thesis for 12 years a slave

“12 Years a Slave”: An Analysis of the Film Essay

The 2013 film 12 Years a Slave proved that slavery is a worldwide issue. Indeed, the film made $150 million outside the United States and $57 million in the U.S., with a production budget of $20 million (Sharf, 2020). The movie was based on the memoir Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup (Ntim, 2020). It tells the story of a free African American man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. Solomon spent twelve years away from his family, being traded from one master to another. Fortunately, the protagonist met a person who helped him deliver a message to his family and friends, who came and rescued him. This movie accurately illustrates discriminatory relationships between white slaveholders and black slaves that stemmed from the dysfunctional system in the country and prejudices in people’s mindsets at that time.

The two main ethnic groups presented in this film are White and African Americans, and the three social groups are affluent slaveholders, working for middle class, and enslaved people. The movie starts with the story of a free African American violinist Solomon Northup, living with his family in Saratoga, New York (McQueen, 2013). However, he was abducted by two white men, who tortured the man and sold him into slavery, changing his name to Plat. Before they met, Solomon and these two slave traders belonged to the same middle class. However, the fact that Northup was an African American made these individuals believe that they had the right to withdraw their freedom. The two masters that Solomon had were William Ford and Edwin Epps (McQueen, 2013). The former was kind and religious, while the latter was cruel and sadistic. Since the movie was based on a real story, it indicated that slaveholders had different characters, but all had the wrong perception of race.

Although 12 Years a Slave is a film about slavery, the issues of collectivism and individualism are also raised. Specifically, the main character never identified himself as an enslaved man and continued claiming he was a free citizen (McQueen, 2013). However, his counterparts on the plant had a collective mindset, imprinted in them since childhood, that slavery is normal. These people helped each other because they belonged to the same group. Although Solomon tried to become a part of this community, his individual goal to return home was above the collective values.

The movie also showed prejudice, generalizations, stereotyping, and discrimination against black people. For instance, when Ford brings Solomon and Elisa to his plantation, his wife expresses her sadness that Elisa got separated from her children. However, she also stated that “something to eat and some rest” could help that woman forget her children (McQueen, 2013, 32:47-32:51). This scene demonstrated the common prejudice about slaves that they were not capable of the same feelings as white people. An example of generalization and stereotyping was how Tibeats, a carpenter, became hostile to Solomon when he showed his intelligence and gave Ford advice. In fact, Tibeats believed that Plat would never be more competent than any white individual because Plat was a “nigger” (McQueen, 2013, 36:35-36:37). Notably, before Northup became enslaved, he never experienced discrimination, but when the main character was sold into slavery, discrimination was the only attitude that he could observe.

In summary, 12 Years a Slave depicts the life of enslaved people and slave owners almost two centuries ago. The film narrates a free black man’s life from the moment when he enjoyed his family’s company in the state of New York to his abduction, enslavement, and eventual liberation. Overall, the movie raised such critical issues as discrimination, prejudice, stereotyping, and generalization that allowed slaveholders to maintain this societal structure for a long time.

McQueen, S. (2013). 12 years a slave [Film]. New Regency Productions.

Ntim, Z. (2020). Steve McQueen says it took 11 years to create his new anthology “Small Axe” and reveals why producers almost pulled out of his Oscar-winning film “12 Years a Slave.” Insider. Web.

Sharf, Z. (2020). Steve McQueen recalls producers rejecting “12 Years a Slave” over false beliefs about black films. Indie Wire. Web.

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Bibliography

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The Cultural Significance of Solomon Northup’s Twelve Years a Slave

by Mollie Lieblich

Drugged and beaten, Solomon Northup was illegally kidnapped from his hometown in Saratoga Springs in upstate New York and taken to Washington, D.C. in 1841. He woke up in the slave pen where he was sadistically remade from a black free man in the North into a slave in the South. Questioning his fate, Northup asked, “could it be possible that I was thousands of miles from home—that I had been chained and beaten without mercy—that I was even herded with a drove of slaves, a slave myself? 1 Detailing his transformation into “chattel” property, Northup recollected that the slave trader, “would make us hold up our heads, walk briskly back and forth, while customers would feel our hands and arms and bodies, turn us about, ask us what we could do, make us open our mouths and show our teeth, precisely as a jockey examines a horse which he is about to barter for or purchase.” 2 Forced to accept his new-found status as a captured slave, Solomon Northup was sold “down river” to Louisiana and labored for twelve years, toiling on cotton and sugar plantations in the South.

Set to come out in October 2013, Brad Pitt and Chiwetel Ejiofor star in a movie “12 Years a Slave” directed by Steve McQueen based on Solomon Northup’s Slave narrative.

Solomon Northup’s slave narrative, Twelve Years A Slave; Narrative of a Citizen of New-York, Solomon Northup, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841, Rescued in 1853, From a Cotton Plantation Near the Red River, in Louisiana, achieved a remarkable degree of success as an abolitionist indictment against slavery . First published in 1853, three years after the Fugitive Slave Act, Northup’s narrative served as an important cultural symbol of slave life on southern plantations during antebellum America before the Civil War.

Born into freedom, Northup was kidnapped into slavery at the age of thirty. Lured to Washington, D.C. in 1841 by the promise of easy employment, fast money, and adventure, Northup was in reality drugged, beaten, and sold into slavery within sight of the nation’s capital. According to historian Ira Berlin, Northup “joined the mass of black humanity—some one million in number—that was forcibly transported South to reconstruct the plantation economy on new ground, as the center of American slavery shifted from the production of tobacco and rice in the seaboard states to that of cotton and sugar in the interior.” 3 Between 1790 and 1860, approximately one million African Americans were transported from the Upper South to the Deep South in the domestic slave trade. 4

While in captivity, Northup wrote letters to family and friends in the North which later became the raw materials of his slave narrative. From the 1740’s to 1865, approximately sixty-five autobiographical slave narratives were published in book or pamphlet form. 5 Created as propaganda for abolitionism, slave narratives often conformed to reoccurring narrative structures and literary conventions. Authenticity was considered essential. Most pre-emancipation slave narratives include phrases such as “written by himself” or “herself” on title pages, as well as numerous testimonials, prefaces, and letters of endorsement by white abolitionists and supporters. The narratives usually began, “I was born,” identifying a specific birthplace but no date of birth, since slaves often did not have that knowledge. Many narratives also included a photo or engraved portrait of the author and included appendices— bills of sale, free papers, newspaper clippings, sermons, speeches, poems simultaneously upheld the legitimacy of their story while arguing the case against slavery. 6 Slave narratives proved that, despite the odds, many slaves managed to escape their degradation and learned how to read and write. After escaping their bondage and making contacts with abolitionists, they were able to tell their tale to others.

When the abolitionist movement identified ex-slaves interested in publishing their stories, white editors conformed narratives to the dictates of nineteenth century sentimental literature in order to appeal to audiences nationwide. Publishers and editors reinforced themes that shocked the nation.

Twelve Years A Slave —The Slave Narrative of Solomon Northup

Even when ex-slaves wrote their own narratives, many struggled to gain full free expression and narrative authority from the restrictions of white editorial control. Solomon Northup’s experience in slavery quickly became national news after his rescue in 1853 from a cotton plantation in Louisiana. Promoted by abolitionist leaders like Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and William Lloyd Garrison, Northup’s book quickly became a strong seller, going through half a dozen printings. 7 At three hundred and thirty pages, Northup’s is one of the longest narratives ever written. To counter critics who would have discredited his narrative as fabrication, Northup—unlike Frederick Douglass or other authors of slave life who preferred generalities and employed pseudonyms—loaded his account with specifics. He cited actual names, places and dates so that his readers could identify and bring his captors to trial. Twelve Years A Slave , Northup declared, would “present a full and truthful statement of all the principal events in the history of my life, and…portray the institution of slavery as I have seen and known it.” 8 Northup wanted to present an accurate, first-hand account of the atrocities and terrors of slavery and to bring his captors to trial.

Violence, Plantation Work, and the Desecration of the Family

Twelve Years A Slave is one of the most authentic descriptions of slavery from the viewpoint of the slave himself. 9 Extreme violence is central in Northup’s narrative; he emphasizes that the slave owner’s authority was only maintained by terrorizing enslaved black people they owned with relentless physical and psychological violence. Whips, paddles, shackles, and the stocks make repeat appearances, especially in Solomon’s description of his life as a newly kidnapped free man. Stripped of his clothing and nailed to the floor, Northup endured blow after blow to his naked body after he awoke in a slave pen; his enslavers paused only to ask if their prisoner would accept his new status. As Northup recollected,

As soon as these formidable whips appeared, I was seized by both of them, and roughly divested of my clothing. My feet, as has been stated, were fastened to the floor […]. With the paddle, Burch commenced beating me. Blow after blow was inflicted on my naked body. When his unrelenting arm grew tired, he stopped and asked if I still insisted I was a free man. I did insist upon it, and then the blows were renewed, faster and more energetically, if possible, than before.

–solomon northup (44-45).

It was only after the paddle broke and his enslaver seized a rope to continue beating him that Northup was finally silenced into accepting his new identity as a slave. In these scenes of brutality, Northup insisted such sadistic events were so traumatic that he could still feel them while writing. “I thought I must die beneath the lashes of the accursed brute. Even now the flesh crawls upon my bones, as I recall the scene. I was all on fire. My sufferings I can compare to nothing else than the burning agonies of hell.”

The second major theme in Northup’s narrative is the constant and unrelenting hardship of plantation work. The images that Northup captures in his descriptions of life and labor on the plantations of Louisiana depict the sheer exhaustion, monotony, and fear that each slave struggled with physically and psychologically. As Northup recalled,

An hour before daylight the horn is blown. Then the slaves arouse, prepare their breakfast, fill a gourd with water […] and hurry to the field again […]. Then the fears and labors of another day begin; and until its close there is no such thing as rest. He fears he will be caught lagging through the day; he fears to approach the gin house with his basket-load of cotton at night; he fears, when he lies down, that he will oversleep himself in the morning. Such is a true, faithful, unexaggerated picture and description of the slave’s daily life, during the time of cotton-picking on the shores of Bayou Beouf. 10

Northup’s rendering of the daily life of slavery captures the incessant emotional and physical toll of slavery’s imprisonment.

Solomon Northup also detailed the experiences of the slave women he encountered during his twelve years as a slave, and especially elaborated on the experience of Patsey, a twenty-three-year-old slave who was the victim of a licentious master and a jealous mistress. Caught between her white mistress’s jealous wrath and the sexual abuse of her master, Northup recalled that Patsey lived her life in torment and fear,

If [Patsey] uttered a word in opposition to her master’s will, the lash was resorted to at once, to bring her to subjection; if she was not watchful about her cabin, or when walking in the yard, a billet of wood, or a broken bottle perhaps, hurled from her mistress’s hand, and would smite her unexpectedly in the face. The enslaved victim of lust and hate, Patsey had no comfort of her life. 11

Although Patsey was a faithful slave and worked in the cotton fields for her master’s profit, she became the helpless victim of her master’s lust. Pasty’s mistress took her jealous anger out on her female slave instead of finding fault in her husband. “Nothing delighted the mistress so much as to see [Patsey] suffer,” noted Northup. He continued, “more than once, when [master] Epps refused to sell her, has she tempted me with bribes to put her secretly to death, and bury her body in some lonely place in the margin of the swamp.” 12 Doubly abused by the sexual terror and physiological torment of her master and mistress, respectively, Patsey’s story represented the brutality of slavery experienced by bondswomen. At the hands of white men, Northup made clear, black women were sexually and physically exploited with impunity during slavery. This normalization of sexual exploitation of slave women reflected the racist perceptions and stigmatization of black women.

Female slaves also faced the separation of families and children. In his account, Northup noted the intense emotions of female slave mothers at the auction block. Relating the remorselessness of white slave traders who disregarded the feelings of slave mothers separated from their children, he recalled the intense grieving of a female slave named Eliza after she had been forcibly separated from her two young children. Eliza was overwhelmed with grief when a new white master purchased her children and not herself. As Northup noted,

All the time the trade was going on, Eliza was crying aloud, and wringing her hands. She besought the man not to buy [her child], unless he also bought herself and [her other small child]. She promised, in that case, to be the most faithful slave that ever lived. The man answered that he could not afford it, and then Eliza burst into a paroxysm of grief, weeping plaintively. 13

Forced to confront the realities of fleeting motherhood as a slave, female bondswomen suffered terribly from the emotional separation of themselves and their children in the uncertain world of the American slave trade. By displaying the abuse black women suffered during slavery—from sexual terror, physiological torment, and the separation of families—Northup’s narrative was able to evoke a sympathetic antislavery feeling in the Northern states in the decades before the Civil War by exposing the horrors upon its innocent victims.

The Process of Writing Solomon Northup’s Slave Narrative

Northup’s story was written immediately after his rescue while still fresh in his mind. His book had fewer romanticized memory errors which other slave narratives suffered from, such as the oral history interviews conducted by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of surviving ex-slaves during the 1930s. These narratives are used sparingly by historians since former slaves were interviewed in their old age and in many cases, the interviewer was white, who would either intimidate the former slave they were interviewing or the former slave would feel uncomfortable because of lingering racism prevalent during the 1930’s Jim Crow south.

To emphasize the narrative’s authenticity, Northup and his editor dedicated the 1854 second edition to Harriet Beecher Stowe, in recognition of her widely successful antislavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852). Northup’s experience as a slave depicted a “striking parallel” to Stowe’s fictitious account of the slave named Uncle Tom under the hands of his tyrannical master. In response to the critics who had denounced Uncle Tom’s Cabin as a sentimental, overly exaggerated portrayal of slavery, Stowe published A Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1853 to prove that her novel was a truthful depiction of antebellum slavery. She wrote in A Key , “it is a singular coincidence, that Solomon Northup was carried to a plantation in the Red River county—that same region where the scene of Uncle Tom’s captivity was laid—and his account of this plantation, and the mode of life there, and some incidents which he describes, form a striking parallel to that history.” 14 The publication of Northup’s narrative, a year after Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, gave credibility to both of their works. Northup’s rendering of daily life on a Louisiana plantation served as an authentic parallel to Stowe’s fictitious story of Uncle Tom.

There is no way to verify who actually wrote Twelve Years A Slave , but historians speculate that it was a collaborative project between Solomon Northup and his white editor, David Wilson, who was a minor literary figure from a town in New York’s Hudson Valley. 15 Even if Northup was not the sole author, he was very involved in the creation of the book’s content. Wilson, trying to generate sales for his book, said that Northup “carefully perused the manuscript,” correcting even “trivial inaccuracies.” Over the years, Northup’s account has held up to all verification efforts. 16 In the “Editor’s Preface” to Twelve Years A Slave , Wilson refers to himself as the “editor” and mentions that due to “all the facts which have been communicated to him,” the work ended up being longer than originally anticipated. Northup wrote in the first person, and asserted in the first pages that his purpose was “to give a candid and truthful statement of facts: to repeat the story of my life, without exaggeration, leaving it for others to determine, whether even the pages of fiction present a picture of more cruel wrong or a severer bondage.” 17 In the wake of newspaper reports of his rescue from slavery, Henry Northup (a white attorney and lifelong friend from New York whose family had once owned Solomon’s father), Solomon Northup, and David Wilson collaborated and published his story within the first few months of his return to the North. Henry Northup gave Wilson an incentive to publish the book as quickly as possible in the wake of news reports of Solomon’s rescue. The attorney rightfully figured that information from the book would quickly reach readers who could, and who eventually did, identify the kidnappers.

A number of northern newspapers, such as The New York Tribune, Buffalo Express, Cincinnati Journal, and Syracuse Journal , praised the publication as a credible depiction of southern slavery and its degradation. Former slave and leading abolitionist Frederick Douglass praised the book in his northern newspaper, The North Star , as “a strange history; its truth is far greater than fiction. Think of it! For thirty years a man, with all a man’s hopes, fears, and aspirations—with a wife and children to call by the endearing names of husband and father—with a home, humble it may be, but still a home […], then for twelve years a thing, a chattel personal, classed with mules and horses, […] It chills the blood to think that such are.” 18 Press reviews from William Lloyd Garrison, (whose newspaper, The Liberator , called the book “a deeply interesting and thrilling narrative”) contributed to its success and convinced Northup to give lectures and turn it into a play. Northup’s Twelve Years A Slave was on par with other best-sellers of the day. In the years before the Civil War, nearly 30,000 copies of Northup’s book were sold. 19

The publication of slave narratives in the antebellum and postemancipation eras challenged former slaves to face their experiences in slavery and demanded that the nation remember it as part of a collective history. As Frederick Douglass warned in an 1884 speech, “It is not well to forget the past. The past is…the mirror in which we may discern the dim outlines of the future and by which we make them more symmetrical.” 20 Recollecting and remembering slavery not only served as a national project to acknowledge its brutality, but it also placed former black slaves at the center and emphasized their agency in the drama for emancipation. By publishing the traumatic aspects of his life in captivity as a southern slave, Northup brought to light the sadism of American slavery, raised awareness in Northern audiences, and brought national attention to the injustices brought upon him. His book served as a tool for redemption while raising the consciousness about the barbarity of slavery—the inhumane separation of families, the beatings and torture of overseers and masters, and the sexual exploitation of slave women. Whether we view these narratives as wholly factual or not, they serve as important cultural reminders of an ugly part of American history that left its imprint on those who were its victims as well as on American society as a whole.

Lesson Plans
Teacher's Guides
Media Resources

Twelve Years a Slave : Analyzing Slave Narratives

Engraving of Solomon Northup "in his plantation suit," circa 1853.

Wikimedia Commons

"Although often dismissed as mere antislavery propaganda, the widespread consumption of slave narratives in the nineteenth-century U.S. and Great Britain and their continuing prominence today testify to the power of these texts to provoke reflection and debate." —William L. Andrews, Professor of English, University of North Carolina

Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup, a Citizen of New York, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841 and Rescued in 1853 (to be referred to as Twelve Years a Slave ) is the focus of this lesson on analyzing messages in slave narratives. In this unique literary tradition, formerly enslaved men and women report what they experienced and witnessed during their enslavement. Slave narratives had a mission: to convert readers’ hearts and minds to the antislavery cause by revealing how slavery undermined and perverted the principal institutions upon which America was founded: representative democracy, Protestant Christianity, capitalism, and marriage and the family.

The corrupting influence of slavery on marriage and the family is a predominant theme in Northup’s narrative. In this lesson, students are asked to identify and analyze narrative passages that provide evidence for how slavery undermined and perverted marriage and the family. They will be challenged to go beyond the literal meaning of the text and to make inferences using their prior knowledge, including knowledge of narratives’ antislavery mission.

Northup collaborated with a white ghostwriter, David Wilson . Students will read the preface and identify and analyze statements Wilson makes to prove the narrative is true. Students are encouraged to go beyond the literal meaning of the text and to make inferences about Wilson’s purposes for writing the preface.

Guiding Questions

What does Solomon Northup’s narrative reveal about the relation between slavery and social institutions such as marriage and the family?

Why are slave narratives’ authenticity and truthfulness questioned?

What do slave narratives reveal about how history is recorded in the United States?

Learning Objectives

Describe the slave narrative tradition and evaluate its purpose.

Analyze how the relationships Northup describes explicitly illustrate or imply how slavery corrupted the social institutions of marriage and the family.

Analyze statements the ghostwriter makes to prove the narrative’s truth and infer why he made the statements.

Lesson Plan Details

Of the institutions that define the American identity, these come to mind:

In the political sphere, Representative Democracy
In the religious sphere, Protestant Christianity
In the economic sphere, Capitalism
In the social sphere, Marriage.

The fifth institution, however, may not be as readily apparent:

Human Bondage or Chattel Slavery

Why? The institution of slavery threatened the nation’s dedication to each of the four other key institutions in our history.

More than any other literary form, the American slave narrative dramatized how slavery corrupted America’s greatest institutions and thereby threatened to destroy the very social, economic, religious, and political bedrock upon which the country was founded. Twelve Years a Slave , in particular, supports the antislavery argument that the institution of slavery undermined and perverted the institutions of marriage and the family.

Solomon Northup was a free black man who was kidnapped from his home in the North and sold into slavery in the South. His steadfast love for his wife and children fortified him to endure slavery and to devise a means to be rescued. Northup’s commitment to his family stands in stark contrast to behaviors he witnessed among slave owners. He saw them desecrate their marriage vows; he saw the natural bonds between enslaved parents and their children sundered for slaveholders’ profit; he saw enslaved women’s lives devastated by their owners’ sexual exploitation; and he witnessed the jealousy and violence of slave owners’ legal wives toward the enslaved women their husbands had extra-marital relationships with and often fathered enslaved children by.

Northup’s narrative is unique because most slave narratives were written by individuals who were born into slavery and escaped to freedom. Northup was a kidnap victim, not a fugitive. Moreover, his was a rarity among slave narratives because it was authored by a white ghostwriter, David Wilson. Wilson took the facts Northup provided him and rendered them into an “as told to the writer” narrative. Because Wilson penned the narrative credibility issues have been raised; however, scholars agree that Twelve Years a Slave is historically accurate and verifiable regarding Northup’s life before, during, and after his enslavement.

In the summer of 1853, Twelve Years a Slave was published in Auburn and Buffalo, New York, as well as in London, England. By 1856 it had sold 30,000 copies, a sales record rivaling that of Frederick Douglass’s 1845 Narrative in its first five years of publication. In the fall of 2013, weeks after 12 Years a Slave, a major motion picture based on the narrative, was released to great acclaim, the narrative was on the New York Times Best Seller List. Its renewed popularity as a book and a film underscores how America’s greatest human tragedy, chattel slavery and the legacy of racism and discrimination, remain compelling themes for the American people.

For a framework for teaching this material, review the PDF/PowerPoint Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave , and Analyzing Slave Narratives . This presentation draws from the Biography of Solomon Northup and the longer resource essay, “ Solomon Northup’s 12 Years a Slave , and the Slave Narrative Tradition ."

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.1. Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.8. Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.

Power Point : Solomon Northup and Twelve Years a Slave: How to Analyze Slave Narratives
Solomon Northup’s Twelve Years a Slave and the Slave Narrative Tradition
Biography of Solomon Northup
Analyzing the Text: Eliza Loses Her Children
Analyzing the Text: Answer Sheet: Eliza
Analyzing the Text: The Soul Murder of Patsey
Analyzing the Text: Answer Sheet: Patsey
Editor’s Preface
Editor’s Preface: Responses for Discussion
Editor’s Preface: Assessment
Editor’s Preface: Assessment Answer Sheet
Final Quiz Assessment
Final Quiz Assessment: Answer Key

Note to Teachers: The complete text of Twelve Years a Slave can be found at the EDSITEment-reviewed digital archive Documenting the American South . First, read the " Introduction to the North American Slave Narrative ,” also on the site. In addition to readings excerpted for analysis activities below, the important readings are:

pp. 17–27 (Chapter I)
pp. 35–39 (drinking in Washington, D.C., discovering himself in chains)
pp. 75–80 (arrival at the New Orleans slave market)
pp. 89–99 (Ford and Northup’s early successes as a slave)
pp. 105–117 (a fight with Tibeats and aftermath)
pp. 162–163 (introduction to Epps)
pp. 180–185 (life under Epps); pp.188–189 (Patsey)
pp. 223–227 (Northup as slave driver)
pp. 230–235 (foiled in writing a letter)
pp. 312–318 (frustration with the case against Burch)
pp. 319–321 (Northup family reunion)

These comprise 65 pages of the 336-page narrative.

View the brief trailer from 12 Years a Slave (2013) Link to film trailer here . An earlier, NEH-funded film based on Northup’s narrative and directed by Gordon Parks, Solomon Northup’s Odyssey (1984) is also worthy of note. By being familiar with both, you can decide which one to use with your students.

Activity 1. Analyzing the Text: Eliza Loses Her Children

Ask students: What is a slave narrative? Reinforce the correct answers and redefine.
Show the short video trailer for 12 Years a Slave . Inquire about students’ prior knowledge: “Who has read Solomon Northup’s slave narrative?” or “Who has seen the movie 12 Years a Slave directed by Stephen McQueen or Solomon Northup’s Odyssey directed by Gordon Parks?” In the discussion make sure students understand the narrative’s storyline. (Time permitting, have students read as homework before the lesson the 65 pages in the narrative listed under Preparation and Resources.)
Using “ Power Point : Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave , and Analyzing Slave Narratives ” which draws from the Biography and Background sections of this lesson and from the essay: " Solomon Northup’s 12 Years a Slave and the Slave Narrative Tradition" give students a short (1–15 minute) background for the lesson.
Divide the class into pairs and distribute “ Analyzing the Text: Eliza Loses Her Children .” Ask each pair to read and determine at least four ways the excerpt illustrates or implies how slavery undermined and perverted the institutions of marriage and the family.
Challenge pairs to go beyond the literal meaning of the text and to make inferences from their prior knowledge, especially 1) knowledge of slave narratives’ antislavery mission; and 2) knowledge of principles and tenets undergirding the institutions of marriage and the family. Stress that responses must be substantiated by evidence from the text.
Review how to approach analysis of the text excerpt with the class. Let each student read silently and highlight relevant text. After reading the whole excerpt, have the pairs review their highlighted segments together. Ask “reading between the lines” probing questions to help them make inferences (see: page 4 of “ Analyzing the Text: Eliza Loses her Children. ”). Then respond by identifying four examples representing corruption of marriage and the family by the institution of slavery
Ask several pairs of students to stand and present their responses to “Analyzing the Text Eliza Loses Her Children” and also to share other observations or inferences they made. Lead a discussion with the whole class referring to “ Analyzing the Text: Answer Sheet ."

Note to Teacher: The following excerpt, a graphic description of slave whipping, may not be suitable for all students. We recommend that teachers review carefully before assigning.

Distribute “ Analyzing the Text: The Soul Murder of Patsey .” Advise students that the excerpt contains emotionally disturbing and graphically violent content.
Inform students that they are to work independently to identify and analyze the text that conveys how slavery undermined and perverted the institutions of marriage and the family. Advise that they will need to go beyond the literal meaning of the text and to make inferences using their prior knowledge, especially their knowledge of slave narratives’ antislavery mission.

Activity 2. Editor's Preface

Steps 1–4 are the same as for Activity 1
Distribute the PDF, Editor’s Preface and have a student read this to the whole class. Ask students independently to underline the statements in the Editor’s Preface in which the editor is trying to convince the reader of the truthfulness of the narrative.
Using the PDF, Activity 2. Editor’s Preface: Responses for Discussion , lead a discussion about the statements identified. Reinforce learning objective 3.
Distribute the PDF, Activity 2. Editor’s Preface: Assessment . In this exercise, students will identify statements which are intended to convince the reader that the narrative is true.
To assess student work, see the PDF, Activity 2. Editor’s Preface: Assessment Answer Sheet to Editor’s Preface.

In the event that teachers have implemented both Activity 1 and Activity 2, the quiz will enable them to assess student accomplishment of the learning outcomes for both activities. Distribute the quiz . Ask students to complete it.

Students write a paper comparing and contrasting Northup’s narrative to that of Frederick Douglass and/or Harriet Jacobs or another individual, using the appropriate sections of William L. Andrews’s essay “Solomon Northup’s 12 Years a Slave and the Slave Narrative Tradition ” as one of the reference documents.
Students review and summarize contemporaneous newspaper articles about Northup’s efforts to obtain justice. Direct students to the EDSITEment Closer Reading blog entry " Searching for Solomon Northup in Chronicling America " for helpful suggestions about how to search in Chronicling America's database of historic digital newspapers.
Students compare and contrast interpretations of Solomon Northrup’s narrative in the two films: Solomon Northup’s Odyssey (1984), directed by Gordon Parks and 12 Years a Slave (2013), directed by Stephen McQueen. Remind them to be sure to indicate where the film(s) were faithful to the narrative and where they were not, and. using prior knowledge and reason, analyze why they think these departures from the Northup’s slave narrative may have been made.

Materials & Media

“twelve years a slave”: activity 1. analyzing the text: eliza loses her children, “twelve years a slave”: activity 1. analyzing the text: the soul murder of patsey, “twelve years a slave”: activity 1.1. analyzing the text: answer sheet: eliza, “twelve years a slave”: activity 1.2. analyzing the text: answer sheet: patsey, “twelve years a slave”: activity 2. editor's preface, “twelve years a slave”: activity 2. editor's preface answer sheet, “twelve years a slave”: activity 2. editor's preface: assessment, “twelve years a slave”: activity 2. editor's preface: responses for discussion, “twelve years a slave”: final assessment quiz, “twelve years a slave”: final quiz answer key, related on edsitement, harriet jacobs and elizabeth keckly: the material and emotional realities of childhood in slavery, slavery and the american founding: the "inconsistency not to be excused", frederick douglass's, “what to the slave is the fourth of july”, lesson 2: from courage to freedom: slavery's dehumanizing effects, twelve years a slave : was the case of solomon northup exceptional, harriet tubman and the underground railroad.

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, don't look away: on the artistry and urgency of "12 years a slave".

I believe in national memory. I believe in racial memory. " 12 Years a Slave " is about both kinds of memory, and how they are suppressed, and why they are suppressed, and why they shouldn't be, and how art can tease them out and look at them honestly, without flinching.

The film's script, by John Ridley , and its direction, by Steve McQueen , treat the experience of Solomon Northup ( Chiwetel Ejiofor ), a free man sold into bondage, as a series of meticulously described visceral moments, like " Pickpocket " or " Taxi Driver " or "Aguirre: The Wrath of God" or " Apocalypse Now " or " Born on the Fourth of July ." The movie concentrates on how experiences looked and sounded and felt. It "remembers" slavery as individuals remember private traumas, but gives us just enough distance to process the cruelty. The director's choreography is so exact that one can imagine a wooden frame around each image, or a proscenium. The effect is akin to a series of moving paintings, or long scenes in an opera or a religious play. The film is pain, transformed into real art, useful art, art that triggers empathy and understanding. It takes Black history, White history and American history out of the past and says, "This is happening right now. To you ." It makes a true story from America's deep past feel immediate, so that the viewer can go beyond, or beneath, the historical aspects, and understand the lived experience of slavery.

The pre-credits prologue shows Northup fashioning a makeshift pen from a stick, using a smashed berry for ink, and trying to record his experiences on parchment, and failing, and tossing the instrument away and crying, because his tools are too crude. The movie that follows plays like the psychic rough draft of the story he'll write later, when he has regained freedom and had time to heal and reflect. We're seeing the intermediate stage of recollection: the jumble of sensations that memoirists must grapple with before they can shape and contain them with words.

"12 Years a Slave" envisions Northup's odyssey as a series of tableaus of suffering, endured and transcended but never forgiven. The storytelling is similar to McQueen's first two features, " Hunger " and "Shame." They could all be packaged together in a "Stations of the Cross" box set. The critic Noel Vera compares the hero of "Shame" to "a pilgrim on a personal Calvary," and writers, "You get the impression that if McQueen had used unknown actors and just tilted his camera a few inches to the right or left of the shot's focus, one might mistaken the film for something directed by Robert Bresson--back when Bresson thought there might be such a thing as a human soul worth saving." These films are about the landscapes of bodies and spirits tested and twisted, broken and exposed. They're stripped-down, aestheticized but never prettified, made mythological but never abstract.

Legends and myths and religious fables are remembered not just for their content but because of how they're told: directly, always appealing to emotion and what we think of as plain truth.

The truth of "12 Years a Slave" is basic, a list of experiential facts: Families traded like livestock, separated and sold. Men and women and children renamed and brainwashed, worked from dawn to dusk, and awakened from deep sleep, and made to dance and sing, and told to strip and be whipped, or raped.

Chains on wrist and ankles. Lashes on the back. Flesh cracked like wet sod. That's what this country was founded on, along with ideals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That's what this film is about. That's what Americans deny when they praise the ideals of equality while downplaying the gory reality, on grounds that it's in the past now, and it doesn't do anyone any good to "dwell" on it.

"It is a simple fact that what is true and right is true and right for all," says a Canadian abolitionist ( Brad Pitt ) in a scene late in the film. What is true and right for all is that slavery and exploitation are evil.

Of course the problem with saying that is that it invites viewers to brush it off, by saying something like, "Well, I already know slavery was evil, so I don't need to see a film telling me that slavery was evil, and hey, look, a new 'Hunger Games' movie." "12 Years a Slave" pushes past such rationalizations, not simply by repeating abstractly and distantly that, as a matter of fact yes, slavery was evil, or by speechifying about it in a way that invites viewers to nod and think, "Ah, yes, how horrible it was! And what a relief that it's not happening here now!" but by showing, in a series of very straightforward and exact scenes, precisely how slavery was evil—by envisioning its day-to-day particulars in terms that anyone can understand, even if they don't know anything about slavery except that it once existed in the United States of America, and that the Civil War ended it.

That a film as searing and necessary as "12 Years a Slave" is having trouble drawing large audiences is a testament to the power of denial. That so few mainstream films have been made about slavery is also a testament to the power of denial.

You can tell what a country finds most shameful in its history by looking at how long it took for that country's popular art to begin seriously addressing that history. The first films about slavery (as opposed to films about the American south that happened to include slave characters) did not appear until the 1960s, six decades after the creation of motion pictures. Most of them had elements of genre or exploitation. Few addressed the subject in a straightforward way. Even the most high-profile recent film about slavery, "Django Unchained," gave itself a cushion of cowboy action and revenge fantasy, even as it depicted the casual physical savagery of slavery with an unprecedented (for Hollywood) frankness.

There is no genre cushion in "12 Years a Slave." None.

It's simply saying, "Here is the story of a man who experienced slavery.”

As we watch it, we don’t just understand Solomon’s experience. We start to grasp why films like this one are so rare: because Americans do not want to talk about slavery, or think about slavery, much less pay to see a film about slavery.

It's too shameful.

Northup plays the fiddle. Northup gets approached to play the fiddle in Washington, D.C. He is drugged and sold into slavery in an auction, stripped naked and inspected like a farm animal. He's made to work at a plantation run by a master who thinks showing slaves a glimmer of compassion makes him a good person. Solomon rebels against an overseer who's cruel and petty even by the standards of overseers. He gets sold to a different plantation run by a monstrous man described as a "n----r breaker," and is confronted with the worst of the many horrible truths he absorbs during his years of bondage: that after a while, this kind of life grinds the righteousness and even the sorrow from everyone, even passionate and moral people, and replaces them with but one desire: to survive.

The master's indifference to suffering is passed down to the overseers and plantation workers, and ultimately to the slaves and their children.

By the end, Northup, who had previously survived a lynching for daring to fight an overseer, obeys an order to whip another slave, the new master’s concubine. There are tears in Solomon’s eyes, but he does as he’s told. He's learned his lesson. Don't argue. Don't question. Look away. Survive.

This is how evil is perpetuated: it wears people down. They can’t imagine life any other way. They’re afraid. They’re exhausted. They’re numb. The victims just want to avoid pain or worse. The perpetrators just want to be able to look at themselves in a mirror and say, “This is normal behavior. There is nothing unusual about it.”

Everyone looks away.

When a man arrives at the plantation bearing proof that Solomon was once a free man and demanding his release, the master who put that whip in Solomon’s hand reacts with petulant fury, like a child whose toy is about to be taken from him. Solomon would like to bring other slaves to freedom with him, but he can’t. A series of post-credits titles inform us that Solomon took his two kidnappers to court but lost the case. He never got justice in the Hollywood sense. He just had to learn to live with the pain of his experience. He wrote a book about it, a book that enlightened many people and gained him some measure of fame, but accolades don’t make whip scars heal.

The film's greatest scene finds Solomon hanged by the overseer he attacked, bare toes on-point in slippery mud, barely saving himself from strangulation. McQueen holds the shot long after the shock of the hanging has worn off. He keeps holding it after every other dramatically significant participant in the scene has gone inside. He keeps holding the shot, and holding it.

After a while we see action return to the background behind Solomon. Workers go on about their business. A reverse angle puts Solomon in the foreground, out-of-focus, still dangling from the noose and gasping for breath. Over his shoulder, in focus, slave children play. We realize this is a normal sight for everyone on the plantation: a personnel matter. Nobody’s shocked by it, except the man dangling from the rope.

This is how a film transforms history into experience. This is how a film explains what slavery meant, not just to the body, but to the body politic.

It's not just about the infliction of pain by oppressors, and the endurance of pain by the oppressed. It's about looking away, even if the person being mistreated resembles you, because you're glad it's not you. It's about the entrenched status quo that lets atrocities continue for years or decades. It's about suppression. It's about denial.

Solomon was twelve years a slave. The United States was 89 years a slaver.

Slavery didn't persist for decades because every living free man and woman in the United States was an irredeemably evil person. It continued because people got used to it and compartmentalized it. What happened was a national version of the personal denials shown in "12 Years a Slave."

White people in free states told themselves, "The country would be better off if there were no slavery, but it's been a part of life since the country was founded, and it's probably never going away, but at least it's not legal in my state." White people in slave states who did not own slaves told themselves, "I don't personally own slaves, so I'm not part of the problem," while looking away from the scarred men and women clearing underbrush and picking crops and hoping that somehow, someday they wouldn't have to see that anymore, or explain it to their children. White people in free and slave states who could not rationalize or compartmentalize slavery became abolitionists or helped abolitionists. Free Blacks tried to forget or distance themselves from the continuing reality of slavery or else worked to end it.

But collectively the nation made peace with slavery, accepted slavery, for a very long time.

It wasn't until the two decades leading up to the start of the Civil War that the majority of Whites began thinking of slavery as anything other than a part of the national reality, and abolitionist beliefs as anything other than a utopian fantasy, or a nuisance to commerce.

Part of the genius of "12 Years a Slave" is its capacity for showing us that this sort of thinking—characteristic, we like to tell ourselves, of a distant and thoroughly discredited past—continues today, in a watered-down form. We encounter it again whenever movies such as this one are discussed. Or not discussed. Or avoided.

When a viewer says, "I know slavery was wrong, so I don't need to see this film," or, "I saw scenes from 'Roots' in school, I get it," or "I saw 'Django Unchained,' what is it with all these slavery movies dredging up the past?" it's a denial, a suppression.

This happened in the United States of America. Its legacy is all around us. We need to look. We need to imagine.

In one of the movie’s most extraordinary close-ups, a traumatized Solomon looks offscreen for a while, his gaze slowly moving around the edges of the frame, until he seems to make eye contact with the viewer. You want to reach out to him. You want to help him. You want to free him. But you can’t. It’s not possible. It’s not done. All you can do is stare into his beseeching eyes.

After a while he gives up and looks somewhere else.

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

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Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — 12 Years a Slave — A Detailed Analysis of the Film 12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave: Movie Review and Analysis

Categories: 12 Years a Slave Film Analysis Movie Summary

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Words: 1974 |

10 min read

Published: May 24, 2022

Words: 1974 | Pages: 4 | 10 min read

12 years a slave movie: essay, a brief summary of the main plot, the main conflict and how it is resolved, scenes that stand out in my mind, what does the film reflect, works cited.

Ebert, R. (2013, October 16). 12 Years a Slave. Roger Ebert.
Hahn, M. (2014). “The Most Interesting Character I Ever Met”: Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave and on Antebellum Stage. Journal of American Culture, 37(4), 579-589.
Hedges, C. (2013, October 18). 12 Years a Slave: A powerful story of one man’s endurance. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/oct/18/12-years-a-slave-review
Hornaday, A. (2013, October 17). 12 Years a Slave movie review. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/12-years-a-slave-movie-review/2013/10/17/249a5e8e-35d3-11e3-8a0e-4e2cf80831fc_story.html
McQueen, S. (2013). 12 Years a Slave (Film). Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Northup, S. (1853). Twelve Years a Slave. Derby and Miller.
Puchko, K. (2013, October 18). 12 Years A Slave: 8 Fascinating Facts About The Year’s Best Film. Cinema Blend. https://www.cinemablend.com/new/12-Years-Slave-8-Fascinating-Facts-About-Year-Best-Film-39987.html
Scott, A. O. (2013, October 17). The Blood and Tears, Bondage and Misery of 12 Years a Slave. The New York Times.
Solomon Northup Project. (n.d.). History & Archives.
Stuever, H. (2013, October 16). 12 Years a Slave: A raw, unrelenting, violent film. The Washington Post.

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12 Years a Slave

SUBJECTS — U.S./1812 – 1865; Literature/U.S. (Slave Narrative); Biography; Diversity/African-American;

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING — Human Rights;

MORAL-ETHICAL EMPHASIS — Respect.

AGE: 15+; MPAA Rating — R for violence/cruelty, some nudity, and brief sexuality;

Drama; 2013, 2 hrs. 14 minutes; Color. Available from Amazon.com .

Note to Teachers:

While TWM has created a useful Learning Guide for this film, it is very long for classroom use. As an alternative, teachers can assign the film for viewing at home and require students to fill out TWM’s Movie Worksheet for 12 Years a Slave . Reviewing responses to the worksheet can be a classroom activity. Watching the film at home can be supplemented with a shorter documentary, Unchained Memories (one hour, 15 minutes) in which actors read from interviews with the last generation of former slaves.

THE BEST OF TWM

One of the Best! This movie is on TWM’s short list of the best movies to supplement classes in United States History, High School Level.

Benefits of the Movie Parenting Points Selected Awards & Cast Helpful Background

Using the Movie in the Classroom Discussion Questions Social-Emotional Learning Moral-Ethical Emphasis

Assignments and Projects CCSS Anchor Standards Bridges to Reading Links to the Internet Bibliography

MOVIE WORKSHEETS & STUDENT HANDOUTS

TWM’s Movie Worksheet for 12 Years a Slave .

DESCRIPTION

This movie is a cinematic representation of the best selling slave narrative of Solomon Northup, a free black man living in upstate New York who was kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery. The film shows the life of a slave in the American South primarily on two plantations: one governed by a relatively benevolent master and the other subject to a brutal tyrant. They also expose the particularly hard lot of slave women and the operation of the slave trade. The movie is an excellent resource for 12th grade and college classes in U.S. History and for ELA units on the slave narrative genre.

SELECTED AWARDS & CAST

Selected Awards: 2014 Academy Awards: Best Picture of the Year; and numerous other awards.

Featured Actors: Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup; Kelsey Scott as Anne Northup; Adepero Oduye as Eliza; Benedict Cumberbatch as Ford; Liza J. Bennett as Mistress Ford; J.D. Evermore as Chapin; Paul Dano as Tibeats; Michael Fassbender as Edwin Epps; Sarah Paulson as Mistress Epps; Lupita Nyong’o as Patsey; Alfre Woodard as Mistress Shaw; and Brad Pitt as Bass

Director: Steve McQueen

BENEFITS OF THE MOVIE

It is important for students to understand the brutality and thoroughness of slavery as practiced in the American South and which was eradicated only a brutal and bloody civil war. It is also helpful for students to understand the worldwide dimensions of slavery, the current status of slavery, and to read at least parts of a slave narrative, the first genre of African-American literature.

Students will have a vivid understanding of the lives endured by slaves in the American South. Students will be introduced to slavery as a worldwide phenomenon that has existed for millennia and which continues to exist. Students will be introduced to the slave narrative, the first genre of African-American literature.

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS

Problems Here.

PARENTING POINTS

Watch the movie with your child. When the film is over, tell him or her that the film is mostly historically accurate except that Solomon Northup was not as well-off or accepted by whites in Upstate New York in 1841 and that it is very unlikely that a black mistress was presiding over a plantation or that she would give tea to a slave from another plantation.

HELPFUL BACKGROUND

Essay on the historical accuracy of the movie 12 years a slave.

The book, Twelve Years a Slave, is a traditional American slave narrative told by Solomon Northup to ghostwriter David Wilson. It is one of the most important of the slave narratives because it was published shortly after Harriet Beecher Stowe’s immensely popular and influential novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Twelve Years a Slave validated the claims of slave-owner brutality made in the novel. In addition, Twelve Years a Slave was a best-seller in its own right when it was first published in 1853. The historical accuracy of the book has been exhaustively vetted by Professor Sue Eakin of Louisiana State University. The culmination of her efforts are contained in the recently republished Enhanced Edition of the book which contains more than 100 pages of notes and supplemental materials. With a few exceptions, Professor Eakin has found the Northup/Wilson narrative to be accurate.

The film is a work of historical fiction based on the events set out in Mr. Northup’s book. To create an entertaining story arc and to fit the tale into a two-hour film, a number of events described in the book have been eliminated and others have been telescoped together. On a few occasions actions by one person have been attributed to another or scenes have been added to support the story. Except for the prelude, the scenes before the kidnaping, the murder of a slave by a sailor on the Orleans, and the tea scene with Mistress Shaw, the scenes shown in the film were taken from the book or are reasonable approximations of events that could have happened given current-day understanding of the history of the era.

On the whole, the book and the film are reasonably accurate representations of what life was like for a slave in the American South under one of the best masters (Ford) and later under one of the worst (Epps, who was not only sexually predatory but also extremely violent). The terrible way in which slaves were treated by slave traders and the awful plight of some slave women is also shown.

Set out below are comments on selected scenes in the film. Citations to the slave narrative itself are referred to as “Northup”. Citations to Professor Eakin’s notes are referred to as “Eakin”. Other citations are to articles in the Links to the Internet Section below.

Prelude: The orgasm scene. This is not referred to in the book and was made up by the screenwriters to show “a bit of tenderness … Then after she climaxes, she’s back . . . in hell.” However, it would seem that Solomon Northup, who claims to have been strictly faithful to his wife for 12 years, would have been scandalized by this scene. Berlatsky
Before the Kidnapping Northup was not in the middle class nor, in all probability, was he as well accepted by white society as shown in the early scenes of the film. His slave narrative makes no such claims. Northup lived in Saratoga Springs, a summer resort in upstate New York working as a carriage driver for a large boarding house during the summer season. He often had difficulty finding work during the rest of the year. Northup pp. 5 & 7. As shown in the film, he was a talented violinist and would get occasional jobs playing the violin for parties and dances. His wife had steady work as a cook although, as shown in the film, during the offseason she would have to work 20 miles from home, a long distance in those days when inland travel was by foot or by horse. Eakin 261 & 262. Northup himself comments about his life in Sarasota Springs: “Though always in comfortable circumstances, we had not prospered.” Northup pp. 5. Nor would people in New York and in Washington D.C. have been as accepting of a black man as to hail him strolling as an equal through a city park or to allow him to eat at fine restaurants, or shop as an equal without care for the cost in the stores. In the 1840s U.S. society, North and South were extremely prejudiced against blacks. Eakin p. 261. Northup, for example, reports that when he was with the two kidnappers in Washington, D.C., they would order drinks and occasionally hand them to him. He was not necessarily sitting at the table with them. Northup p. 12.
The Kidnapping: The kidnapping scenes do not follow Northup’s recollections in several ways. He doesn’t report, for example, being cared for in bed by the kidnappers, one of whom seems to regret what will happen to him. However, these scenes in the film add color to the bare historical facts of the narrative and, unlike the false prosperity and acceptance by whites shown in the scenes of Northup’s life in Saratoga Springs and his trip to D.C., these changes are appropriate poetic license in a work of historical fiction.
In the D.C. Slave Pen: These scenes are realistic enough with touches of details from the book. Northup was indeed put in a dark cell, beaten with a paddle-shaped piece of wood until it broke, and then whipped with a cat-nine-tails. He was stripped naked before the beating. The slave pen was in sight of the U.S. capital. One of the jailers appeared to try to be nicer, as a ploy. A woman name Eliza, her children and several men were held at the pen with him. What the movie omits for lack of time are the fascinating and touching stories of these people. See Northup pp. 16, 19 – 23 and Assignment #1.
The Trip to New Orleans: To shorten the narrative, the stop at a slave pen in Richmond is omitted. The facts of the aborted conspiracy are changed. Northup does not report that Eliza was taken to the upper deck for sex with a sailor as implied in the film. Robert dies from smallpox, not from a sailor’s knife; a sailor would not be so quick to kill such a valuable piece of property as shown in the film. Otherwise, the changes in the scene appear reasonable approximations of what could have happened and are true to Northup’s story.
The Rescue of a Slave: One of the slaves with Northup on the ship Orleans, a man named Arthur, was reclaimed by his master, much to his delight. This scene is based on that report from the book. Northup p. 38.
New Orleans: These scenes follow Northup’s recounting of what happened to him including: the scenes in which slaves are instructed to wash and are dressed up and offered for sale; the separation of Eliza from her children; Eliza’s protests and crying, Mr. Ford’s slight and ineffectual effort to convince Mr. Freeman (yes, that was the name of the New Orleans slave dealer) to sell him Eliza’s daughter at a reasonable price; and the characterization of Mr. Freeman the slave-trader.
Arrival at Ford’s Plantation: Mrs. Ford is not reported as saying, “Something to eat and some rest – your children will soon be forgotten.” but this is a fair representation of the attitude of most plantation owners to the miseries of their slaves.
The song Run Nigger Run: This is a Negro work song and if a white man ever sang it, it would be with the irony used by the character of Tibeats in the film. These scenes are not in the book but they are legitimate poetic license in a work of historical fiction.
A Slave Work Party meets the Indians: Northup recounts meeting Native Americans who lived in the woods and watching them dance. Northup pp. 54 & 55.
Northup Successfully Floats Logs Down the Bayou: This is from the book, including Northup’s success, Ford’s admiration, and Tibeat’s opposition and resentment when Northup is successful.
Ford gives Northup a violin: Actually, it was Epps, at the request of Mrs. Epps. Northup p. 106.
Northup’s Conversation with Eliza This is not reported in the book but it is a legitimate literary device to explore issues and develop themes. Eliza is still wailing about losing her children. Northup tells her to get over it. Eliza accuses Northup of being no better than prized live stock and laments that she has done dishonorable things to survive which ultimately did her no good. Northup’s position is that survival is everything.
The Sunday Religious Service at the Ford Plantation: Eliza cries throughout the service. Mrs. Ford comments that she cannot have that depression about the plantation. This scene is not in the book, but again it is consistent with the cold and heartless attitude of the plantation elite toward the miseries that they caused to their slaves.
Eliza taken away crying “Solomon”: This particular scene is not reported in the book. It is a dramatization of the fact that Northup was helpless to even protest the profound loss that Eliza was forced to endure. Northup reports that Eliza withered away and died of a broken heart. Northup p. 92.
Flashback of Eliza Talking: Again, not in the book, but again a legitimate device by writers of historical fiction to bring out themes. “When I say I had my master’s favor – you understand – and for 9 years he blessed me with every comfort.” . . . “Such was our life, and the life of this beautiful girl I bore for him. But Master Berry’s daughter . . . she always looked at me with an unkind nature. She hated Emily no matter she and Emily were flesh of flesh. As Master Berry’s health failed, she gained power in the household. Eventually, I was brought to the city on the false pretense of our free papers being executed. If I had known what waited; to be sent south? I swear I would not have come here alive.”
Fight With Tibeats – Northup Bound and Almost Hung: Northup reports a fight with Tibeats who was unhappy with nails Chapin had given to Northup. Northup thrashed Tibeats. Tibeats fled but returned with two other men. They bound Northup hands and feet and put a noose around his neck, but it was not strung up to a tree as in the movie. The tiptoes business is poetic license. Chapin, with pistols drawn, did chase off Tibeats and the two men, leaving Northup standing in the sun for hours, still bound hands and feet. Chapin sent for Ford who, as shown in the film, came and cut the cords. Solomon spent the night in the main house, guarded by Chapin, not by Ford. Northup pp.70 & 71. These scenes are basically true to the story. However, Northup relates two fights in which he thrashed Tibeats. Northup pp 63 – 72.
Sale to Epps: At this point in the narrative, the movie skips several incidents in Northup’s career as a slave, including the second fight with Tibeats and Northup being hired out to other plantations to cut sugar cane. It is Tibeats rather than Ford who sells Northup to Epps. Northup pp. 75 – 93. The conversation with Ford in which Northup tries to tell Ford that he is a free man but Ford wouldn’t listen did not occur. Northup never reports trying to tell Ford that he was a free man. While generally complimentary of Ford in the book, Northup never trusted him enough to tell him the truth. This scene, while it didn’t occur, rings true. No matter how good a slaveholder might be, he was still a slaveholder.
Epps preaching to the Slaves on Sunday “That servant which knew his Lord’s will and prepared not himself neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes. . . . 150 lashes. That’s scripture.” This is an example of how religion was bent and perverted to support the interests of the slaveholders.
Scenes in the Fields Picking Cotton: These scenes, some of which are not specifically in the book, are consistent with Northup’s description of life on the Epps plantation. See e.g., Northup pp. 94 – 99, 105. The authenticity of some of these scenes are doubted by Professor Eakin, specifically (1) “It is doubtful that [Patsey] possessed the skill to pick 500 pounds [of cotton per day].” Eakin p. 301, note 127; (2) it is unlikely that slaves were whipped in the fields from morning till night because this would violate the the “Plantation Survival Code” and harm the property of the plantation owner, Eakin pp. 300 – 301, notes 125 & 126; see also Note 112, pp. 295 & 296 for more on the Plantation Survival Code; note however, that Northup states that Epps was, except for one other master, the most violent master on the Bayou Boeuf, p. 108, and the question is not whether this was usual but whether it would be tolerated by other slaveholders; (3) Northup complains of being given a foot-wide board to sleep on with wood blocks for pillows “seems to stretch credulity” according to Professor Eakin because scraps of cotton were always left in the fields and could be used to stuff mattresses and plantation owners would want their slave to get rest. Eakin, Note 130 p. 302. Professor Eakin also notes that no one could live on small portions of corn and pork as described by Northup. Ibid This is correct but in several places Northup states that slaves had access to other food, such as raccoon, possum and fish. (Northup pp. 117 & 118. Professor Eakin attributes these likely errors to Northup’s ghost writer, David Wilson.
Patsey making dolls and singing to herself: This scene, again not in the book, is to show that Patsey was still just a child in her development despite the fact that she was in her twenties during the years when Northup knew her.
Epps Making Slaves Dance at Night: This is reported by Northup. Northup p. 107.
Patsey’s Sexual Abuse by Epps/Jealousy by Mrs. and Mr. Epps:
Northup also describes the fact that Epps required Patsey to submit to his sexual advances as well as the jealousy of Mrs. Epps and her general persecution of Patsey. He also described the jealousy of Mr. Epps when Patsey went to the Shaw plantation, for what he imagined was sex with Mr. Shaw. The abuse of Patsey shown in the film, including the whippings, the bottle hurled at Patsey, Epps’ refusal to sell Patsey, and Mrs. Epps’ humiliation are all derived from episodes in the book. See pp. 111, 116, 117 and 151 — 154.
Getting paper: When sent to purchase goods at the store, Northup appropriates a piece of paper on which to write a letter home. This is in the book. Northup p. 136.
Run-in with a Gang of Patrollers: Called Pattys or Patty Rollers by the slaves. See generally Northup pp. 130 & 131. The hanging by a patrol is not mentioned in the book, however, hangings of slaves planning an insurrection is mentioned.
Northup Running Away to the Swamp The time when Northup ran away from Tibeats through the swamps is related at pp. 77 — 83.
Northup is Sent to Retrieve Patsey from her Visit to Mistress Shaw, a Black Woman This scene is not realistic and is a bit of tongue-in-cheek to provide comic relief. However, the scene is not quite as unrealistic as it may at first seem. Plantation owners, with a few limitations, were seen as the lords of their manor and had complete discretion about how the ran their plantations. A few white plantation owners lived openly with their black concubines. On occasion, these men acknowledged their mulatto children, freed them, sent them north to be educated, and left them property. See Eakin Note 115, second paragraph, page 297. However, much more often than not, children of Master/Slave unions were treated as slaves. For an example of the unnatural lack of fatherly feeling of slave owners for their children, see the second anecdote taken from the life of Thaddeus Stevens in TWM’s Lesson Plan on the End of America’s Nightmare Dance With Slavery Using Spielberg’s Lincoln . It is hard to believe that other plantation owners would allow one of their fellow slave owners to install a black woman as the mistress of a plantation as shown in the tea scene in this film.
Patsey asks Northup to Kill Her: – She says, “I ain’t got no comfort in this life.” He turns his back; she cries. This is apparently based on a misreading of the book at page 111, although with all that Patsey endured, a wish to end it all seems understandable. However, it was Mistress Epps who tried to bribe Northup to murder Patsey.
The Caterpillars Eating the Cotton and Slaves Being Hired Out This comes from the book at pages 112, et seq.
Armsby Incident: Northup did ask a white man who was working in the fields to help him, gave the man his savings, and was betrayed. Northup saved himself by lying to Epps, claiming Armsby just wanted to be his overseer, stressing that Northup had no one to write to, etc. Northup then burned the letter to avoid his lie being found out. The film’s rendition is reasonably accurate. Northup pp. 136 – 139.
Death of a Slave — & “Roll Jordan, Roll”: This is fictional but realistic. Northup begins to sing accepting the fact that he is going to be a slave for a long time, perhaps forever.
Northup Asks Bass for Help: This is a reasonable approximation of what occurred as reported by Northup. For more on Bass, see pp. 325 & 326.
Liberation from the Field: This is a reasonable approximation of what occurred. Patsey’s Last Word to Northup “Oh! Platt,” she cried, tears streaming down her face, “you’re goin to be free — you’re goin way off yonder where we’ll neber see ye any more. You’ve saved me a good many whippins, Platt; I’m glad you’re goin’ to be free. — but oh! de Lod, de Lord! What’ll become of me?” Northup p. 187.
Omitted from the film: No movie of reasonable length can include everything in a book of 200+ pages. Some of the incidents and scenes omitted include

The smallpox outbreak on the boat, Northup’s illness when he contracted smallpox, his stay in the hospital and recovery; Chapters V and VI;

Ford’s financial embarrassment which caused Ford to sell Northup to Tibeats; Chapter VIII;

Northup’s flight from Tibeats through the swamps back to Ford’s plantation; Chapter X;

The New Years celebrations and the few days that slaves didn’t have to work; XV;

The months’ long wait for Bass’ efforts to bring someone down from the North; Chapters XIX and XX;

The careful groundwork laid by Henry Northup to make his rescue of Solomon a success; for example, Henry Northup secured declarations from people who knew Solomon and took them to the governor of New York; as a result, under the authority of a ten-year-old law designed for the retrieval of kidnapped free blacks, Henry secured an appointment as an official agent of the state to reclaim Solomon; he then went to Washington D.C. and convinced a senator from Louisiana to write letters of recommendation to local officials; Northup p. 177; once in Louisiana, Henry hired a highly respected attorney to represent him; Ibid; they secured a court order and the cooperation of the sheriff before going to the Epps plantation. Northup pp. 181 & 182.

Henry Northup’s search for Solomon and the lucky chance that he found Mr. Bass who directed him to Northup’s location; the rush to liberate Northup before word of the rescue effort got to Epps who would have hidden Northup so that he could not be liberated.

USING THE MOVIE IN THE CLASSROOM

Before Showing the Film:

Consider distributing and having students review, TWM’s Movie Worksheet for 12 Years a Slave . Modify the worksheet as appropriate.

Information Helpful to Students:

Relate the following information to students to give them a better understanding of the movie.

The terms “paddy” and “pattyrollers” or “paddy rollers” were names given by slaves to patrols of whites who were paid to be on the lookout for fugitive slaves and to hunt down runaways. Paddy’s were armed and often brutal.

The culture of the people living in what is now the U.S. has been a slave culture or has tolerated slavery from 1619 when the first slaves were brought to Jamestown, Virginia until 1865. That is a period of 245 years, almost a century longer than the period since slavery has been abolished. Slavery was so intertwined with the culture of the American South that it took the bloodiest war in U.S. history to make it illegal. Even then substantial portions of the slave society survived for another hundred years in Jim Crow laws and customs. The country is still not completely free of the racism that aided and abetted slavery.

Solomon Northup’s book Twelve Years a Slave is one of the most important examples of a genre of American literature called the slave narrative. In fact, African-American literature in the U.S. begins with the slave narrative, most of which were told to white abolitionist ghost writers after slave had escaped from the South. Solomon Northup’s Twelve Years a Slave became a best-seller in 1853 and then a major motion picture 160 years later.

Test Your Historical Instincts Exercise:

Tell students the following: (1) It’s time to test your historical instincts. (2) The movie is reasonably historically accurate except for a few scenes. (3) As you watch the film, look for these scenes. After watching the movie, there will be a class discussion in which you may be asked to identify an inaccurate scene or set of scenes.

Note to Teachers: The heart of this exercise is the discussion after the film. Teachers can prepare for this discussion in about five minutes by reviewing the highlighted sections of TWM’s Essay on Historical Accuracy.

As an alternative to class discussion, students can be asked to write a paragraph on a scene or a set of scenes that their instinct tells them are inaccurate and why. The paragraphs will be graded only on the quality of the writing.

After Showing the Movie:

Complete the Test Your Historical Instincts Exercise:

Suggested Responses:

There are three substantial inaccuracies in the film: (a) the set of scenes before the kidnapping showing Northup as a prosperous individual fully accepted by white society; (b) the scene in which a lone sailor comes into the hold of the Orleans to take Eliza up to the deck and then knifes a slave who tries to protect her; and (c) Mistress Shaw giving Patsey tea.

There are no specifically correct answers to the questions about why the filmmakers chose to include these obviously incorrect scenes. A good discussion will raise the following issues.

As to the first scenes of the wealth and acceptance of Solomon Northup, one possible explanation is that the people who made the movie wanted to draw a contrast between the life that free blacks lived in the North and the life they lived as slaves in the South. A second possible reason is that the filmmakers didn’t want to alienate their audience by showing that blacks were discriminated against in the North before the Civil War and did not have equal rights. Another possibility is that the filmmakers wanted generally affluent filmgoers to be able to identify with the character of Solomon Northup. Whatever the reason, the filmmakers vastly underestimated their audience. Scenes showing Northup having a poor and struggling but intact family in New York would have been more accurate historically and also true to the tale told in Northup’s slave narrative. Properly presented, it would still have provided a stark contrast to Northup’s life as a slave in which families were routinely broken up and family values were routinely ignored by most slave masters.

On the trip, the New Orleans the movie shows the slave being stabbed to death by a sailor when the slave tries to protect Eliza from being taken up to the deck, presumably for sex. This scene didn’t occur. A slave did die on board the ship, but he died from smallpox. The historical record was altered and this incident was added because it’s very dramatic for Robert to be murdered while trying to protect Eliza. However, in 1841 a healthy male slave was worth $650 (estimated to be about $18,000 in 2014 dollars using an adaptation of the Consumer Price Index. It is unlikely that a sailor would so quickly kill such a valuable piece of property. In addition, it is unlikely that a sailor would have gone alone into the hold of a ship containing a number of unchained male slaves.

The scenes of the black Mistress Shaw taking tea with Patsey could have been placed in the film to show that there were a very few slaveholders who honored their slave concubines and freed them or their children. The scene is played “tongue-in-cheek” and could have been placed in the film solely for comic relief.

Additional Information for Students

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was published in 1852, a year before Northup’s Twelve Years a Slave. The novel was one of the most popular books ever published and historians say that it was an important factor in turning the North against any expansion of slavery into the Western Territories. Twelve Years a Slave was published the next year and confirmed the indictment of slavery contained in Stowe’s novel. The connection between the two books was not lost on the Northern Press. Eakin, pp. 262 – 265.

Twelve Years a Slave was ghostwritten for Northup by David Wilson, a lawyer/author. Wilson wrote the book and had it published in a period of three months. a very short period of time. He was spurred on by attorney Henry Northup, the family friend who went to Louisiana to free Solomon. Attorney Northup “figured that information from the forthcoming book would reach readers who could and would identify the kidnappers. Attorney Northup was correct.” Eakin p. 263 at note 3. While the kidnapers were found and prosecuted, they were not convicted because the proceedings were delayed by appeals and before the case could come to trial, Solomon Northup had disappeared again, this time for good. No one knows what happened to him or how he died.

People are still kidnapped and sold into slavery all over the world. Most current-day slavery in the U.S. is sexual slavery in which girls and young women are forced to be prostitutes.

Grave Suspicions about the Death of Solomon Northup: After he returned to freedom, Northup gave lectures to spur sales of his book, assisted in the Underground Railroad, and addressed abolitionist rallies.

He also pursued the criminal prosecution of the kidnappers who claimed that they hadn’t kidnapped Northup at all, but that it was a scheme that he had participated in to cheat Burch out of the money he paid to the kidnappers. They claimed to have done this before with a free black man from the North. Northup steadfastly denied this charge. Eakin pp. 215 & 216.

The criminal prosecution of the kidnappers ended when, after many years of delays in the Court proceedings, Northup disappeared and the case was dropped. Eakin pp. 210 – 214. Many who knew Solomon Northup believed that he was murdered by his kidnappers or kidnapped again and sold into slavery a second time.

The following is from the ending of Dr. Eakin’s study of Solomon Northup’s life at pages 217 & 217:

John Henry Northup, born in Sandy Hill [New York] in 1822, a nephew of Henry Northup, was well acquainted with both Solomon and Henry Northup. [He would have been 19 at the time of the kidnapping and 31 when Solomon Northup returned to New York.] He wrote his version of the story in 1909 in a letter to his cousin . . . who recounted it:

John Henry Northup said not long after they came home, Henry B. “got a lawyer to hear Sol’s story. Soon by questions he got enough to write a book.” According to John Henry, Solomon Northup: 12 Years in Slavery, written quickly and published in 1853, “created a sensation for it came out a short time after Uncle Tom’s Cabin . . . by Mrs. Stowe. The last I heard of him,” said John Henry in 1909, Sol “was lecturing in Boston to help sell his book . . . All at once said John Henry, “he disappeared . . . We believed that he was kidnapped and taken away or killed or both.”

Additional Curriculum Materials:

Teachers may want to provide students with the following handouts prepared by TWM. (1) The Slave Narrative as Literature and (2) Slavery: A World-Wide View, Then and Now (placing American slavery into a global and historical context). As to the latter TWM has prepared a homework assignment to test comprehension of the materials in the essay.

Turning Students Toward the Written Slave Narratives:

After students have seen the movie, turn their minds back to the written slave narratives by having them read all or a portion of Northup’s Twelve years a Slave (see assignments 1, 3 & 4 below) or by having them read all or a portion or another slave narrative, such as Frederick Douglass’ The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself. Set out below are several excerpts and one abridgment of slave narratives prepared by TWM for shorter student reading assignments.

Chapters I – III of The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African, Written by Himself;
Short excerpt from The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself describing Mr. Douglass’ decision to learn to read at whatever cost;
Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery chapters I – VI describing his experiences as a boy during slavery and just after Emancipation;
Sojourner Truth’s speech “Ain’t I A Woman?” delivered in 1851 at the Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio; the link is to a web page setting out the best version of the speech in the vernacular and also a translation to standard English;
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Harriet Jacobs; (TWM has prepared a six-page handout intended to capture the imagination of students and interest them in reading Ms. Jacobs’ narrative (this document alone will convey many of the lessons contained in Ms. Jacobs’ narrative); for teachers who don’t want to assign the entire book, TWM has abridged this work and cut it to about 1/3rd its original size; see TWM’s Abridged Version of “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself”).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

After watching the film, teachers can engage the class in a discussion about the movie.

1. Have the class read the following excerpt from pages 48 & 49 of Northup’s book. Then ask the class to evaluate the character of William Ford.

Our master’s name was William Ford. He resided then in the “Great Pine Woods,” in the parish of Avoyelles, situated on the right bank of Red River, in the heart of Louisiana. He is now a Baptist preacher. Throughout the whole parish of Avoyelles, and especially along both shores of Bayou Boeuf, where he is more intimately known, he is accounted by his fellow-citizens as a worthy minister of God. In many northern minds, perhaps, the idea of a man holding his brother man in servitude, and the traffic in human flesh, may seem altogether incompatible with their conceptions of a moral or religious life. From descriptions of such men as Burch and Freeman, and others hereinafter mentioned, they are led to despise and execrate the whole class of slaveholders, indiscriminately. But I was sometime his slave, and had an opportunity of learning well his character and disposition, and it is but simple justice to him when I say, in my opinion, there never was a more kind, noble, candid, Christian man than William Ford. The influences and associations that had always surrounded him, blinded him to the inherent wrong at the bottom of the system of Slavery. He never doubted the moral right of one man holding another in subjection. Looking through the same medium with his fathers before him, he saw things in the same light. Brought up under other circumstances and other influences, his notions would undoubtedly have been different. Nevertheless, he was a model master, walking uprightly, according to the light of his understanding, and fortunate was the slave who came to his possession. Were all men such as he, Slavery would be deprived of more than half its bitterness.

Suggested Response:

Make sure that all sides are represented. If there is a consensus in the class for one side or the other, the teacher should make the contrary argument.

2. What factors both within Northup and in his situation allowed him to survive the ordeal of being kidnaped and enslaved?

They include a) Tremendous patience and perseverance. Northup waited years for opportunities to attempt to regain his freedom. During the interim periods, he kept silent about his kidnapping and his right to be free. b) While the kidnapping was very bad luck, there were many instances in which Northup had good luck. These included: (1) encountering Mr. Bass — people like Bass were hard to come by in the South because the Slave Power didn’t generally allow dissent and abolitionists were expelled or lynched; (2) having a friend in the North like Henry Northup who had the capacity and willingness to secure Solomon Northup’s liberation; and (3) the way in which Henry Northup found Bass before Bass left the state. c) The ability to make Epps believe that Armsby was lying about the letter. d) The fact that the U.S. is a nation of laws in which the State of Louisiana would honor an order from the governor of the State of New York which caused a substantial financial loss to a Louisiana citizen.

3. During WWII the Germans established slave labor camps that were strikingly similar to plantations in the Southern U.S. The Germans imprisoned Jews, Poles, Russians, political dissidents and other people, fed them very little, and compelled them to work hard — all without pay. In the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials the U.S. accused some of the managers of those camps with crimes against humanity. This occurred just 80 years after the slaves on the last Southern Plantation were set free. What does this juxtaposition of facts indicate to you?

There is no one correct response. Some good ideas are: (1) Human society has advanced in some important ways or, in other words, the arc of history bends toward justice. (2) Like other nations, unless the U.S. is careful, it can act in ways that are oppressive and wrong. George Washington said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” — this applies to monitoring your own actions as well as to being vigilant to protect your country from others.

4. Describe some of the effects of slavery, as practiced in the American South, on the slave and on the slave owner that are exemplified by the characters in this movie.

The slaves lost their right to be free, to enjoy the fruits of their labor, sometimes to choose their spouses, to keep their families intact and see their children grow up, to choose their profession, and, for the women, to choose their sexual partners. The slave masters may have profited financially but they suffered personally becoming hypocrites (Mr. Ford), becoming callous to the suffering of others (all of the plantation owners and overseers, including the Fords, the Epps, Chapin and Tibbeats) or by becoming a torturer and abuser of their fellow human beings (Epps and Tibbeats).

HUMAN RIGHTS

See Discussion Question #4.

MORAL-ETHICAL EMPHASIS (CHARACTER COUNTS)

(Treat others with respect; follow the Golden Rule; Be tolerant of differences; Use good manners, not bad language; Be considerate of the feelings of others; Don’t threaten, hit or hurt anyone; Deal peacefully with anger, insults, and disagreements)

See Discussion Questions 1 & 3.

See also Discussion Questions which Explore Ethical Issues Raised by Any Film .

ASSIGNMENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES

Any of the discussion questions can serve as a writing prompt. Additional assignments include:

1. Additional Assignments to Turn Students Toward the Written Slave Narrative

These assignments will require students to read sections of Northup’s book and give reports to the class or write short essays on some of the details in the book that are omitted from the movie. They can also be asked to evaluate whether various scenes accurately reflect what is set out in the book. This assignment will also enhance students’ understanding of the history of slavery. Suggestions for assignments are:

Describe in your own words the people Solomon met in the various slave pens in which he was confined before being sent to the plantation of John Ford. They include: Eliza and her children, Clemens Ray, John Williams, and a man identified only as Robert. Read Chapters III and IV and page 92 to get the information for this project. [This assignment can be divided and each student can be given one person to describe.]
Describe in your own words the aborted conspiracy on the boat. Describe how the movie differs from the book in the depiction of this episode. Speculate on why the filmmakers made this change. Read Chapter V to obtain the information for this project.
Describe in your own words how it came about that Northup sent a letter home. Speculate on why the filmmakers omitted this scene. Read Chapter V to obtain the information for this project.
Write an essay on whether the movie portrays what really happened at Freeman’s Slave Pen in New Orleans. Read Chapter V to get the information for this project.
Write an essay on whether the movie portrays what really happened to Patsey. Read pages 96, 109 – 111, 116, 117, & 151 – 154 to get the information for this project.

2. Assignments for Research On Topics Relating to Solomon Northup

Retrieve and describe documents in the national archive documenting Solomon Northup’s life [Note to Teachers: see The Documents Behind Twelve Years a Slave The National Archives, November 5, 2013];
Describe the relationship between Solomon Northup’s book and the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin [Note to Teachers: see Eakin pp.262 – 265.];
Write a report on what happened when Solomon Northup returned to Washington, D.C.; [Note to Teachers: see N.Y. Times Article from January 20, 1853 , and Eakin pp. 198 — 217 .]
Describe the origin and meaning of the song “Run Nigger, Run”
Write a short biographical sketch of Henry B. Northup, the attorney who rescued Solomon Northup, and the relationship between the white and the black Northups.[Note to Teachers: see Eakin, note 6, pp. 266 & 267.]
The relationship of Dr. Sue Eakin with the book and her contribution to the story of Solomon Northup [Note to Teachers: see the first few unnumbered pages of the Enhanced Edition published by Eakin Films & Publishing.]

3. Students can be asked to create a drawing or write a poem about key scenes from the book. Instruct students to read the indicated pages of the book as they begin the assignment.

The scene in the Washington slave pen when Northup realizes that he had been kidnapped; read Northup chapters II & III;
The scene when Eliza’s daughter is taken from her in Freeman’s New Orleans slave showroom; read Northup Chapter VI.;
The whipping of Patsey — read Northup pp. 96, 109 – 111, 116, 117, & 151 – 154;
The scene when Northup is working in the field and is freed by the sheriff and Henry Northup; read Northup pp. 182 – 187;
Northup’s reunion with his family, pp. 195 & 196.

4. Write a work of historical fiction, either a screenplay or a short story, describing what happened when Attorney Henry Northup went to Louisiana to free Solomon Northup. You may add or delete scenes but keep your story primarily true to the historical narrative and make it exciting. There is the stuff of drama in this incident!@ Read Northup pp. 168 – 186 to get the information for this project.

5. Research the usual elements of a 19th-century American slave narrative and write an essay describing how the story told by the movie conforms to or departs from those elements.

CCSS ANCHOR STANDARDS

Multimedia:

Anchor Standard #7 for Reading (for both ELA classes and for History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Classes). (The three Anchor Standards read: “Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media, including visually and quantitatively as well as in words.”) CCSS pp. 35 & 60. See also Anchor Standard # 2 for ELA Speaking and Listening, CCSS pg. 48.

Anchor Standards #s 1, 2, 7 and 8 for Reading and related standards (for both ELA classes and for History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Classes). CCSS pp. 35 & 60.

Anchor Standards #s 1 – 5 and 7- 10 for Writing and related standards (for both ELA classes and for History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Classes). CCSS pp. 41 & 63.

Speaking and Listening:

Anchor Standards #s 1 – 3 (for ELA classes). CCSS pg. 48.

Not all assignments reach all Anchor Standards. Teachers are encouraged to review the specific standards to make sure that over the term all standards are met.

BRIDGES TO READING

The book itself is remarkably well written for a work that was pulled together in three months. See the books and materials listed in the Section on Turning Students to the Written Slave Narratives in Helpful Background.

LINKS TO THE INTERNET

How 12 Years a Slave Gets History Right: By Getting It Wrong by Noah Berlatsky , The Atlantic, Oct. 28 2013.
Historian at the Movies: 12 Years a Slave reviewed interview of Dr. Emily West in History Extra, January 13, 2014; “I have never seen a film represent slavery so accurately.”
The Documents Behind Twelve Years a Slave The National Archives, by Stephanie on November 5, 2013; (includes census records and slave manifests);
DocsTeach activity “Twelve Years a Slave” from the National Archive; (See Teacher Instructions for this activity;
N.Y. Times Article from January 20, 1853 or another version ;
Run Nigger Run recorded song and lyrics – The John Quincy Wolf Folklore Collection, Lyon College, Batesville, Arkansas
Run Nigger Run also from the John Quincy Wolf Folklore Collection;
Nigger Run , Wikimedia Commons;

Other lesson plans: Text to Text: ‘Twelve Years a Slave,’ and ‘An Escape That Has Long Intrigued Historians’ By Michael Gonchar and Tom Marshall, October 22, 2013

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The works cited in this Learning Guide are the Enhanced Edition of Twelve Years a Slave published by Eakin Films & Publishing, the websites which may be linked in the Guide and the sites listed in the Links to the Internet section.

This Learning Guide was written by James Frieden and first published on July 29, 2014.

LEARNING GUIDE MENU:

Benefits of the Movie Parenting Points Selected Awards & Cast Helpful Background Using the Movie in the Classroom Discussion Questions Social-Emotional Learning Moral-Ethical Emphasis Assignments and Projects CCSS Anchor Standards Bridges to Reading Links to the Internet Bibliography

MOVIE WORKSHEETS:

Citations in this Learning Guide are to the Enhanced Edition published by Eakin Films & Publishing. Citations to the slave narrative itself are referred to as “ Northup “. Citations to Professor Eakin’s notes and supplemental materials, beginning on page 198 are referred to as “ Eakin “.

BUILDING VOCABULARY:

Click here for interesting quotes from the film at the Internet Movie Database. The entire script can be found on Internet Movie Script Database .

Slavery: the Nation’s “Peculiar Institution”:

RANDALL KENNEDY, Professor, Harvard Law School on the two alternative traditions relating to racism in America:

“I say that the best way to address this issue is to address it forthrightly, and straightforwardly, and embrace the complicated history and the complicated presence of America. On the one hand, that’s right, slavery, and segregation, and racism, and white supremacy is deeply entrenched in America. At the same time, there has been a tremendous alternative tradition, a tradition against slavery, a tradition against segregation, a tradition against racism.

I mean, after all in the past 25 years, the United States of America has seen an African-American presence. As we speak, there is an African-American vice president. As we speak, there’s an African- American who is in charge of the Department of Defense. So we have a complicated situation. And I think the best way of addressing our race question is to just be straightforward, and be clear, and embrace the tensions, the contradictions, the complexities of race in American life. I think we need actually a new vocabulary.

So many of the terms we use, we use these terms over and over, starting with racism, structural racism, critical race theory. These words actually have been weaponized. They are vehicles for propaganda. I think we would be better off if we were more concrete, we talked about real problems, and we actually used a language that got us away from these overused terms that actually don’t mean that much. From Fahreed Zakaria, Global Public Square, CNN, December 26, 2021

Give your students new perspectives on race relations, on the history of the American Revolution, and on the contribution of the Founding Fathers to the cause of representative democracy. Check out TWM’s Guide: TWO CONTRASTING TRADITIONS RELATING TO RACISM IN AMERICA and a Tragic Irony of the American Revolution: the Sacrifice of Freedom for the African-American Slaves on the Altar of Representative Democracy.

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Twelve Years a Slave

By solomon northup.

This is an important work of nonfiction. It is a historical memoir by Solomon Northup after being freed from slavery in the Southern United States. Northup was an African-American man born free in New York in the early 1800s who was abducted into slavery.

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Article written by Emma Baldwin

B.A. in English, B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art Histories from East Carolina University.

Stripped of his identity and freedom, Solomon Northup endured twelve years of hardship and exploitation on various plantations in Louisiana. The book powerfully depicts the physical and psychological torment endured by enslaved individuals during this dark period in American history.

Today, it is rightly regarded as one of the most important books of the period.

1 Northup’s Unforgettable Writing Style
2 Impact on Literature and Film
3 Character Development
4 Personal Experience

Northup’s Unforgettable Writing Style

The writing style in this book is both powerful and evocative, leaving a profound impact on readers. The author’s prose is emotionally charged, with descriptions that transport readers into the world of slavery.

Through his narration, he humanizes the enslaved, making their suffering palpable and compelling readers to confront the horrors of slavery . The book’s historical accuracy is another remarkable aspect. As a firsthand account, it provides invaluable insight into the lived experiences of enslaved people during the mid-19th century in the United States. Northup’s attention to detail, including names, places, and dates, adds credibility to his narrative.

The book’s overall value lies in its unfiltered portrayal of slavery, offering a perspective often absent from historical records. It dispels romanticized notions of the era and challenges misconceptions, bringing to light the gruesome realities of bondage and exploitation.

Impact on Literature and Film

The book’s impact is multifaceted, something that is well-worth mentioning. In 2013, ‘ Twelve Years a Slave ’ received a cinematic adaptation directed by Steve McQueen. The film garnered critical acclaim and a wide audience, further amplifying the impact of Northup’s story.

It won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, propelling the narrative of slavery to the forefront of popular culture and elevating its significance globally.

The adaption also sparked conversations about historical accuracy and the representation of slavery in cinema. It compelled viewers to confront the painful realities of the past, challenging conventional narratives and promoting a more nuanced understanding of American history.

Character Development

The author demonstrates a remarkable use of character development to convey the multifaceted aspects of the individuals portrayed in his memoir. Throughout the book, Northup presents a diverse cast of characters , each with their own unique personalities, struggles, and backgrounds.

As the central figure in the narrative, Northup’s character undergoes a profound transformation. Initially, he is portrayed as a free man, proud of his accomplishments and the life he’s built with his family.

However, after being kidnapped, he has to adapt to survive the brutal conditions of slavery. The reader witnesses his emotional journey, from fear and despair to resilience and determination.

The book also delves into the characterization of slaveowners and overseers, some of whom are depicted as sadistic and merciless, while others show moments of humanity and complexity.

The author’s approach humanizes the victims, making the reader deeply empathize with the oppressed and recognize the complexity of human behavior under such extreme circumstances.

Personal Experience

Reading this memoir was a deeply emotional and eye-opening experience. The raw descriptions of Solomon Northup’s journey brought up a number of emotions.

It was impossible not to feel immense empathy for the enslaved individuals, as their suffering was depicted with such stark realism. The book made me confront the inhumanity of slavery and the profound injustices endured by millions of people.

It also left me feeling a mix of anger, sadness, and admiration for the resilience of those who endured such unimaginable hardships. Northup’s powerful narrative is undoubtedly compelling. It forces readers to confront the privilege of freedom and the importance of acknowledging and learning from the painful chapters of history.

I also feel that the book does a fantastic job highlighting the urgency of acknowledging historical injustices and the importance of striving for a more just and equitable society today.

Twelve Years a Slave: Northup's Unforgettable Memoir

Writing Style

Twelve Years a Slave Review

‘Twelve Years a Slave’ is a moving memoir of 19th-century America that details the twelve years that Solomon Northup spent enslaved in the Southern states.

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Emotionally impactful
Realistic narrative
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About Emma Baldwin

Emma Baldwin, a graduate of East Carolina University, has a deep-rooted passion for literature. She serves as a key contributor to the Book Analysis team with years of experience.

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Twelve Years a Slave

by Solomon Northup

Twelve years a slave themes.

Though it is not at the forefront of Northup's narrative, religion plays a crucial role in his story. Northup uses religion to emphasize which characters are "good" and which are "bad." For example, Tibeats and Epp both swear profusely and use God's name in vain, emphasizing their poor character. By contrast, Ford never takes God's name in vain and is depicted as a devout worshiper of God. Ford even holds sermons and invites his slaves to participate in sharing the word of God. In 1853, when this book was published, these characteristics would have stood out to readers. Furthermore, Northup portrays himself as a religious person on multiple occasions, such as when, after successfully fleeing through a snake-infested forest, Northup credits God for his survival. Religion was comforting to slaves held in bondage, offering them visions of an afterlife in which they could be free from suffering and connect with those they'd lost on earth.

Sexual Assault

Misogyny (and the resulting sexual abuse) is a vital piece of Northup's commentary on slavery. In his initial introduction of Patsey , Northup describes how, as "The enslaved victim of lust and hate, Patsey had no comfort of her life" (135). As a female slave, Patsey was forced to succumb to Epp's sexual violence and physical violence. She not only belonged to him as a means of picking cotton, but for sexual gratification as well. This inspires the jealousy that leads to the violence Patsey experiences near the end of the novel, wherein Epps whips her until she is unconscious. A male slave would not have been subjected to this, and Northup recognizes this in his narrative: "If ever there was a broken heart — one crushed and blighted by the rude grasp of suffering and misfortune — it was Patsey's" (188). Slave women were thus subject to all of the arduous labor, capricious punishments, and emotional trauma of slaves in general, but they also faced the added tortures of rape, abuse, and pregnancy with a master's child.

Identity drives Northup's narrative. At the beginning of the narrative, prior to his enslavement, Northup's identity is one of an affluent, well-liked, and talented violinist. Not only that, but his identity is also one of a free man. Following his enslavement, however, his identity is stripped away: he is no longer "Solomon"; instead, he is "Platt." His identity is now that of a slave: when he insists that he is free, he is beaten until he stops insisting. He is no longer allowed to move through the world however he likes, instead being forced to yield to what white people expect of him. His identity — at least outwardly — is forced to completely change. Internally, however, Northup remembers his past identity, which inspires him to survive. He finds value in the violin; he never gives up trying to escape; he is faithful to his wife; he always remembers who he is and what he wants to return to.

"Man's Inhumanity to Man"

Northup reveals just how awful man can be to man. The lucrativeness of slavery and concomitant racism created a situation that the South jealously guarded. In order to keep it intact, many felt that black people must be stripped of all rights and must be frightened or manipulated into working hard and knowing their artificially subordinate place in society. Violence and abuse of all kinds began to come naturally to slaveowners, for deep down they were aware of the flimsiness of their claims that slavery was a positive force. Fear of rebellion also stoked their increasingly cruel treatment of slaves, and when violence went on for so long unchecked, it became the norm. Man's baser impulses — such as greed, selfishness, and desire for power — cannot easily be ignored or quelled in the context of slavery.

Slavery's Corrupting Influence

Not only was slavery problematic for the African Americans caught in its grasp, but, Northup writes, it also corrupted any and all in its path — including white people. It made white people who were otherwise kind or moral into tyrants. It raised children in an environment where brutal treatment of slaves was considered the norm. Violence, sexual abuse, and cruelty were de rigeuer on many plantations; owning slaves and doing what one wanted with them was seen as right and normal. Even the generous and Christian Mr. Ford was raised in this milieu. Mrs. Epps was otherwise a wonderful woman, but she was corrupted by having power over Patsey, the slave with whom her husband had relations. Overall, slavery was bad for the economy and environment of the South, bad for free labor, bad for slaves, and bad for the white people who participated in it.

The Dignity and Humanity of Slaves

Northup does not depict slaves as mindless cogs in the machine of plantation slavery: rather, they are alive and unique. They may vary in terms of their intellect and personality, but they understand their conditions, desire freedom, and seek to make their lives as meaningful as possible even when their autonomy is limited in all respects. They form relationships, make a little money on the side, rebel and/or try to escape, play music, dance, share stories, and ultimately reveal their humanity. This allows his work to resonate with readers in that they can recognize the "characters" as authentic human beings.

Abolitionism

The text makes it seem as though Northup knew it would become a core part of the abolitionist movement in the North. He doesn't hit readers over the head with this, but his descriptions of the terrible things slaves endure, the corrupting influence of the system on white people, the problems for free labor, the hypocrisies of the system in light of the nation's founding principles, and the normalization of family disintegration seem to be calculated to shock and move readers to action. Northup is entirely forthright and thorough; he does not lie or omit or embellish. His work needed to be solid so it could be touted by abolitionists as a visceral example of why slavery must be abolished. Almost every page echoes with Northup's firm belief that slavery was immoral and untenable.

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Twelve Years a Slave Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Twelve Years a Slave is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Why did Solomon carve his initials into the tin cups?

Solomon cut their initials into the tin cups they were given aboard ship.

With a small pocket knife that had not been taken from me, I began cutting the initials of my name upon the tin cup. The others immediately flocked round me, requesting me...

This question is far too involved for a short-answer. I suggest you begin by reading through GradeSaver's theme page for the unit.

What is the symbolism of the the sentence,

The "monsters" represent the white men who lured Solomon away.

Study Guide for Twelve Years a Slave

Twelve Years a Slave study guide contains a biography of Solomon Northup, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

About Twelve Years a Slave
Twelve Years a Slave Summary
Character List

Essays for Twelve Years a Slave

Twelve Years a Slave essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup.

A Literary Analysis of Twelve Years a Slave

Lesson Plan for Twelve Years a Slave

About the Author
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Introduction
Reception and historical value
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12 Years a Slave

Solomon northup, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Racism and Slavery

12 Years a Slave grapples with the racism that fuels slavery and Solomon Northup ’s suffering. The narrative illustrates how racism is an instrument for human wickedness—a justification for a slave owner to be unrelenting, cruel, and inhumane. 12 Years a Slave clearly points out that racism is a learned behavior, not an inherent understanding that people are born with. The overarching purpose of 12 Years a Slave is to reveal the heartbreaking realities of…

Truth and Justice

Although 12 Years a Slave commends telling the truth, considering it a sign of integrity and strength, the book also explores the complexity involved in telling the truth in nineteenth-century America. Racism means that truth coming from a slave is deemed worthless, limiting a slave’s ability to seek justice. Further, telling the truth can be dangerous or deadly for an innocent person in this toxic environment. In this case, Solomon Northup maintains, it is appropriate…

12 Years a Slave centers on the twelve years of agony that author and protagonist Solomon Northup spent as a slave in Louisiana, completely cut off from his family. Although Solomon’s family appears very little throughout the narrative, family plays a key role in Solomon’s experiences. The narrative points out that the concept of family is broader than being related by blood or marriage. Instead, family encompasses those who show one another love, compassion, and…

Christianity

Throughout 12 Years a Slave , Solomon Northup asserts that God loves all of his people, regardless of race. The inherent equality among men in God’s eyes means that Christianity is a source of comfort and strength for the slaves, as well as a way to understand their circumstances. 12 Years a Slave also reveals the hypocritical underbelly of Christianity in the American South, showing the way that Christianity can be terribly manipulated into a…

The Power of Music

In 12 Years a Slave , author and protagonist Solomon Northup highlights how his violin brought him brief but treasured moments of joy and comfort in the midst of otherwise-horrific situations. He even attributes his physical survival under his most brutal master, Edwin Epps , to his violin. However, Solomon also reveals how the scant joy in his life, music, was perverted by slave dealers and owners.

In the opening pages of his narrative, Solomon…

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(Re)Mediated History: 12 Years a Slave

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John Ernest, (Re)Mediated History: 12 Years a Slave , American Literary History , Volume 26, Issue 2, Summer 2014, Pages 367–373, https://doi.org/10.1093/alh/aju022

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12 Years a Slave is a film that calls, vividly, for its proper context, the historical awareness and understanding by which its representation of slavery might be justly valued. The essays gathered here respond to that call purposefully by directing us to the various histories involved in this most central but still strangely unknown presence in American history. While it might seem reasonable to say, echoing Miriam Thaggert in her thoughtful essay, that “most Americans do know about slavery” (333), anyone with any experience with nonacademic audiences or acquaintances will likely suspect that most Americans know about slavery in roughly the same way they know about , say, evolution. They've heard of it, but they cannot talk about it with any confidence for more than about a half-minute, and some are ready to virtually deny its existence altogether by echoing whatever they've heard about a benevolent institution that ultimately brought many people into the fold of what many white Americans take uncritically as Christianity and civilization. Missing from such knowledge about slavery is any understanding of the systemic operations of slavery that shaped fundamentally virtually every aspect of American life, including the institutional and theological operations of Christianity and the economic and legal practices fundamental to American notions of civilization. Perhaps what is most striking about the film under discussion here is that it is still tasked to do roughly the same work that Solomon Northup tried to accomplish in the book Twelve Years a Slave , first published in 1853—that is, to effect a kind of historical eruption, an account of history (individually authenticated but shared by many) inexplicable by the usual assumptions about the social order.

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“12 Years a Slave”: An Analysis of the Film Essay

The Cultural Significance of Solomon Northup’s Twelve Years a Slave

Twelve Years A Slave —The Slave Narrative of Solomon Northup

Violence, Plantation Work, and the Desecration of the Family

The Process of Writing Solomon Northup’s Slave Narrative

Twelve Years a Slave : Analyzing Slave Narratives

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12 Years a Slave

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Twelve Years a Slave

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Northup’s Unforgettable Writing Style

Impact on Literature and Film

Character Development

Personal Experience

Twelve Years a Slave: Northup's Unforgettable Memoir

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by Solomon Northup

Sexual Assault

"Man's Inhumanity to Man"