tricky. Therefore we verified the basic events of Solomon’s life in bills of sale and in court records. But it is Solomon’s interpretation of events that gives us a unique glimpse into that most “peculiar institution,” American slavery”.

Twelve Years a Slave, distributed in 1853, uncovers Solomon Northup’s way to a possible departure from subjection, in the wake of confronting gigantic, stunning encounters. His terrible story decides us to observe the battles, distresses, and desires of dark individuals, as they continue looking for opportunity. The sort of ‘terrible ‘ enthusiastic status that the primary characters achieved represents the severe social request of the South. As a slave account, Solomon Northup’s admission isn’t significant just for what it imparts about the African American writing and its recorded setting, yet in addition since it broadcasts the establishment of humankind, depicting an immaculate assessment of the substances of subjection, which are edified all through the content.

It fills in as an ageless fault for the act of ‘asset servitude’. Northup’s insights concerning the abuse he suffered give not just an admonition to all ages of the ethical costs that servitude requested from everybody included, yet, in addition, a declaration of the enduring assurance of expectation, to the debased profound quality. On one hand, the slaves are made to endure terrible torments, being excluded from physical, enthusiastic, and otherworldly assets. Then again, the ace is sincerely numb. All his virtues and inward convictions ( in the event that he is the proprietor of such ideals) are blurring endlessly. His religion becomes fanaticism and his family legacy is looted of essential human graces like love, equity, and respectability. He is the ace of lip service, unscrupulousness, and jokes. The malice of subjection that was regular practice in those days shows how Northup’s character was eradicated and recovered, it diagrams this current man’s adventure inspires, however, it likewise calls attention to that slave proprietors had their characters and life changed by being associated with dark individuals. The inconceivable brutality delivered on people in the absence of leniency of another individual is unimaginable and the individuals who executed maltreatment, disregard, and indoctrination probably had some genuine mental issues, in spite of the fact that they were sufficiently clear to utilize the Bible as a device of submission and servility. A muddled, scattered, and agitated world toward the finish of the white man’s whip and under the man’s discretionary control exposes two sorts of individuals: the feeble man-encountering setbacks and confronting the profundity of distress, yet at the same time keeping his head up, not losing trust, not much under the attentive gaze of a malevolent ace, and the influential man – the debilitated person who alluded to his slaves as ‘niggers’. It is a pertinent reality, a token of the social and good debasement which debilitated the tough man and caused a broad enduring among them all. Be that as it may, slaves had their personalities supplanted, yet additionally their lords started to lose human affectability at a huge scale. Servitude, an overall marvel, was seen diversely according to the slave proprietor. They didn’t consider dark individuals people deserving of legitimate dress, nourishment, or asylum. The records of Northup depict the abhorrent shameful acts that slaves encountered; his slave account openly shows that the foundation of asset servitude realized unadulterated wretchedness for both male and female slaves and for their lords as well. The slow way to moral debasement constrains us to stand up to the degenerate frightfulness of subjugation from the earliest starting point of the book as far as possible.

There are five phases that symbolize Solomon’s personality status. Sections I and II recount the narrative of a liberated person. The second time in 12 years, told in sections III-VI uncovers how Northup was a hostage, getting himself a detainee in the slave pen of James H. Burch, an unfeeling slave merchant in Washington, D.C. The third stage is spoken to by his low position, as a slave. Theophilus Freeman had his name changed. As of now, it is unmistakable proof that Northup’s association with his past was altogether eradicated. He was currently an undeniable slave named ‘Platt’. His baptismal name shows his new character. Sections XII-XX center around the 10 years Platt lived under the mistreatment and seriousness of Edwin Epps. This period was characterized by the whip, as a consistent friend. Misuse and mortification are every day wellsprings of sobbing, anguish, and wretchedness. The last part of ‘Twelve Years a Slave’ reports his recaptured status of a liberated person and we brightly discover that Solomon in the end joined his in Saratoga Springs.

Northup’s perspective is up for the gets, as he worked for a long time under different bosses. He was the child of a liberated slave. Being a freeborn man and viably living, working, and getting hitched in the northerly piece of New York State, he was an exceptionally instructed man for his condition, ready to peruse and compose. Moreover, he even figured out how to play the violin, giving to be a capable man, well-prepared and skilled. Be that as it may, his expertise ended up being both an accommodating gadget and a judgment in connection with his slaveholders. The foundation of the initial two sections presents us with Solomon’s family ancestry. As the key subject that stretches through this book is for the most part based on bondage, alongside its appalling stages, we gain from the earliest starting point that his dad, Mintus, served the white Northup family up to his liberation. Functioning as a rancher together with his dad until he kicked the bucket, he wedded Anne Hampton, not long after that.

The writer’s endeavor to offer loyal actualities concerning the dates, the human communications or spots, and his huge handle for precise detail demonstrate that, at the hour of the book’s distribution, he was a casualty of suspicion. Indeed, even the short prelude from Northup’s supervisor, David Wilson, a white man – who feels that he needs to bring up the dependable and genuine references, distinguishing the setting of the diary in the ‘Pine Woods’ and ‘March Boeuf’ – is a strong confirmation that Solomon’s actual story should be protected. General society records and explicit viewpoints give a savage declaration to the normal slave involvement with the United States in the pre-Civil War South. Wilson proclaims his straightforwardness, his trustworthiness, and aspiration for this work: ‘The main object of the editorial manager has been to give a dedicated history of Solomon Northup’s life, as he got structure his lips. ‘ ( Wilson, XVI). Prior to giving insights regarding the indecencies of subjection, about the ‘remorseless fate that anticipated [him] ‘ ( Northup, 24 ), the creator incorporates viewpoints about the otherworldly voyage he started, as a dad. He starts persuading his perusers that the composed depiction of the past occasions is the stripped truth: ‘ I can discuss Slavery just so far as it went under my very own perception just so far as I have known and experienced it in my very own individual, My item is, to give an authentic and honest articulation of certainties: to rehash a mind-blowing account, without misrepresentation.’ ( Nortup,18)

He was expelled from a position of security into a consistent fight with a hazardous society, into an encounter with his internal convictions, as he needed to oppose the weight of being kept in imprisonment. In any case, due to his dad, who ‘ attempted to pervade [their] minds with notions of profound quality, and to instruct [them] to put our trust and trust in Him who sees the humblest just as the most elevated of his animals’ ( Northup, 20 ), he attempted to keep up his character against the fear of mental torment and physical torment. Before being abducted, the gift of being a dad which he knew about, is a relatable close certitude that anybody can relate to: ‘They topped off our home with energy. Their young voices were music in our ears. (… ) Their essence was my pleasure, and I caught them to my chest with as warm and delicate love as though their obfuscated skins had been as white as day off.’ Northup, 27). Notwithstanding, he was at first uninformed of the startling arrangement of bondage: ‘Having for my entire life inhaled the free demeanor of the North, and cognizant that I had similar emotions and expressions of love that discover a spot in the white man’s bosom; cognizant, in addition, of a knowledge equivalent to that of some man, in any event, with a more attractive skin, I was excessively insensible, maybe excessively autonomous, to imagine how anyone could be substance to live in the miserable state of a slave.’ Northup, 26 ). Subsequent to working in numerous exchanges, including cultivating, just as lumberjacking, and performing on the violin, while his better half picked up cash as a cook, his family had the option to bring home the bacon. They ‘before long got [themselves ] in the ownership of bounty, and, in reality, driving an upbeat and prosperous life. All things considered, for sure, would it have been for [them] had [they] stayed on the ranch at Kingsbury’ ( Northup, 24 )

The beginning stage of his misery started when two impostors, Abram Hamilton, and Merril Brown, extended to him a profitable employment opportunity at a bazaar, in the event that he would go along with them to Washington, D.C. He left Saratoga with his inevitable deceivers, and we are educated that he starts his voyage feeling ‘glad as [he] had never been ‘ ( Northup,30). Shockingly, he closes his adventure to New Orleans, with his ‘cup of distress… full to flooding’. He got himself ‘alone, in absolute murkiness, and in chains. (… ) [He] was bound. Around [his] lower legs likewise were a couple of substantial shackles.’ ( Northup, 38 ). Affixed and shackled, bolstered two times per day, compelled to rest on the ground, the essayist reviews his ‘confusion’: ‘It couldn’t be that a free resident of New York, who had wronged no man, nor disregarded any law, ought to be managed accordingly barbarically’ ( Northup, 34 )

This scene symbolizes the ethical defilement which the slave exchange achieved. Those debased creatures, having a place with the advantaged white race, utilized generosity as a threatening deception.

Following a time of 33 years satisfied by the satisfactions and ‘endowments of freedom’, Solomon discloses to us the moving procedure of his 12 years of subjugation. Sections III-VI give a record of the persuasive confinement in the slave pen of James H. Burch, a ruthless, coldhearted, and savage slave broker in Washington, D.C. He was intensely beaten and took steps to be murdered on the off chance that he at any point referenced something about his opportunity. Being held with different unfortunate casualties, he understands the terrible circumstance in which he gets himself. Truth be told, the predetermination of a dark man was damned, and it was a genuine strike of karma to make a fresh start by being liberated, and rejoined with the family you were, as a man of shading, detracted from. Being moved to another slave pen, under Theophilus Freeman his character is really deleted. He was given another name: Platt, accordingly dispatched structure his past associations. Alongside Eliza, who likewise has a contacting life history, being left from her kids, are offered to a man called William Ford. Nonetheless, if Ford is by all accounts a sort-hearted ace, exceptionally attached to his Christian roots and demonstrating liberality to his slaves, after significant issues with John M. Tibeats, a white woodworker, he got himself powerless under his new ace, a pitiless one, who appreciates seeing his slaves enduring. However, 10 years of imprisonment, misuse, and embarrassment will be looked at by Solomon during this period.

Eliza is a significant character in Northup’s account, showing the status and estimation of the lady in a general public in which slaves were viewed as creatures and treated even far more regrettably. She had a little girl with her lord, Emily, who should pursue the equivalent vulnerable fate . Because of Berry’s white little girl’s scorn towards Eliza and her youngsters, rather than an assurance of a free life she was guaranteed, all this heartbreaking lady got was an accommodation to the white man’s wants and twistedness. Then again, Patsey, a 23-years of age dark slave, with the most unfortunate circumstance, ‘a euphoric animal, a snickering carefree young lady, was the subject of regular beatings and assault. Likewise a casualty of Epps’ significant other desire and hopeless character, she will likewise assume an enormous job in Solomon’s story, being the most harmed and abused, depicted as ‘ a breathtaking creature’, as an innovative lady. Epps was known as a ‘nigger breaker’. He speaks to the most exceedingly awful degree of savagery, his ethical debasement is as staggering as he whipped his slaves for breaking a branch in the cotton field, for having all the earmarks of being inactive in the field. At the point when flushed, he had a specific propensity for compelling his captives to move for his satisfaction. His divertissement was much progressively chipper when he whipped the individuals who moved too gradually. Patt was requested to play the violin: ‘ No issue how exhausted and tired we were, there must be a general move. (… ) >, was the request for the hour.’ This moving scene plots the dynamic development of his oppression, his course to the hopeless state of his ethical quality. Ignorant, oblivious, and silly, Edwin Epps gave Patsey extraordinary treatment. She was the sorry casualty of his continuous assaults, in spite of the fact that she was handy and innovative. Regardless of whether Patsey was the most manhandled, she kept on being the best cotton picker from her lord’s ranch. In connection to female slaves, slave proprietors like Edwin Epps had their characters harmed, and contaminated with sheer ugliness. The more Patsey was beaten and mishandled, the more Epps turned into a full-time beast, as he had a great time both whipping his slaves and making them display bogus joy.

Solomon will separate himself from his other dark men colleagues as he was clever, had virtues, and a specific measure of insight which unforgiving occasions, helped him a great deal, being viewed as an able man, and commendable… of working, by and by.

Regardless of how pleasantly Ford treated his slaves, he just utilized religion, just like his sibling, to legitimize his improper conduct. They were, indeed, utilizing the dishonest arrangement of abuse. For Northup, religion served him as a method of comfort. Having lost his underlying personality, Solomon should move places, being in a position where he could likewise whip another dark man. He was made to take the white man’s position as administrator over different slaves. It is an essential confirmation that subjection was a strong reality, where torment and corruption caused the ruin of the two slaves and experts. It is likewise convincing proof that the procedure of dehumanization is what might be compared to a critical loss of character, of inward qualities.

Also, the subjugation will be displayed like a sickness, the injurious power and the encounter with an unrivaled, angry human ( or not a human at all ) being both a test and bringing about a woeful revolt, the instinctive want to bite the dust being the main blessing an oppressed human could have to get away from the unsafe reality. For Solomon Northup and his dark colleagues, The American Dream was never perfect they could later on appear. This book inspires a staggering blend of dread, torment, and vulnerability to the peruser. The occasions concentrate on the course of events of Solomon’s life, so as to build up the subjects of disparity, persecution, and absence of opportunity. It challenges the chronicled awareness of the U.S, the racial oppression over the mediocrity of the dark man, the affordable intensity of the savagery, and the absence of social self-sufficiency are only a few wellsprings of distress, effectively used to blend the symbolism, incongruity, and logical gadgets to convince the peruser of the uncontrolled outcomes which prejudice and disparity passed on. Part 14 is an ideal outline of the destined destiny of the individuals who rehearsed subjugation or experienced it. Solomon will turn out to be profoundly adulterated with the degree of good corruption which characterized Epps and his better half. The whip he detested so a lot of will be put in his very own hand. He joined the maltreatment that bondage requested being not able to persevere through enduring himself. The cold-bloodedness of whipping the hardest good decision for the dark man is, be that as it may, the most effortless choice slaves needed to make. The ethical battle is spoken to as an internal part of servitude itself. Express inhumanity, ruthlessness, and complicity are the capabilities of ‘asset servitude’.

To pound the point home, we should consider the recorded vibe and the power irregularity between sexual orientations. The Fugitive Slave Law, a tremendous trade-off, required that got away slaves come back to their lords, with the vital co-activity from free residents Any individual who didn’t turn in a brief slave was viewed as a crook. This is important for understanding the character’s battles to get away, his dread, and his miserable circumstance. Additionally, savage incongruities are portrayed in the story which hugely affected perusers. The book does a great activity depicting amazing and huge occasions. In any event, the closure is written on a moderately hopeful note, Solomon being liberated and becoming more acquainted with his grandson, named after him. It could symbolize the recovery of his personality. His adventure isn’t just about outlandish brutality, yet additionally about extraordinary endurance. Northup’s story discusses boldness, and brutality and incorporates shrouded appearances of profound quality. It causes us to acknowledge we have the potential for both great and terrible, within each one of us.

Across the board, we can consider this material a dependable recorded reference on subjection, refreshed to the present foundation by the exercises it educates. In reality, a magnum opus of capturing the world’s internal cold-bloodedness which causes us to rethink our entire arrangement of convictions.