Who Is Solomon Northup's '12 Years A Slave'?

12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup is a captivating tale that shows his view of slavery as freed man in the north forced to be a slave in the south. Solomon Northup was kidnapped and sold into slavery when he was offered a job to play his instrument (the violin) in a traveling circus. But before he was sold into slavery, he lived in upstate New York, with his family and of course, his work. He was your everyday worker with skills of a violinist. So when two con men offered him a job playing the fiddle in a circus with better pay in Washington DC, he took that chance for his family and for himself for a better life. Sadly it was a trap and he was drugged, kidnapped, and ended up being sold as a slave. In the book, for the next twelve …show more content…
He returned home to his family and there, with the help of editor David Wilson, wrote his account in 12 Years a Slave. “This book was meant to inform and convey that slavery really was wicked, and that it wasn’t good for slaves to have such a rigorously structured system for their ““employment””(1).” “I could not comprehend the justice of that law, or that religion, which upholds or recognizes the principle of slavery;(7).” In comparison to other works that were popular at that time, Uncle Tom’s Cabin had been published and had met with strong criticism from slave holding states (southern states such as Virginia , Georgia etc.), protesting that the mistreatment of slaves had been flagrantly exaggerated, and Northup wanted to fully document that, at least in Louisiana, the reality of slavery was as horrific as the most enthusiastic abolitionists claimed. “My sufferings I can compare to nothing else than the burning agonies of …show more content…
His book added diversity in the information that was provided to the Northerners about slavery. Most black abolitionists saw Slave tales such as “ Uncle Tom’s Cabin” as a tremendous help to their cause. While others thought that Uncle Tom's character as being “too submissive” and criticized Stowe for having her strongest black characters emigrate to Liberia. But at this time period,these slave narratives were important because it shows a glimpse of life of slave communities: the love between family members,respect for elders, bonds between friends. They described the African American culture, which was expressed through music, folk tales, and religion. Northrup's ability to fairly depict and describe his slave owners showed that in some cases, he ruthlessly exposes the one-dimensional ruthlessness of his cruel masters. Yet, in one particular case, with his owner Pastor Ford, he calls Ford one of the most godly, caring, Christians he has ever known. Since Northrup, was an intelligent, educated, articulate man, who would bite his tongue in front of his slave masters, Ford was portrayed as a one-dimensional man. He was flawed, yet he could still display admirable attributes as a christian