James H. Burch's Twelve Years A Slave

In my opinion, there are several reasons why Twelve Years a Slave is one of the most powerful weapons in the antislavery arsenal. When reading this story, I could not help but feel a huge amount of sympathy, guilt, and sadness for Solomon. I believe it was so powerful because of the great amount of information Solomon provided about his life before and after he was captured. At times I felt as if I was actually in the narrative. Before the character was captured, he expressed his life, the importance of his family, as well as the happiness he felt from succeeding in his career. I sensed as if I was almost getting a small glimpse of what it felt like to be in his shoes. I distinctly recall him talking about how much he adored his children, and how he loved being a father. In a way, I felt like this was his

As well as the amount of confidence and trust Solomon had in them, stating that they were his “friends”. When Solomon was captured, I got a great feel of how terrible it really was for him. He not only described how atrocious his surroundings were, but also gave great detail about his treatment from James H. Burch. The material provided about Burch calling Solomon cruel names, as well as denying him as a free man, may have altered the supporters thinking of this heinous atrocity. Not only did Burch deny Solomon was a free man, but he continued to beat him until he declared otherwise. The gruesome beatings Solomon endured must of had some effects on people’s views regarding slavery. In my opinion, if the information was too hard to even read, I cannot imagine how it must of made people feel. Solomon also expresses the severity of his wounds, as well as the slim amount of food he was fed. Would this really make others be in support of slavery after reading this? At least for me, it would