Analysis Of Solomon Northup 's ' The First Act Of Kindness '

A Story that is sad and sickening in its own way, The way Solomon had been treated and sold into slavery was terrifying the first time you read through it. As I talk about Solomon's life in slavery, The underground railroad, and the Civil War, this is a short essay on the horrors of what people have gone through before.

Throughout my research, I was able to learn more about the life of Solomon Northup and the people that surrounded him. This includes what happened to him even after his return home. Researching the film adaptation

Solomon Northup is a prime example of the cruel treatment black people received. He was deceived into thinking he was joining two fellow performers to work in Washington at a circus, but instead was drugged, kidnapped, and sold into slavery. He tries to plead his case and fight for his freedom but all he gets in return are blows to his back until he accepts his new role as a Georgia runaway slave. This is not only an example of how black people were physically abused, but also how they were psychologically abused. As soon as he is kidnapped, he is stripped away from everything he once was and everything he once knew. He is given a new name and identity and if he dared to proclaim otherwise, it would cost him his life. It is unfortunate that black men and women in the North were never actually safe, even if they were born free, they risked getting abducted and sold to slave owners in the South, just like Solomon was. Kidnapping was not the only cruel act in which black people were targeted, they were also humiliated and treated as less than a white person.

After reading Solomon Northup's Twelve Years A Slave, I was overwhelmed with his experience. He was born a free man in New York in 1808. In 1841 he was tricked, captured, and sold into slavery in Washington, D.C. Throughout his book, Solomon goes into details describing his life as a slave, which validates our critique of slavery. As abolitionists, it is our duty to do something about slavery. Although, as abolitionists, we have a history of disagreements among us, it time to put a stop to our arguments and start fighting for something we all believe in - to abolish slavery. While the growing cotton economy has made slavery more attractive than ever before to most southern people, slavery has to be abolished based on these reasons:

In his true-life narrative "Twelve Years a Slave," Solomon Northup is a free man who is deceived into a situation that brings about his capture and ultimate misfortune to become a slave in the south. Solomon is a husband and father. Northup writes:

Though he cares very much for Solomon, he cannot help he seek his true freedom. One reason is because Solomon is Mr. Fords’ “property” and because if he gave into the will of Solomon, he would be demonstrating favoritism. This would cause him to look weak to his successors while also demonstrating to other slaves that they can come to him for their desires and he will concede. Though their relationship was grand, Solomon's time on Mr. Fords land was not measured the same with the other elites on the property. The only other man (on Mr. Fords’ property) that showed any consideration towards Solomon was Mr. Chapin.

Through Solomon Northup’s story, viewers learn that socioeconomic status is no exception from racial realities. Solomon Northup was an educated, refined free black in the 1840s. His only mistake was thinking that being born free meant he was safe from the demonstration of white supremacy in America. Especially during this time, it didn't matter that he was educated, musically talented, and a family man, a person of color was threatened in a white, capitalist society and through the heartbreaking story of Solomon Northup, 12 Years a Slave shows this sad time in American

Solomon Northup was a free African American man from Minerva, New York. In the novel Twelve Years a Salve, Northup composed a narrative about his life as a free man, and also his life as a slave. In the year of 1814 Northup was kidnapped and taken deep South, to the rugged life of slavery. After 12 years of being thrown into the slavery against his will, he rightfully regained his freedom in January of 1853 all because he came in contact with an abolitionist from Canada, who sent letters to his family about his situation.

Towards evening, and soon after partaking of one of these positions, I began to experience most unpleasant sensations. I felt extremely ill. My head commenced aching-a dull, heavy pain, inexpressibly disagreeable. At the supper table, I was without appetite; the sight and flavor of food was nauseous”( Northup pg. 17). Northup was taken to his room so that he could rest, he was in and out of it all night, he was only able to recall bits and pieces of what happened that night: “ How long I remained in that condition -wheather only that night, or many days and nights- I do not know; but when consciousness returned, I found myself alone, in utter darkness, and in chains”(Northup pg. 18). Northup went to sleep a free men and woke up a slave. He could not beleive what was happening to him:”there must have been some misapprehension-some unfortunate mistake. It could not be that a free citizen of New-York, who had wronged no man, nor violated any law, should be dealt with thus inhumanly”(Northup pg. 19). As sad and unfair this situation was, it was true, Northup had been captured into slavery. A father stolen from his children and a husband stolen from his

In the beginning of the novel, Northrup’s descriptions and interpretations of the harsh slave life are vague but cautious, these only emphasized his security in his own life. However as the saying goes, the grass is always greener on the other side, because no one is ever satisfied with their own life, and Solomon is tempted by the idea of earning a little more money, enough to financially secure his family, by two disguised slave traders. This is the first example of skewed, misinterpreted hope. They tempt Solomon with words like “a dollar a day” and “all expenses paid” (Northup, 13). Because of their “respectable appearance”

I write to you with great enthusiasm, for I have recently purchased and read Twelve Years A Slave, by Solomon Northup. In addition to Northup’s masterful novel, I am in possession of The Boisterous Sea of Liberty. Excerpts from The Boisterous Sea of Liberty provide a vast array of notions and experiences that are in correspondence with Northup’s novel. Let there be no doubt that Northup’s tragic experience can vouch for our cause—to abolish slavery for its deplorable nature. Aside from the conventional critique of slavery, regarding its inherent cruelty in practice, Northup elucidates less prominent issues concerning the violations of man’s natural rights, the absurdity of Christians with slaves, and the desecration of the intrinsic, biological family.

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

Northup sets out to convince readers that his account of slavery is the truth. The detailed accounts that Solomon took to recreate his slave experience proves to be effective. Solomons story takes the aspect of being a free man, to enslavement in the South. Northup uses great parallelism in his narrative, often

Solomon Northup was born a freeman in New York in 1808 (3). His father, who had been a slave until his owner death had granted him his freedom in his, wills (5). In 1829, Northup married Anne Hampton and worked as a laborer in Hartford (6). However, Solomon was captured after being tricked by slave traders to work