Nineteen Years A Slave By Solomon Northup - 980 Words

Twelve Years a Slave is a 1853 narrative memoir written by Solomon Northup and later adapted into the 2013 film, 12 Years a Slave. This compelling narrative contains two major themes: race and slavery. Each of these concepts is historically relevant in creating a stereotype of African Americans as uneducated lower-class citizens. â€Å"Hundreds of blacks lost their freedom through the operation of kidnapping rings,† and in 1841 Northup fell victim to one. Northup had taken to the violin at a very young age, Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton are introduced to Northup and inquire about his talent. These men offer him a high-paying job playing in their circus; Northup readily agrees. Once in Washington and having gained his trust, the men take Northup to dinner and drug him. The next morning he wakes â€Å"sitting upon a low bench, made of rough boards, and without coat or hat,† his hands and ankles chained. This marks the end of Northup’s freedom and the beginning of Platte’s servitude. (Platte is the slave name he was given to deny him his true identity.) Northup’s servitude begins at William Ford’s plantation where he is closely watched by the overseer Tibeats. As Northup slowly earns Ford’s favor he inadvertently insults Tibeats’ pride. Extremely valuable to poor whites was class-power and pride and Tibeats does not shrink from Northup. When Tibeats tries to regain his pride by nearly hanging Northup, Northup fights back. This was a taboo in this time period; one could fight onlyShow MoreRelatedNineteen Years A Slave By Solomon Northup1493 Words   |  6 Pages Twelve Years a Slave, a memoir penned by Solomon Northup, is a poignant and extremely touching piece of literature, on the plights of an American slave. It is the autographical journey of the writer himself, and the twelve years he spent in bondage. Born as a free African American in New York, Solomon was tricked into slavery, and beaten black an d blue to when he tried to regain freedom. He worked as a cotton picker, a carpenter, a mill-worker, and faced severe cruelty. His final reunion with hisRead MoreNineteen Years A Slave By Solomon Northup Essay1737 Words   |  7 Pagesof slavery unless they have experienced it themselves. 12 Years a Slave is a phenomenal book because, being a reflection of Solomon Northup’s life, it accurately portrays the life of a black slave during that time period, including intense detail that arises a variety of emotions in the reader throughout the book. Published in 1853 in New York by Derby Miller, and written by Solomon Northup himself, his memoir entitled, 12 Years a Slave is a phenomenal narrative of the accounts he experienced asRead MoreNineteen Years A Slave By Solomon Northup2429 Words   |  10 Pagestimes that America has ever been through was the time of slavery. It has taken years for the country to recover from the atrocious time period in which â€Å"equality†, was not equal at all. The historical fiction, 12 Years A Slave by Solomon Northup, was first published in the United States of America by Derby and Miller in 1853 but the newest addition was published in 2014. The novel is an autobiographic account of Solomon himself who had been born a free man in the state of New York in July of 1808Read MoreNineteen Years A Slave By Solomon Northup1458 Words   |  6 Pages 12 Years A Slave Twelve years a slave is Solomon Northup s story of his own kidnapping and his years as a slave in middle and late 1800’s. He was born a freeman in the North, so he was not a slave. Not until he was kidnapped and taken south. His father was once a slave but was freed, which made Solomon a free man upon his birth. When he was young he would help his father farm and work with rafts, in New York. It was in upstate New York he married his wife Anne Hampton, and they later had threeRead MoreNineteen Years A Slave, By Solomon Northup, And Black Hawk Essay2336 Words   |  10 Pages12 Years a Slave, by Solomon Northup, and Black Hawk: An Autobiography, by Black Hawk, are two important accounts of life in America during the 19th century. These narratives provide insight into the history of the two largest, most heavily marginalized groups in America; thus, these stories enable further examination of the distinct institutions of prejudice laid upon these groups during the 19th century. As a result, we are able to take a closer look at the differences in motivation behind African-American