12 Years A Slave
In the memoir, 12 Years a Slave, Solomon Northup details his journey from a free African American man living in the North, who on a business trip is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Antebellum South. Solomon Northup was the son of a freed slave who lived and worked in Saratoga Springs, New York, where he resided with his wife and three children. Northup primarily worked as a farmer and a violinist, and in 1841 he journeyed with two men to Washington D.C. to play at a circus. Northup was subsequently drugged, kidnapped, beaten, transported to New Orleans, and sold into slavery in the Red River region of Louisiana. For the next twelve years, Solomon Northup toiled as the human property of a multitude of slave masters, ranging from the kind and benevolent Master Williams, to the cruel and sadistic, Master Epps. In January of 1853, Northup’s letters for freedom were answered by a friend from New York who rescued him and helped him return to his friends and family. This memoir deals with a dark period of time in United States history, specifically from 1620 to 1865, where one human being could consider another human being his property, …show more content…
This book also allows the reader some insight on the relationship between a slave and a slave master and the mentality which slave masters held to justify the need to hold another human being as property. Lastly, this book allowed the reader to gain a better understanding and appreciation on just how valuable liberty and freedom are to a person. This is evidenced by the quote,” So we passed, handcuffed and in silence, through the streets of Washington — through the Capital of a nation, whose theory of government, we were told, rests on the foundation of man’s inalienable right to life, LIBERTY, and the pursuit of happiness” (Northup
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1095 Words | 5 PagesThe Portrayal of Slavery in Antebellum Louisiana in Solomon Northup’s Twelve Years a Slave In his memoire Twelve Years a Slave, illegitimately enslaved Solomon Northup does not only depict his own deprivations in bondage, but also provides a deep insight into the slave trade, slaves’ working and living conditions, as well as religious beliefs of both enslaved people and their white masters in antebellum Louisiana. Northup’s narrative is a distinguished literary piece that exposes the injustice of the whole slaveholding system and its dehumanizing effect. It is not a secret that the agriculture dominated the economy of antebellum Louisiana (Louisiana: A History 183). Therefore the Southern planters needed relatively cheap workforce to cultivate
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803 Words | 4 PagesScore years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But 100 years later, the Negro still is not free.” ( King, para.
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1660 Words | 7 PagesSolomon Northup was born a freeman in New York in 1808. In 1829, Northup married Anne Hampton and was a model citizen of New York. However, Northup was kidnapped by lying slave traders to work for them while working in Washington in 1841 and sold as a slave into Louisiana. According to the lectures of Professor Carson, a slave in the south was considered in law as property and did not have the same rights as free
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636 Words | 3 Pageshe uses bold words and biting criticism to call attention to the gross injustices and hypocrisy of slavery in the United States. In the opening remarks of his speech, Douglas provides heart-wrenching descriptions to pull his audience into the lives of their fellow
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1838 Words | 8 PagesPAGE 2 In the Narrative Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, he uses this text to explain his purpose in “throwing light on the American slave system”, or show it for what it really is, as well as show his position on how he strongly believes slavery is an issue that needs to be addressed and how it differs from those who defended slavery, with experiences from his own life to support his argument. Douglass uses experience from his early days as a young slave to throw light on the aspect of physical abuse. According to his narrative, Douglass states, “Master, however, was not a humane slaveholder.
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1642 Words | 7 PagesFrom this, derives a bond with the reader that pushes their understanding of the evil nature of slavery that society deemed appropriate therefore enhancing their understanding of history. While only glossed over in most classroom settings of the twenty-first century, students often neglect the sad but true reality that the backbone of slavery, was the dehumanization of an entire race of people. To create a group of individuals known for their extreme oppression derived from slavery, required plantation owner’s of the South to constantly embedded certain values into the lives of their slaves. To talk back means to be whipped.
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753 Words | 4 PagesFrederick Douglass’s narrative provides a first hand experience into the imbalance of power between a slave and a slaveholder and the negative effects it has on them both. Douglass proves that slavery destroys not only the slave, but the slaveholder as well by saying that this “poison of irresponsible power” has a dehumanizing effect on the slaveholder’s morals and beliefs (Douglass 40). This intense amount of power breaks the kindest heart and changes the slaveholder into a heartless demon (Douglass 40). Yet these are not the only ways that Douglass proves what ill effect slavery has on the slaveholder. Douglass also uses deep characterization, emotional appeal, and religion to present the negative effects of slavery.
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729 Words | 3 PagesIn regards to the abolitionist movement, Solomon Northup’s slave narrative was particularly important because it revealed the inhumane treatment, such as the brutal beatings done by masters and overseers, the sexual use of slave women and the merciless separation of families, and in his personal case the abuse of the Fugitive Slave
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