Throughout history, the inhumane treatment of other based on racial dominance has lead to many forms of oppression, specifically slavery. This social injustice was brought to the fullest extent in the United States in the years between the American Revolution and the Civil War. Slaveholders treated their slaves as livestock, torturing them with the whip and lash, working them, day in and day out. The slavers never considered the humanity of the slave, and regarded them as nothing but property. Solomon Northup's Twelve Years a Slave and Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes, both present similar situations in which an individual's freedom and identity is taken from them. They must survive enduring trial and tribulations in hopes that one day …show more content…
During the height of the slave trades throughout North America, it is often that buyers and owners of slaves looked towards their value and talent seeking the best for their money. However, these same talents and skills are what help establish their identity, and aided them in surviving their captivity. During Solomon Northup's twelve years of confinement he realised just how fortunate he truly was to be gifted in the musical arts. Being well learned in the violin, Northup would often used this to his advantage. After performing for a gala in his masters honor Northup exclaims the significance of his talents, he says, " It introduced me to great houses, relieved me of many days' labor in the field and supplied me with conveniences for my cabin"(Northup 131). It is in this that Northup realized that the only way to survive is to make one's self know. The easiest way for him to do this is through the playing of his instruments. With that talent Northup became seen as a little more than just a slave but more as someone with skills that could be put to use. These skills offered him a life separate from the average slave, and permitted him to many advantages. The masters treatments of their slaves was cruel and inhumane. They take their freedom and with that they take away who they truly are, it is at that point where they are seen as nothing but tools used for personal gain. Northup in this case is the exception, he is praised for his talents and it gives him status, even if it's of low worth it is something and that's enough to aid him in his survival. This status gives him purpose, and with it he is more than just another slave in the fields. Similarly, Aminata realises quickly that the skills she has learned growing up, will aid in her survival. In Bayo, the village that Aminata grew up in, she learned to do things that would become of great
Solomon Northup was born a free man in Minerva, New York, in 1808. Little is known about his mother, whom his narrative does not identify by name. 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 farming 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,
Having the opportunity to watch the 2013 movie-adapted version “12 Years A Slave” in last year’s AP World History, I was completely struck by the torment that Solomon Northup and other slaves had to withstand during the pre-Civil War. However, the rigorous, fast-paced curriculum did not allow me to deepen my understanding about the issue of slavery in America.
The film 12 Years is an accurate and verifiable account of the common slave experience in the United States in the antebellum South. 12 Years a Slave is set in the mid to late 1800s and tells a true life story of the life of Solomon Northup a free Black man sold south into slavery. He was the son of an emancipated slave. Northup was from upstate New York, and was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South. Northup lived, worked, and was married in upstate New York, where his family resided. He was a multifaceted laborer and also an accomplished violin player. He was subjected to the cruelty for the next twelve years while he survived as the human property of several different slave masters, He continually struggled to survive and maintain some of his dignity. Then in the 12th year of the disheartening ordeal, a chance meeting with an abolitionist from Canada he was was finally freed and is taken home. After being unsuccessful in prosecuting his kidnappers, Northup continues upriver to New York, where he is finally reunited with his family and where he meets his grandson, Solomon Northup Staunton, for the first time. In the end, Northup gives one final, powerful argument against the evils of the slave industry, pointing not to rhetoric or debates, but lifting up his own life story as a vivid commentary for viewers to consider. The main idea of the book was to share with the reader and give
In the book 12 Years A Slave written from a primary source by Solomon Northup based on a true story describes the triumphant journey Solomon Northup goes through as he never lost hope of regaining his freedom and resisted the dehumanization of enslavement in many ways. Solomon was born a free black man in New York in 1808 while his father, Mintus was born a slave and gained his freedom as their master passed away also inheriting their masters last name "Northup". Growing Solomon worked on a farm with his dad and soon after his dad died in 1829 he soon married a women named Anne Hampton in which they soon moved to Saratoga Springs, New York and had three children of their own. They were living like any other free person was and soon Solomon was working in many industries and Anne established herself as a cook and in the 1830 's Solomon had a reputation of being a well played violinist. In 1841 Solomon had became unemployed and was looking for an occupation, he ran into Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton in who then offers him a job in a circus playing the violin. As they arrive in Washington D.C. which is slave territory, he begins to become sick and passes out which was planned by Merrill and Abram to poison and kidnap him in the slave territory and sell him in which he soon wakes up in chains in a slave pen. Solomon 's first master was James H. Burch who he was sold by the two men who had
Solomon Northup’s abduction and sale into slavery begins his journey into being a slave for a long duration of his life. In the book, 12 Years a Slave, he discusses the plight of the unfortunate circumstances that would lead him to a life of pain and suffering. His story, first shared after he attained freedom, reached many who then looked at the suffering of African Americans at the hands of slavery. While Solomon’s story is truly unique, it still holds validity. The importance and effectiveness of his story telling is an important turning point in American slavery.
In the Prince Among Slave the story is based on an African Muslim prince who was captured and sold into slavery in the American South. His name is Abdul Rahman Ibrahima Sori. After being in slaved for a couple years he finally was released from slavery. In this paper I will discuss how he was captured and forced in to slavery in the south. Also give you some insight on what during his time on the Thomas Forster plantation and how they treat him. What happened to him once he regained back his freedom and what he did with it to become a national celebrity?
There are several personal slavery narratives that account of all the horrors of slavery. An example is Solomon Northup’s autobiography, 12 Years a Slave, which provides a personal account of slavery, all the violent and gory aspects that enslavement holds, and the terrible acts of people who dishonored the attributes of a true American. Northup describes in vivid detail the dreadful actions committed against him. Published in 1853, the autobiography has lost momentum over the years, but was recently revived by Steve McQueen’s 2013 film adaptation.
Solomon Northup was born free, in Minerva, New York in 1808. Northup became known in his community as an exceptional fiddle player. When two men approached Northup and offered him good wages to go to Washington DC, to play in a travelling music show, he quickly accepted. Solomon Northup was drugged, kidnapped, captured, and sold into slavery. He served for many masters; some were violent and cruel while others treated him humanely. Solomon Northup experienced shear torture, cruelty, and the loss of his dignity, throughout his many years as a slave. After many years, he came in contact with an abolitionist, who sent letters to Northup’s family to notify them of his life and status. He was soon rescued from Louisiana and freed as a slave.
During a time of cruel punishment and harsh conditions of life as a slave in the 19th century South, there was a book that shed a light on the life of a slave unparalleled in past as well as in modern literature. That book was entitled Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup. Northup was born a freeman that was obtained from his father after being freed by the Northup family due to loyal service. Growing up in the free state of New York, Solomon was allowed an education that was rare because of the sad disposition of the majority of his race. Solomon gained much knowledge of industry and hard work from his father. As a free man of color, he enjoyed various jobs and hobbies from timber raft building to playing
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 a free African American. The thing that scared African Americans the most, frequently happened, being sent back to the South into slavery. 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup gives a recap of how his life, filled with joy and freedom one day, became a living nightmare the next. Northup, a self-taught, master violin player is fooled into traveling with “gentlemen” to share his talents for a small fortune. Leaving his family behind, he decides to go with the men and once he reaches New York City, the men convince Northup to travel to Washington D.C. Solomon soon began feeling sick and one day wakes up chained in a cell. Next thing he knows, he is being sold into slavery. He lives a life of a slave for twelve years until he is rescued by Henry B. Northup, who saves Solomon while he was working in the field. Once back in his own home, Solomon writes an autobiography of his experiences. After many decades, a historical movie retelling Solomon’s autobiography was released. Throughout the movie, many differences are present. For example, the wife of Solomon’s master was portrayed to be an evil woman in the movie, but in the book not so evil. Another example is while slaves did not fight back
Whites have long argued that slavery was good for slaves because it civilized them and that slaves were content to be held in bondage. But such is not the case, at least not according to those who were actually held in bondage. The accounts of slavery are greatly known by emancipated or run away slaves. One recorded account of slavery is by Solomon B. Northup’s autobiography, Twelve Years a Slave which was published in 1853.
A mother wails at the separation of her children and herself, her screams are deafening, yet no one comes to aid the tragic scene. A woman’s basic human rights are taken away when she is sold as property and encounters sexual abuse. These acts were considered acceptable because they were being done to slaves, people who were treated less than human. Although Northup's struggles seem to be more prominent throughout the book 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, his female companions hardships are not to be ignored. The 1850’s were not only filled with inequality and barbarization between the unpigmented and the ebony, but also between the males and females. Throughout history, women have been depicted as feeble and submissive to their male counterparts. Females lack of burliness is made up with compassion, empathy and being solicitous. Many believe that these are the traits of weakness and make them an easy target for any type of abuse.
12 Years A Slave is arguably the most graphic and accurate depiction of American slavery to ever be filmed. McQueen gives the viewer a front row seat to Solomon Northup’s journey of being kidnapped in Washington and sold into slavery in the South, left wondering if he would ever be free again. In my opinion one of the film’s main strengths is the avoidance of any sentimental feelings towards these slaves throughout the movie. The white slave owners are never worried about the results of their brutality or even how they treat their “property.” One of the most brutal slave owners, Edwin Epps, said “there is no sin.
The lion is always considered the head of his clan, but is it because he is the strongest, is the most vibrant, or because his roar is the loudest. What causes the desire to dominate someone else? The white men are the common oppressors, between women and slaves. Men are looked upon as individuals who dominate either their families or slaves. White women believe themselves superior to slaves and as equal as men. Thinkers such as; Aristotle, Fredrick Douglas, Lincoln, and Stanton effectively demonstrate the reason why people possess a greater superiority between each other; men, women, and slaves. They take us into a journey which commences at 500 B.C. until today and establish the idea that still is extant as to men being superior to women.
12 Years a Slave is a film that is filled with social psychological phenomenas, especially since it is based on such a sensitive topic. Slavery stripped the Africans of their identity, they were humiliated and degraded, paraded around naked to be sold for the “same price as baboons” as Master Epps mentions. The script of the film highlights how the slaves were objectified as they are referred to as “this” or “that” not as a people. It also shows how the name Platt was forced on Solomon Northup, the slave owner did not care to hear his real name, he called him Platt and therefore Platt he shall be.