Whether or not a person’s freedom would be taken away from them isn’t something that is usually talked about in today’s day and time, but what happens when that thing that people hardly talk about or even consider actually becomes reality? How should one react if one day they were free to do and act as they please and then the next day they find themselves enslaved working for someone who treats them horribly? Fortunately slavery doesn’t exist in America today, but that wasn’t the case in 1841.
“12 Years a Slave” is a book based on a true story that challenges the idea of a person’s freedom being taken away from them in a day’s time. Solomon Northup was born a free man in Minerva, New York in 1808. Northup grew up to become a hard working man, rightfully deserving of everything he had, including his wife Anne and his two children. Northup had multiple jobs one being a fiddle- player. He was very good at playing the fiddle and because of that he was promised one dollar for each day of service and three dollars for every show he played. With that being said, Northup met two men and willingly traveled to New York City and then to Washington DC with them. While in DC the men offer him a drink that caused him to knock out, and when he woke up he was alone in a dark room in chains.
Northup is eventually sold to a slave trader named James Burch, who whips him for proclaiming that he is a free man and that he will find justice for the wrong done to him. Northup is now forced to get accustomed to his new life in the slave pen. In the slave pen Northup met many other slaves including Eliza, who is later separated from her children and is over taken by sorrow.
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The slaves are handcuffed and moved with steamboats to Richmond and New Orleans. The travel was not a fun one. According to the Northup “sea- sickness rendered the place of our confinement loathsome and disgusting” (32). While traveling on the steamboat Northup plans to rebel against the slave trader, but before he could go through with the plan one of the slaves who agreed to help, caught the smallpox and died.
Once they reached their destination Northup is given to a New Orleans slave trader who gives Northup a new name, Platt. Later on in the book, Northup and Eliza are purchased by a Baptist preacher name William Ford. Eliza, constantly crying over her children, touched Ford and he attempts to buy her daughter Emily from the New Orleans slave trader; however, Theophilus Freeman, the New Orleans slave trader, refuses to sell her. Northup notices the kindness in this man’s heart and he made sure to take note of it writing, “there never was a more kind, noble, candid, Christian man than William Ford” (47).
Northup, being the good man he is decides to give Ford something in return for his kindness. Northup creates a set of rafts that delivers Ford’s lumber by canal, which increases Ford’s profits. Unfortunately for Northup, kindness does not go a long way because he is sold yet again to slave owner John Tibeats. It didn’t take long for Northup to realize what kind of man John Tibeats was. Tibeats was the complete opposite of Ford, he was short tempered and never satisfied and because of this Tibeats tried to beat Northup, but Northup fought back and whipped Tibeats until according to him “my right arm ached” (61). Tibeats being the angry spiteful man that he is attempted to hang Northup, but someone intervenes and saves him. It was then argued that because Tibeats hadn’t completely paid Ford for Northup he had to spare him.
Although Tibeats was advised to spare Northup, that didn’t stop him from continuing to try to attack him. Tibeats attacks Northup with a hatchet and Northup fought back again and beat Tibeats. This time though, Northup runs away from the plantation while being chased by dogs. He managed to swim through alligator infested water and found his way back to Ford’s plantation. Shortly after Tibeats found Northup, but Ford managed to persuade Tibeats that killing Northup would only cause him great financial loss. Tibeats agreed and instead made Northup cut sugarcane. During this time Northup finds out that Eliza died from not eating and from sadness because of being separated form her daughter. Shortly after Tibeats sells Northup to Edwin Epps and there, Northup worked on a cotton plantation.
The story continues with Northup explaining his days and work on the cotton plantation and sometimes the sugar plantation, constantly writing throughout the days. One day Northup decided to attempt to write a letter home, but this was quickly ended when the white field worker that he trusted and confided in told Epps; however, because Northup never physically gave the white laborer the letter he was able to deny it and convince Epps that what the white laborer was accusing him of was not true. Later on though, Northup met a carpenter named Mr. Bass who agreed to mail several letters for him. A long time after, after almost giving up, Henry Northup, a member of the white family that Northup’s father had served years ago, found Northup and freed him.
The book ends with the reader finding out why it took so long for Northup to be found after his wife had received the letters and then finally with the reuniting of him and his family.
This book was a very good read and it also had a very powerful message. Life is often taken for granted. Nowadays because of the century it is, people in America are convinced that their freedom is their right, and although it is, someone always has the ability to take that freedom away; whether it be the government giving someone life in prison, a human trafficker enslaving a young woman, or any other circumstance, nothing is ever promised and this book challenged the idea that freedom is a promised and guaranteed right in America. Another very prominent subtopic in this story was being savvy, hard working and determined.
Determination and hard work goes a long way, not only because a person who exercises these things get things done, but because people enjoy hard working and determined people and those people often befriend other hard working and determined people. If Northup didn’t work nearly as hard as he did he would have never gotten the wife he had, he wouldn’t have built trust with Ford, which eventually saved his life, he wouldn’t have been able to get those letters mailed to his wife, which lead to his freedom. Everything that took place could have easily been altered if Northup wasn’t savvy, hardworking and determined. These are very important skills to teach a person because as psychologist Angela Duckworth proved through her research, determination and long-term goals are significant predictors of success.
Aside from the powerful messages of the book, the book also expresses morals to the reader. The reader is vividly introduced to the subject of slavery and how people who were enslaved during that time were treated. The reader becomes emotionally attached to Northup as his story is told throughout the book and this makes a person feel bad for Northup, as they should. No one should ever take someone undeservingly from their home and their family and torture and work that person. No one should ever be degraded and beaten to death because that person is simply not liked because of the color of their skin. Not only are those actions senseless, they are immoral.
Hopefully the readers of this book take more from it than just a good read because there are many more messages engraved in the story other than it being a good story. “12 Years a Slave” is definitely worth reading and I would recommend it to anyone who is slightly interested in reading it.
