Solomon Northup

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.

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 an accomplished musician before he was captured into slavery. He was thus unfamiliar with the unrelenting physical labor he would be relegated to as a slave. He went from a role as the successful breadwinner in his family to a captured man struggling to

Perseverance and power of the human spirit is another theme that shows up when you are reading this book. Solomon endured so much that he did not want to. At one point in the book, he was forced to whip a fellow slave in front of others. He says in the book, 2“Ten years I toiled for that

Ford was known as being very kind to Solomon. However, William Prince Ford had to give Solomon back to the slave market due to finances. Northup’s second owner was John M. Tibaut who was very brutal to Solomon. Northup was later rescued by Ford’s overseer, Andrew Chafin. He was then sent to Edwin Epps and was a slave under him for the next ten years. His owner, Edwin Epps, put Solomon in charge over the rest of the slaves. Solomon tried many times to escape, but was never successful. Finally, in June of 1852, he was able to send letters to his friends and family back home in New York. In these letters, he told them where he was and all that had happened to him. In November of 1852, there was a widespread search in order to find Solomon. Solomon was found in the same year. On January 4, 1853, Solomon legally obtained total freedom. He was then reunited with his family and friends.

Solomon Northup was an American abolitionist and the primary author of the memoir Twelve Years a Slave. Solomon was the son of an

He was born in New York state a free man, but in the early 1840s, he took a trip to the South and was kidnapped by slave dealers. In 1855, his narrative about his experience in the cotton fields was published. “When a new hand, one unaccustomed to the business, is sent for the first time into the field, he is whipped up smartly, and made for that day to pick as fast as he can possibly (Northup).” Here Solomon Northup is explaining what his first day in the cotton field consisted of. For starters, he was whipped by the master to ensure that he understood to work fast and pick as much as he could. “At night it is weighed, so that his capability in cotton picking is known. He must bring in the same weight each night following. If it falls short, it is considered evidence that he as been laggard, and a greater or less number of lashes in the penalty (Northup).” Every night, the master would weigh every basket of cotton brought in by the slaves. If the weight came up less than what it was supposed to be, they slave would be whipped more than what usual punishment was. The slaves were whipped because the master felt as if they were moving too slow and not bringing in enough cotton. Slaves suffered so much at the hands of their masters. Being a slave was not great at

In the slave pen, a potential buyer asked him, “Well boy, where did you come from?”(36). He then replied, “From New York” (36). Solomon knew that there would be consequences for suggesting that he was from a free state. The risks of doing any of this were oblivious to him because he was not afraid to rebel against his master. Buyers in the slave pen most likely would not care about the feelings of the slaves, because they are supporters of slavery and do care about human rights or the injustices of slavery There was a slim chance that he would be saved, but there was a very high chance that he would be punished.

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

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

Upon watching the movie Twelve Years a Slave, one was able to observe the true events that took place within Solomon Northups’ life after being abducted and thrown into slavery. One major observation about the movie is the difference in the relationships between Solomon and his masters (along with the planters whom worked alongside the masters). Solomon's’ relationships demonstrate both sides of Solomon Northups’ personality: honor/integrity, and his willingness to stand for his beliefs/rights. It is both of these personality characteristics that not only allowed for Solomon to overcome the hard twelve years of slavery, but also allowed for him to appreciate his freedom in life even more than before. Solomon’s first master was Mr. Ford.

Solomon still wanted to return home and to his free man status. There was not a slave who did not want their freedom. No matter how pleasant or nasty a master was, it is human nature to need freedom. In Twelve Years a Slave it does not appear that a master would feel the obligation to care for his slaves from birth to death. In the case of death, it would be from premature death, not death from old age. As a slave lost his ability

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

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

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