A Memoir of Kidnap, Slavery and Liberation
Solomon Northup, Eric Ashley Hairston: 12 Years a Slave (2009, Barnes & Noble, Incorporated)
English language
Published June 19, 2009 by Barnes & Noble, Incorporated.
Essential reading for anyone looking to understand the experiences of the enslaved in the U.S. south.
He paints the true picture of injustice and the hardship of slavery. An unbelievably infuriating story where the oppressed continue to be oppressed with the society not ready to acknowledge the changing times. He was very persistent and survived through the starvation, constant whips and few hours to sleep.
One of the few surviving personal accounts of slavery from this time, this was published in the 1850s but almost forgotten and considered fiction until a scholar, Dr Sue Eakin, discovered the book and made it her life's work to verify its authenticity.
Solomon Northup, a free black man from New York, is kidnapped and sold into slavery down south, and it's only with the help of a sympathetic Canadian he meets and convinces to contact friends back in New York for him that he's eventually rescued, but not before 12 years of suffering and separation from wife and children. Obviously a heartbreaking and horrifying story, and a very personal picture of the life of a slave. It's now back in print (obviously) and was made into an Oscar-winning movie in 2013 (which I haven't seen yet but will now look for). The writing style is the very flowery, verbose …
One of the few surviving personal accounts of slavery from this time, this was published in the 1850s but almost forgotten and considered fiction until a scholar, Dr Sue Eakin, discovered the book and made it her life's work to verify its authenticity.
Solomon Northup, a free black man from New York, is kidnapped and sold into slavery down south, and it's only with the help of a sympathetic Canadian he meets and convinces to contact friends back in New York for him that he's eventually rescued, but not before 12 years of suffering and separation from wife and children. Obviously a heartbreaking and horrifying story, and a very personal picture of the life of a slave. It's now back in print (obviously) and was made into an Oscar-winning movie in 2013 (which I haven't seen yet but will now look for). The writing style is the very flowery, verbose style of the time but it's nonetheless hard not to get engrossed in the story.
A horrifying and deeply engrossing account, Solomon Northup's life story is completely unique from the pool of existing slave narratives. In that regard, it's a must-read.
A horrifying and deeply engrossing account, Solomon Northup's life story is completely unique from the pool of existing slave narratives. In that regard, it's a must-read.
The story is thought, emotion and mind provoking. A great insight into the culture of perpetual psychopathy. The author most accurately describes the states of mind and attitudes of the those who are just emotionally blind (Master Ford) and those who are without a doubt full blown psychopaths (Epps household, Tibeats, Burns, etc).
It's heartbreaking and yet still as pertinent today as it was all those years ago. The same bullying, emotional and physical abuse is still with us, just on a more subdued scale. The cruelty is still perpetuating from generation to generation and is lashed out on those who are most helpless.
I think the story is very pertinent to every human being.
I wish this was on my high school or college reading list instead of Pride and Prejudice.
The story is thought, emotion and mind provoking. A great insight into the culture of perpetual psychopathy. The author most accurately describes the states of mind and attitudes of the those who are just emotionally blind (Master Ford) and those who are without a doubt full blown psychopaths (Epps household, Tibeats, Burns, etc).
It's heartbreaking and yet still as pertinent today as it was all those years ago. The same bullying, emotional and physical abuse is still with us, just on a more subdued scale. The cruelty is still perpetuating from generation to generation and is lashed out on those who are most helpless.
I think the story is very pertinent to every human being.
I wish this was on my high school or college reading list instead of Pride and Prejudice.
An autobiography about a mixed race free man kidnapped into slavery hit a little too close to home. His experience being free made acclimating to the difficult masters more challenging. More amazing me is he did not break under the weight of the life and give up on ever finding a way home.
Some of the quotes I highlighted:
Suffice it to say, during the whole long day I came not to the conclusion, even once, that the southern slave, fed, clothed, whipped and protected by his master, is happier than the free colored citizen of the North.
...
There may be humane masters, as there certainly are inhuman ones—there may be slaves well-clothed, well-fed, and happy, as there are surely those half-clad, half-starved and miserable; nevertheless, the institution that tolerates such wrong and inhumanity as I have witnessed, is a cruel, unjust and barbarous one.
...
Ten years …
An autobiography about a mixed race free man kidnapped into slavery hit a little too close to home. His experience being free made acclimating to the difficult masters more challenging. More amazing me is he did not break under the weight of the life and give up on ever finding a way home.
Some of the quotes I highlighted:
Suffice it to say, during the whole long day I came not to the conclusion, even once, that the southern slave, fed, clothed, whipped and protected by his master, is happier than the free colored citizen of the North.
...
There may be humane masters, as there certainly are inhuman ones—there may be slaves well-clothed, well-fed, and happy, as there are surely those half-clad, half-starved and miserable; nevertheless, the institution that tolerates such wrong and inhumanity as I have witnessed, is a cruel, unjust and barbarous one.
...
Ten years I toiled for that man without reward. Ten years of my incessant labor has contributed to increase the bulk of his possessions. Ten years I was compelled to address him with down-cast eyes and uncovered head—in the attitude and language of a slave. I am indebted to him for nothing, save undeserved abuse and stripes.
...
They are deceived who flatter themselves that the ignorant and debased slave has no conception of the magnitude of his wrongs. They are deceived who imagine that he arises from his knees, with back lacerated and bleeding, cherishing only a spirit of meekness and forgiveness. A day may come—it will come, if his prayer is heard—a terrible day of vengeance, when the master in his turn will cry in vain for mercy.
