12 Years A Slave Sparknotes

Book Review: 12 Years a Slave Solomon Northup’s 12 Years a Slave presents the factual brutal evidence of the abuse and degrading of slaves during that time. Solomon was a free New York native, very literate, had done work both as a farmer and carpenter and he also was a skilled violinist. Northup’s life changed before he knew it, after his encounter with two white men proposing a deal for Northup to make more money. Once he came to his senses he realized he had been drugged and kidnapped into slavery. Northup presents many themes in his memoir, such as the horrors of slavery, having hope, and survival. Throughout his entire memoir, Northup uses factual evidence by describing his surroundings, the time, revealing the identity of those who
mistreated him. Northup discusses several events he witnessed to describe why slavery was such a horrific time.
In one case, he talks about how Eliza had been separated from her kids after she and her son Randall had been sold off, separately from each other and her daughter was left alone on Freeman’s plantation doomed for rape and beatings and even worse with no one there with her. In addition to isolating family members from each other, another gruesome horror of slavery was being left without any rights, not even to the name given at birth. Northup’s name had been changed on a couple of occasions, where he had to be ‘Stewart’ on his first plantation and later he became ‘Platt’, for slaves could not have luxury having a last name. Although Northup faced many troubling circumstances, he still did not give up hope. He always tried to make things a little better, for example when he and the other slave were in Freeman’s Pen, Northup “carves their initials into their tea cups”, so that they could have something of their own with that tells who they really are and not who their master wants them to be. Northup also never gives up reaching out to his family back home who are unbeknownst to his capturing into slavery, because he knows it is his only chance to regain his freedom. Being born a freeman, slavery was a complete turnaround for Northup. Eventually, after 10 years under the cruelty of masters like Tibeats and
Epps, Northup’s proved fulfilling. With the help of his friend, Bass, who had also been a carpenter from Canada; he then sends out letters for Solomon to his family in New York which then reaches the white man who emancipated Northup’s father, and it is he and a local sheriff who frees Northup from Epps. 12 years a slave not only describes the physical cruelties of the slave owners and harsh treatment they received for the smallest acts of self-interest, but it also describes how corrupt the system is. Yes, this may have been hundreds of years ago, and yes Northup’s was one of the lucky ones to regain his freedom after many freemen had been kidnapped, however, Solomon still had to ‘prove’ he was free by describing experiences in Canada and showing that he could swim, which slaves were not allowed to do either. After being beaten for proclaiming his freedom, attempting to escape his kidnapping, being ‘almost killed’ on several occasions, and having to fight Tibeats, Northup’s hope doesn’t die. His memoir is evidence that faith and hope, along with strong determination can prevail. Works Cited
Northup, Solomon. Twelve Years a Slave. Penguin Books, 2016.