Essay on Solomon Northup - 2826 Words

Separation and Survival in In the spring of 1841, Solomon Northup accepted an offer of short-term employment as a musician, accompanying a pair of white men, circus performers working their way back to their troupe. A free African-American and resident of New York state, Northup expected the job to take him from Saratoga Springs to New York City, entailing only a brief absence from home — so brief, in fact, that he did not leave word for his wife, also employed away from home for a number of weeks, since he expected to return before her. When they reached New York City, however, his employers urged him to continue with them to Washington, D.C., where they were to meet the circus, promising employment at high wages for the season†¦show more content†¦Separation is a paramount theme, entwined for Northup — who had a free family awaiting his return, rather than a slave family he might have had to leave behind — with strategies of survival and plans for escape. Not only Northups own story, but those of the slaves he met and lived with are included in his narrative,. especially in the first half, which details how Northup was transported from Washington to Richmond and finally to Louisiana, where he was sold to a planter in the Bayou Boeuf area, William Ford. Northups experience, while not commonplace, was also not unique: of the fourteen slaves on the trip to New Orleans, two others were kidnaped free men, wrested from their families. (The closing of the African slave trade in 1808, as the plantation revolution was taking hold in the Mississippi Delta area, created a voracious appetite for slaves in the deep South. The contemporary decline of the staple-crop plantation system in the Chesapeake area made slaves a profitable export for the Chesapeake states, and Washington, D.C., a logical place to sell slaves, and that profitability no doubt was an inducement to kidnappers.) In Williams slave pen in Washington, Northup met a man named Clemens Ray, who had long lived inShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Solomon Northup s 12 Years A Slave1525 Words   |  7 PagesWritten by Solomon Northup and published in 1853, 12 Years a Slave is an autobiography describing the horrible experiences that Solomon himself faced, within a span of twelve years, a fter having been kidnapped as a free man, beaten, and sold into slavery. As a tribute to Northup s powerful memoir, in 2013 a film was created, also called 12 Years a Slave, which served to retell Northup s story through the power of cinematic effects, actors, and cameras. However, even though the movie is based entirelyRead MoreA Slave By Solomon Northup Essay1594 Words   |  7 PagesTwelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup. This book was written in 1853 and has been republished in several editions. It’s thought of to be a memoir and a slave narrative by Solomon Northup himself. In 1984, PBS created a movie referred to as, Solomon Northup’s Odyssey, that was directed by Gordon Parks and 2013 there was a movie product of the book that was directed by Steve McQueen. There are several arguments that are realize throughout this book concerning why Solomon needed to write his bookRead MoreSolomon Northup Paper878 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿ Solomon Northup Paper Briana Barrett-Riddle 2/9/15 Reading the content in this book made me get a picture of what it was like to be a colored person in this time. My eyes were opened to the meaning of the word â€Å"nigga†. Nigga is such a derogatory term, yet now-a-days it is used by people so much. Kids in this generation use it as a term of endearment when they see their friends, or they say it when they are shocked by something. Frankly, I don’t believe they know how serious it really is. The factRead MoreThe Autobiography By Solomon Northup Essay1619 Words   |  7 PagesThe autobiography by Solomon Northup, 12 Years a Slave, tells the unforgiving story of the life of a slave in the mid-1800s. In the opening and closing of the book, Northup declares that his intention for writing his story was to give an unexaggerated, accurate representation of what he experienced during his twelve years of captivity. â€Å"My object is to give a candid and truthful statement of facts†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Northup 1). He made it clear that he would make no embellishments to the story because he wantedRead MoreThe Slave System By Solomon Northup1618 Words   |  7 PagesThe slave system was kept in existence for many years since the early 1600’s. A never ending cycle of pain, and harsh conditions From being in 12 years of slavery, Solomon Northup recounts the time when he had once been a free man to be kidnapped of that freedom back in 1841. The relationships that Northup encountered were neither positive or negative . From friends he gained or his slave masters, the relationships were shaped by slavery and helped intact the slave system. In those relationshipsRead MoreSolomon Northup : A Free Negro1764 Words   |  8 PagesSynopsis Solomon Northup was a free negro, who was born and raised in New York in 1808. His father was a slave to a man with the last name Northup and upon his death was granted his freedom. Solomon married Ann Hampton and had three children. Solomon had many talents, and was quite intelligent, which helped to make his family prosperous. Ann worked as a cook at local restaurants and Solomon played the violin for extra money during the winter months. While unemployed in March of 1841, Solomon encounteredRead MoreTwelve Years A Slave By Solomon Northup1070 Words   |  5 PagesTwelve Years A Slave (1853) By Solomon Northup Publisher: Miller, Orton Mulligan, 1855 # of pages: 336 Kamila Piloto Mr. Deliard Period 4 Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup is a story about a slave whom was once free but was abducted and was sold into slavery. This story is an explanation of the suffering of slaves in the antebellum period and a demonstration of the inhumane treatment. â€Å"Before I came here I was free, a free man.† The setting of the story was in New YorkRead MoreThe Life Of Frederick Douglass And Solomon Northup1278 Words   |  6 PagesDouglass and Solomon Northup respectively, documented the lives of how their enslaved authors fought their way to freedom. The books portrayed not only the hardships of their lives as a slave but also how they achieved resistance against their masters and slavery itself. Even though they were both oppressed by racism and the system of slavery, Frederick Douglass and Solomon Northup both successfully fought their masters, aided fellow slaves, and obtained freedom. The fact that both Northup and DouglassRead MoreSolomon Northup : A Free Man1197 Words   |  5 PagesSolomon Northup enjoyed the aspects of being a free man since he was born as a free man in the Northern States. His father was born into a slavery up until his master died, leaving him in his will stating that after his death, he would inherit his master’s last name, which was Northup, and was able to become a free man. Once his father was a free man, he moved to the city of New York and had two children. Solomon Northup was born in July of 1808, and was provided with a humble home and educationRead MoreSolomon Northup : An African American883 Words   |  4 PagesSolomon Northup was an African American, born a free man, who lived in Saratoga Springs, New York with his wife Anne Hampton and their three children. Northup was a skilled violinist and farmer who was seeking employment in the spring of 1841; one night he met two men at a saloon, who both identified themselves to be affiliated with a circus, and they convinced him to accompany them on a journey to New York to perform with his superb violin skills on their traveling music show. They persuaded him