The movie 12 Years a Slave is based on the 1853 memoir of Solomon Northup. Solomon Northup was a free black man living in New York who was then captured and sold into slavery against his will. He was forced into slavery for 12 years. Taken from his family and out through brutal and inhuman treatment for 12 years when he was supposed to be free is criminal. This movie highlights the harsh realities of slavery. The psychological abuse, the physical abuse, the oppression they faced, and the dehumanizing treatment they went through. Throughout this movie, we watch his life as a slave unfold and see how he struggles to keep his dignity intact. One new thing I learned from this movie is how even if you are a free man, you can still be taken against your will. …show more content…
Even in places where slavery was illegal because of the Missouri Compromise, free black men could get captured. Solomon Northup was a free man in New York, which was a non-slave state, and still somehow became a slave. There was also no help in trying to legally get out of slavery and freedom, especially when kidnapped like this. This shows that even though the United States was making progress in banning slavery, there were still a lot of setbacks. My least favorite character in this movie has to be Edwin Epps. Edwin Epps is a cruel and hateful plantation owner in Louisiana. He rules over his plantation by using violence and intimidation to keep the slaves under control. He wanted people to fear him so no one would fit back. When a slave does something wrong, he will brutally beat his slaves and show zero remorse when doing so. Another reason Epps is the worst character is that in the movie he grew an obsession with another slave, Patsey, who he used for sex. He became fixated on her looks and body. He put her through physical and sexual abuse. He also becomes very jealous and protective of
Though slightly frivolous to mention merely because of its obviousness but still notably, all the slaves came from the Southern states including and not limited to Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Virginia, South Carolina, and Arkansas. Economically, the United States’ main cash crops—tobacco, rice, sugarcane, and cotton—were cultivated by the slaves who the rich Southerners heavily depended upon. From this perspective establishes a degree of understanding about the unwillingness to abolish slavery and contributes to the reality of the clear division between the agriculturally based South and industrially based North. Having watched the film, I wished the Northern people were more aware of the abuses and dehumanization of the slaves though the saddening reality is that the truth of the slaves’ conditions couldn’t be revealed till much later on because the fear of retaliation and prosecution of the slave owners and white people was very much present. That the slaves’ mistreatment would be considered repulsive and repugnant to the Quakers and abolitionists is made evident the narratives of the slaves read by the different former slaves who elucidated the countless
In Solomon Northup’s memoir, Twelve Years A Slave, he depicts the lives of African Americans living in the North as extremely painful and unjust. Additionally, they faced many hardships everyday of their lives. For one, they were stripped of their identities, loved ones, and most importantly their freedom. To illustrate this, Northup says, “He denied that I was free, and with an emphatic oath, declared that I came from Georgia” (20). This quote discusses the point in which Northup was kidnapped, and how he was ultimately robbed of his freedom, as well as his identity. Furthermore, not only were his captors cruel and repulsive, so was the way in which they treated African Americans. For instance, Northup states, “…Freeman, out of patience, tore Emily from her mother by main force, the two clinging to each other with all their might” (50). In this example, a mother is being parted from her child despite her cries and supplications, the slave owner
Twelve Years a Slave is a narrative written by Solomon Northup. After conducting research, the story was told to, written, and edited by David Wilson, a white lawyer and legislator from New York. The book is based on Solomon Northup who was a citizen of New York and a freeman. He was kidnapped in Washington City in 1841 and the book tells the tale of his years as a slave from the time of his kidnapping to when he was rescued in 1853. The first two chapters, Northup tells about his family. Little is known about his mother and he does not identify her by name, but his father, Mintus, was enslaved in Rhode Island by the Northup family. Mintus was freed after the family moved to New York. Solomon, as a young man, helped his father with chores around the farm and worked as a raftsman as told by in his narrative. Solomon tells about his marriage to Anne Hampton, a mixed woman, who he identifies as being of several different ethnicities (white, black, and Native American). He married Anne Hampton on Christmas Day in 1829 and has had three children with her.
In 1841, criminals seduced a free black New Yorker named Solomon Northup into slave territory by the promise of a job. There, they illegally sold him as a slave. When he protested to the slave dealer that he was free, the dealer beat him. He would learn no to assert his freedom, but over the next twelve years he attempted to free himself on several occasions, all of which failed until the last, successful effort.
The book 12 Years a Slave follows the story of Solomon Northup, a free man that was sold into slavery in 1841. The work describes his inner most thoughts and feelings as he finds himself being beaten and forced to work. He is given a new name that robs him of his identity and pushes him to forget about his freedom in New York as well as the family that he left behind. The book discusses the depth of slavery and what went on in Solomon’s twelve years of entrapment. It also explores the lives of other slaves and how they were treated by their masters. Throughout the book, these characters demonstrate the ups and downs of slavery as well as the reality of being held captive. Overall, Solomon Northup's book depicts the diversity in tasks and treatment
The movie 12 Years a Slave, is an exceptional film. It shows how brutal and inhumane American Slavery is. The movie itself is shockingly truthful as to the events that actually happened. There were many scenes that made it hard to not look away from the screen. Along with numerous scenes of trying to hold back tears. This movie is filled with heartache, sorrow, pure utter violence, but also love. There were many amazing actors and actress’ in this movie. Altogether, this film was brilliant. In fact, it has won many awards. Including, an Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress, Best Writing Adapted Screenplay, and many more outstanding awards. This movie is brutally honest, but well deserved. A free-man was
In his true-life narrative "Twelve Years a Slave," Solomon Northup is a free man who is deceived into a situation that brings about his capture and ultimate misfortune to become a slave in the south. Solomon is a husband and father. Northup writes:
The movie, 12 Years A Slave, was directed by Steve McQueen and it was released on October 18, 2013. The cast of the movie was Chitwetel Ejiofor as Solomon, Lupita Nyong 'o as Patsey, Michael Fassbender as Mr. Epps, Sarah Paulson as Mrs. Epps, Brad Pitt as Bass, Benedict Cumberbatch as Mr. Ford, Paul Giamatti as Mr. Freeman, Adepero Oduye as Eliza, and much more. The mvie is about a man, Solomon Northup, who started out as a free man, but then was captured and put into slavery. During his 12 years as a slave, he has survived as human property of several different slave masters. Throughout this essay I 'm going to talk about the differences of the book and the movie, which one I found more compelling, and interviews from the director and some of the actors.
The topic of slavery in the United States has always been controversial, as many people living in the South were supportive of it and many people living in the North were against it. Even though it was abolished by the Civil War before the start of the 20th century, there are still different views on the subject today. Written in 1853, the book Twelve Years a Slave is a first person account of what it was like for Solomon Northup to be taken captive from his free life in the North and sold to a plantation as a slave in the South, and his struggle to regain his freedom. Through writing about themes of namelessness, inhumanity, suffering, distrust, defiance, and the desire for freedom, Northup was able to expose the experiences and realities of slavery.
In Solomon Northup’s narrative, 12 years a slave, he shares a story of the horrors of his past that was a lifelong reality to many African Americans throughout American history. Northup, being a free man of Saratoga, New York, was stripped of his freedom and sold ‘down the river’ to the Bayou Boeuf of Louisiana and was bound to slavery for twelve years. Along with recounting the gruesome hardships and labor that he had to endure, Northup also gives detailed accounts of the lives of fellow slaves that he comes across, primarily, women. Northup’s narrative allows readers to see that the hardships that slave women experienced by far surpassed anything that a slave man could endure. Stripped of their families, beaten relentlessly and forever victims
Twelve Years a Slave is based on a true story. This book is a narrative of Solomon Northup. Who is he, and what is his identity is all described in this book. The title of this book, Twelve Years a Slave, explains those twelve years, Northup spent in slavery. He was a citizen of New York. Solomon Northup, the protagonist of the story, is born-free African American on July 1808. He is married to Anne Hampton and had three children: Elizabeth, ten years old; Margaret, eight years old; Alonzo, five years old. Solomon Northup was a free man kidnapped into slavery for twelve years in Washington, D.C at the age of 32. Two men named Brown and Hamilton kidnapped him in 1841, offered him a job in circus and drugged him. Shortly after his escape, he published his memoir to great acclaim and brought legal action against his abductors, though they were never prosecuted. Solomon Northup in Twelve Years a Slave is an interesting character because the author displays him as very intelligent & creative, caring& kind and persistent and hopeful person.
Edgar Allen Poe wrote many stories and poems. He was a well known author and poet. He was known for being a little crazy and it is reflected in some of his works. Edgar Allen Poe’s work “The Cask of Amontillado” revealed just how crazy he was. It is a very well written story that gives the reader suspense and interests the reader throughout the whole story. “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe is a great story and it uses good literary devices like foreshadowing, symbolism and irony.
Slavery is a legal or economic system that has been around since the very first civilization recorded in history. It existed even before written history and was once enforced in all countries around the world. In the movie, 12 Years a Slave, it gives a glimpse into the dark past of what people of color were treated like pre-civil war. In the true story, 12 Years a Slave, told by Solomon Northup, he recites the events that occurred and the effect slavery had religiously, politically, and socially on him and other people of color in the pre-civil war era.
The movie therefore emphasized on the importance of mixed race in slaves hierarchy. The movie provided several instance of sexual abuse and physical abuse to the African slaves from the ship and even more frequent on the plantations. It was possible to purchase your freedom and be a free man but very difficult, there was only one person shown in the movie who purchased his freedom in
12 Years a Slave is a very iconic movie about Solomon Northrup and his being kidnapped into slavery. Northrup was a free man, a professional violinist, and a farmer. After being drugged, he was shipped away from his family and forced to work in New Orleans. During his slavery, he was forced to pick cotton and endure many hardships for 12 years. Eventually, he was freed and returned to his family. The people who captured and enslaved him served no punishment for their crimes since blacks were not allowed to sue white people at that time. Solomon was stripped of all his rights not only as a human, but also as an American and was illegally put into slavery for 12 years.