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Analysis Of The Movie ' 12 Years ' A Slave '

Decent Essays

12 Years a Slave is based on a true story which occurred in 1841 where a free African-American violinist name Solomon Northup who lived in Saratoga New York with his wife and children was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the pre- civil war under the name of Platt. He faced cruelty by many slave owners as well as unexpected kindness from others. He finds that cooperation generally gets some nowhere and sometimes gets you into trouble due to jealousy. There were times when he thought he could trust someone but they turned around and betrayed him. Along the 12 year he worked for three slave masters on plantations until one day he meets a Canadian Abolitionist Bass that promises to send a letter to his family which ultimately freed him.

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But class doesn’t just affect black, it also affects whites as well. For he examples, comparing between two of Solomon’s owners, Ford was seen as middle class he wasn’t rich and but he wasn’t poor either. Even though Epps was white he was considering lower class. Although he was financially better than others he was considered lower class because he was an alcoholic and the woman he married wasn’t what they would call classy or from their social their social status. Many did not socialize with him personally only dealt with him through business.
Status looked at in racial terms African Americans were viewed at as lower status than whites. In 12 years a slave whites were not allowed to be mixed with blacks or be to kind and friendly. If this happen they could be disowned by their own social group Culture shock
Culture shock is the disorientation that people experience when they come in contact with a fundamentally different culture. Solomon live as free, rich comfortable black man for many years. When he was sold into slavery his entire world turned upside down. He did not know a life that was different from a free one and this leads to fear as he refused to acknowledge that was not a free one and this lead to him getting whipped repeatedly which he was never accustomed to.
Gender roles
Gender roles are specific behavior that a society establishes for men and women. During slavery men and

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