The movie, 12 Years a Slave, is a true story based on a man named Solomon Northup who was captured and sold into slavery. He overcomes slavery and exhibits courage during his turbulent time. Directed by Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave debuted on October 18, 2013. Solomon Northup, who is played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, is a courageous and determined man who is driven to escape from the cruelty of slavery. 12 Years a Slave bluntly illustrates the cruelty of slavery and the triumph of the human spirit. 12 years a Slave allowed viewers to “actually [witness] American slavery in all its appalling horror for the very first time.” 12 Years a Slave shows the brutality that the slaves went through and how much determination they really had. Throughout …show more content…
He begins with Master Ford, who was the first slave owner Northup lives with. From the moment Ford met Northup, he liked him as a slave and a person. Ford saw the skills that Northup obtained, however, Tibeats, who watched over the slaves at Master Ford’s plantation, did not particularly like the position that Platt had on the plantation. Tibeat’s did not like that Northup was a knowledgeable man and did not believe that a slave should be as intelligent as Northup. Tibeat’s dislike towards Platt led Ford to treat Platt in a cruel manner. On the plantation, Platt was doing the work he was supposed to do and Tibeats wanted to whip him for no legitimate reason. Platt would not allow himself to be mistreated just because Tibeat felt threatened by him. Because of his resistance to getting whipped, he beat up Master Tibeats in defense. The repercussion for his behavior was to be hung by a noose. In order to survive, he stood on the top of his toes for hours. Instead of letting go and allowing himself to die, Northup would not allow Tibeats to have the satisfaction of Northup dying. Therefore, he suffered for many hours on a noose. This scene not only shows Northup’s strength, but it perfectly illustrates the concept of the triumph of the human spirit.; however, this is where Northup’s horrific journey as a slave …show more content…
When Northup arrived at his new Master’s plantation, Master Epps, he received a cruel welcoming of what a slave really went through. When Northup arrived, he was introduced to Patsey, who was played by Lupita Nyong’o, who has been a slave her whole life. She was the “queen of the fields” and befriends Northup. In one scene, Patsey tells Master Epps that she had gone to Mistress Shaw’s house fore a bar a soap because Mistress Epps would not give her soap to bathe with. Due to the envy and jealousy that Mistress Epps had for Patsey, she ordered her husband to whip her; however, he did not want to. Therefore, he ordered Platt to whip Patsey. It is prevalent from the moment that he began to whip her that he was heartbroken to do so. Afterward, Master Epps had taken the whip from Platt and nearly whipped Patsey to death. Before being whipped, Patsey disclosed to Platt that she rather have him whip her then Master Epps because she knew he would not be as rough as Epps was. He had lost himself and his
Extreme violence is central in Northup’s story, 12 Years a Slave; he emphasizes that the slave owner’s authority was controlled by terrorizing slaves they owned with powering violence. Nailed to the floor, Northup experienced painful activities to his naked body after he awoke in a slave pen; his enslavers paused only to ask for him to accept his new status
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:
Solomon Northup’s “Twelve Years of Slave,” is one of the most known slave narratives published before the Civil War. Born as a freeman in New York, he experienced the life of a slave when two whites, Merill Brown and Abram Hamilton, that deceived him captured him While his status as a freeman is threatened by his captors with the promise of more brutal beating, he has to answer if he, himself, is a slave. Throughout the twelve years, he is being sold to different masters ranging from kind to inhumane. Northup is kidnapped around age thirty and is saved after twelve years of his captivity by the help of Henry B. Northup, a white lawyer related to the family that owned Northup’s father as a slave and which he also took his last name. Solomon uses descriptions of plantation work, desecration of family, and violence to convey the inhumane life of an African American slave.
In 12 Years a Slave, Solomon Northup went through many obstacles of slavery. He was born a free man who was kidnaped and converted into a slave. Going through this processes he thought of ways to alter the thinking of a slave owner especially to avoid getting punished. Northup also meets along the way free colored people who were also kidnaped and turned into slaves. As well, as others who were separated from their families. The social relations in this time era was that the white slave owners’ and holders want to look more powerful on the control of their slaves.
Slavery takes its part in history by containing the darkest, most cruel centuries of our nation. Often times, people are exposed to simply the surface of a very complex time period. Slavery in the United States had very intricate facets to it. In the outstanding film 12 Years a Slave, the life of a slave captured through Solomon Northup's eyes. Although he was a free man, Northup was kidnapped and wrongly sold into slavery. Through his journey, I was able to identify different pieces of slavery such as the physical brutality/sexual harassment, the slave and master relationship, and slave rebellion.
Solomon Northup was born free, in Minerva, New York in 1808. Northup became known in his community as an exceptional fiddle player. When two men approached Northup and offered him good wages to go to Washington DC, to play in a travelling music show, he quickly accepted. Solomon Northup was drugged, kidnapped, captured, and sold into slavery. He served for many masters; some were violent and cruel while others treated him humanely. Solomon Northup experienced shear torture, cruelty, and the loss of his dignity, throughout his many years as a slave. After many years, he came in contact with an abolitionist, who sent letters to Northup’s family to notify them of his life and status. He was soon rescued from Louisiana and freed as a slave. The narrative of Solomon Northup’s Twelve Years a Slave reveals the lived experience of dehumanization of the male slave, female slave, and the masters during the slavery period in the American South.
Northup described that a whip was always by Epps side and used it on a daily basis on the slaves. Northup goes into detail of what he witnessed, telling stories of human depravity and abuse. A story worth noting is of a slave girl by the name of Patsey. She is frequently raped and whipped by Epps due to his jealous wife. One story of her being whipped was when Epps’ wife refuses to allow her to have soap. In search of soap, Patsey heads to another plantation to find it. But when she returns, Epps is there and furious, believing that she had been intimate of another man. So he resorts to whip her, with Northup holding the leash. He described her as naked and helpless while begging for
It tells the story of Solomon, a freeman who is kidnapped and enslaved for 12 years. By familiarizing us with characters the movie helps lend a more emotional tone to the struggle of slaves and freeman. This helped me sympathize more with the plight of African Americans during the Antebellum period because it added a more personal feel to the horrors of slavery and drew me in more. Although I always knew that they were treated horrendously I could never truly grasp just how extreme their oppression was. It also illustrates that even freemen were always in danger of being enslaved and abused. 12 Years A Slave should remain a part of the United States History curriculum because it brings an even stronger emotional connection to the struggle of African Americans in the
It features powerful and moving performances, and characters with a depth and realism so often lacking in period dramas. McQueen’s film stays true to the real Solomon Northup’s account and the historical era that account is based in, while also challenging racial stereotypes, and including elements of black resistance to oppression and diversity within the African American population. “12 Years a Slave” is to American slavery, what Spindler’s List was to the Holocaust. This film is a must see for American audience of all ethnic backgrounds, for it provides a heart-wrenching look into a less talked about period of our
12 years a slave is based on an individual named Solomon Northup who was once a free African-American, but ended up being kidnapped and sold into slavery. Solomon Northup was stripped from a life of freedom to a life of being in chains for 12 years. The movie start in the year 1841 in New York. Solomon is found in 1853 in Louisiana. Solomon tried to reach his family for 12 years, but it never worked out finally he got help by a Caucasian male who was against slavery visiting the plantation Solomon was a slave of.
There are a plethora of historical narratives that are available to readers in the twenty-first century, but none are quite like Solomon Northup’s narrative, 12 Years a Slave. Solomon gives readers a glance as to what life as a slave was like in the 1840s. Solomon was a free man who lived his life in New York. Tragically, he was tricked, drugged, kidnapped, and sold into slavery. Both the book and the movie, 12 Years a Slave, make you imagine and relive what Solomon experienced. His bondage and struggle portrayed can only make one cringe from all the inhuman things that Solomon saw and lived through. Although the movie and book provide experiences as these, it is the book that provides a deeper perspective and its untouched truth as to what
When 12 Years A Slave landed on the bookstore shelves, people were not sure if they were ready for another slave storyline. But after all the rave reviews and the decision to make the book into a motion picture, many people decided it was time to view and or read what this story was all about. Majority of people prefer attending a movie when there is an option versus reading, for they do not have the patience to sit and enjoy a good book.
Solomon Northup’s “Twelve Years a Slave” is considered a literary masterpiece for all the right reasons. It’s detailed description of his life as a slave was not only a rude awakening for those unware of slave life back in the 1850’s but also as an insight to what slavery was really like to us living in modern society. This book helped bring insight to slave life and how truly in distress many of those poor souls were.
12 Years a Slave is the most powerful and moving American slavery movie of all time. Although it’s a big statement, it is an accurate one. The film leaves you feeling as though you have just experienced slavery. The historical and biographical film tells the story of Solomon Northup who was kidnapped, sold into slavery and put to work for 12 years before his release. This film is gory and horrific but really tells the story of the past. This film will exceed any expectations.
’12 Years A Slave’ touched me emotionally as I felt so many emotions. I found myself feeling more pain and sympathized with every page turned. I was horrified to learn how his or her master could mistreat someone. Their caretaker.