12 Years as a Slave - Book Report/Review Example

12 Years as a Slave Solomon Northup was born in a period when slavery was rife, and most black people were slaves of the white population. His father had been a slave for the Northup family but was freed after the Northup family moved to New York. He got married to Ann Hampton, who was of mixed heritage and together had three children. He became an excellent fiddle player and would often move from place to place to perform. However, when he was kidnapped and sold it slavery, he became very destitute. He served various bosses some of whom were kind while others were simply very cruel. When he finally managed to get to freedom, he tried to sue those who had sold him into slavery and the case gained massive recognition. He lost the case as he was not allowed to testify because he was a black person. The black people whether slave or not were not allowed to testify in the courts of law especially for themselves and this goes to show that their words were never taken seriously. Northup died without getting any justice, but he managed to inspire a lot of black people to stand up for themselves. The author of 12years a slave wrote his own account as a slave despite the fact that he was a free man with necessary documents. The black people were not allowed to do anything constructive at the time, and they were considered as property to be sold and transferred from owner to owner at will. They served as farmhands and were often they were separated from their families and died destitute. The healthier a slave was, the more money they would fetch for their owner. Whenever they tried to resist, they would be killed in the most inhumane way since only the owner had the right to free a black person. He would do this by getting papers for the said slave and to prove that he was a free man, the black person would need to walk around with the documents. The book 12 years a slave shows the theme of slavery and the life of the black people under captivity by the white people. The black slaves did not have any say about what happened to their lives, and the white people could do with them as they wished. The author wrote the book to highlight the plight of the slaves during the slavery period and to enable people to see the injustices that were done to them by their owners. The first two chapters of the book discuss the family of Northup and their history and details such as where he comes from and how they were freed are explained. Northup was offered a job by two swindlers where he was to be paid a dollar each day which was very good money at the time. He readily travelled with the kidnappers to New York and later to Washington DC (Northup 30). The black people even those who were free were in constant danger the white people did not think much of the black people and they only could relate them to property that could be sold and bought at the markets. Even though Northup was a free man, the two people kidnapped him, took his papers and beat him whenever he tried to protest that he had the documents to show he was a free man (Northup 38). After waking up from his stupor, he finds himself in a slave pen. The slaves were typically sold to the highest bidder whenever the owner wanted to make quick money or when he did not need them anymore. Some of the most favorable features of a slave to the buyer that he had to appear masculine which signified strength, good teeth and good health. Without his papers, he is sold to a slave dealer who whips him severely for protesting that he was not a slave, and he had nothing to show for it. When they were being transported from one place to another, they planned to escape with some of the slaves. However, the plan does not materialize since one of them dies due to smallpox (Northup 69-72). There is a female slave in the slave pen who is very distraught and travelling together with her two children. They are hopeless in the steamboat with no future and a feeling of captives with no guarantee of tomorrow or a better life for them and their children. They are then sold to a new slave dealer who names him Platt (Northup 75). The selling and buying of the slaves' further show that they were only material possessions for the white people and did not have any say about what happened in their lives. Even those who were freed were no protected as much as they should have. The slaves were beaten anytime they tried to oppose their masters. They were required to do anything they were told to do even if it meant killing their friends and family. At one point, one of the masters, Tibeats, tried to whip Northup for a questionable offense. However, Northup gets furious and battles back (Northup 111). The white person is so humiliated that he attempts to kill him. Fortunately, a fair mediator comes in and rescues Platt. After the incident, he tries to kill Northup using an axe. Once again, Platt overpowers him and escapes from the farm. He ends up in his first owner's ranch where he is protected from any harm. The white people did not believe that the slaves had any rights, and any insolence was punished by severe whipping and even death. It is obvious that the white people thought that the slaves were much better than the black people and that they could do anything without any severe repercussions. The second part of the book focuses on life on the cotton farm where the owner was a ruthless man who treated his slaves without any mercy. Northup portrays the life of the slaves as a routine where they were to follow the instructions of their owners. They were to work for their masters, please them and retire to their quarters during nightfall. They were all given targets regarding the amount of cotton that they were to deliver at nightfall and failure to which they would be beaten severely. The women on the ranch were raped at will by their owners and could neither protest nor simply refuse. For instance, in the case of Patsy, the master had taken a liking to her and raped her at his will. However, the mistress of the wife accused Patsy of seducing her husband and denied her food and treats most times. She had no say, and whenever the master came to her, she had to comply otherwise she would be beaten mercilessly or perhaps even killed. The black people were merely puppets to satisfy the needs of their masters and failure to which they would be punished severely. The attempts of the black people to escape were often futile since Northup had tried to escape many times and write a letter to his family with no success. However, he was forced to deny that he was the one who wrote the letters when they were intercepted since his ability to read and write would be seen as a threat. The slaves were not expected to know how to read and to write and thus one who could do these things was seen as threats to the white people and were thus killed for fear of too much intelligence which would consequently lead to inability to control. The white people sought to control the lives and destinies of the slaves since they were made to believe that they were savages with no feelings or emotions. The book brings out the plight of the slaves during the period of slavery and the reader can clearly identify with the struggles of the black people. The book is authentic as it is narrated by the person who underwent all the suffering during the slave period. He gives his version of events as they were unfolding. I would recommend the book to anyone who is interested in learning about the slavery period or anyone concerned with the development of the black people. The book is so touching that a movie based on it has been released due to its authenticity and also serves as a reminder of how far the black people have come in their struggle for fairness and justice. The movie has gained worldwide recognition and opened the eyes of the people to the anguish that the black people during the slavery period. The reader is sensitized to the negative and inhumane aspects of slavery[AnE13]. The author brings out the theme of the book entirely and the nitty gritty details given on the accounts of the slaves give more credibility to the story and thus make the reader get the full picture of what was happening at the time. The major weakness of the story is that the storyteller tells of his account more like a visitor to slavery than a slave who has nowhere else to go. The reader gets the feeling that he is going through the experiences as a visitor and not like someone who was born into slavery. The author was not a slave entirely and thus even though is treated as a slave, he does not own the experiences and can be said to have some advantages over the other slaves due to his skills. During his entire experience, he keeps wishing and devising ways to escape back to freedom. He has an option out of slavery unlike most of the other slaves. However, the book does an exquisite job in ensuring that the message is passed across, and the plight of the slaves is highlighted. The reader gets to sympathize with all the slaves and cannot help but be incensed at the injustice at the time. Works Cited AnE13: , (Cieply), Read More