12 Years Discussion Questions
US History
Section 6: Slavery and Sectionalism
Prompt: From 1775 to 1850 the institution of slavery expanded in America. Discuss the experiences of slaves in the American south and analyze the ways enslaved African Americans responded to the challenges confronting them.
Task: Close watch the film 12 Years a Slave (2013) and respond to the following discussion questions.
"I believe empathy is the most essential quality of civilization."
-Roger Ebert
Discussion Questions Pleas write short responses and refer to scenes or lines from the film.
1. Solomon Northup's Twelve Years a Slave was one of some 150 so-called "Slave Narratives" published before the Civil War. What was the purpose of Northup’s narrative? Use scenes or quotes from the film to support your response.
2. One of the distinguishing features of Twelve Years a Slave is its specificity. Unlike most slave narratives, Northup did not employ pseudonyms for persons or places and rarely wrote in generalities. Northup also studiously avoided stereotypes: there are good masters and bad; slaves who resist and those who collapse before white power. Northup hoped that this frank portrayal would convince readers of the authenticity of his story. Does it? How does it achieve that aim?
3. After witnessing the brutalities not only of white masters against enslaved blacks, but also white brutality against other whites, Northup observed, "It is not the fault of the slaveholder that he is cruel, so much as it is the fault of the system under which he lives”. Do you think this observation is accurate? Does it seem accurate to state that both whites and enslaved blacks that lived in the South were mutually affected by the system of slavery?
5. Another distinguishing mark of Twelve Years a Slave is the author's free status. Most of the slave narratives-like that of Frederick Douglass, for example-were written by an author who had been born into slavery. How does Northup's free status shape his
Section 6: Slavery and Sectionalism
Prompt: From 1775 to 1850 the institution of slavery expanded in America. Discuss the experiences of slaves in the American south and analyze the ways enslaved African Americans responded to the challenges confronting them.
Task: Close watch the film 12 Years a Slave (2013) and respond to the following discussion questions.
"I believe empathy is the most essential quality of civilization."
-Roger Ebert
Discussion Questions Pleas write short responses and refer to scenes or lines from the film.
1. Solomon Northup's Twelve Years a Slave was one of some 150 so-called "Slave Narratives" published before the Civil War. What was the purpose of Northup’s narrative? Use scenes or quotes from the film to support your response.
2. One of the distinguishing features of Twelve Years a Slave is its specificity. Unlike most slave narratives, Northup did not employ pseudonyms for persons or places and rarely wrote in generalities. Northup also studiously avoided stereotypes: there are good masters and bad; slaves who resist and those who collapse before white power. Northup hoped that this frank portrayal would convince readers of the authenticity of his story. Does it? How does it achieve that aim?
3. After witnessing the brutalities not only of white masters against enslaved blacks, but also white brutality against other whites, Northup observed, "It is not the fault of the slaveholder that he is cruel, so much as it is the fault of the system under which he lives”. Do you think this observation is accurate? Does it seem accurate to state that both whites and enslaved blacks that lived in the South were mutually affected by the system of slavery?
5. Another distinguishing mark of Twelve Years a Slave is the author's free status. Most of the slave narratives-like that of Frederick Douglass, for example-were written by an author who had been born into slavery. How does Northup's free status shape his