Sunday, March 29, 2015

Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup







I heard the movie was horribly violent, something I'm extremely sensitive to, so I never saw Twelve Years a Slave.  I happened to come across the book at a  bargain table in Walmart.  The price, an alluring $2.97, motivated me to pick the book up and glance through it.  When I realized that it was a non fiction book written by a former slave of the 19th century, I bought the book and read it in a couple of days.

Solomon Northup was a free black man born, educated and raised in the north until in 1841, around the age of thirty, he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Washington DC.  He was married at the time and had children but none of them knew how or why he disappeared until twelve years later.

Perhaps most of you have seen the movie so I don't need to retell the story. Instead I will touch upon those things which most impressed me.

First, Northup is an eloquent story teller.  His writing skills attest to the type of education he received and the ability of black people to become well educated and cultivate their God given intelligence like any other race.  That seems an obvious thing to say today, but it must have been surprising, even amazing at the time the story was written.  One of the justifications used to enslave black people was that they weren't as "evolved" as white people.

Another thing that impressed me was the even handed story telling.  Northup could have demonized every white person in his story but he chose to speak honestly of his experience.  He speaks of his first owner, William Ford, as a God-fearing, kind and merciful man.  He treated his slaves with justice, never forcing them to work more than they could bear and as a result received far more work out of them than any tyrant would have.  Northup observes that if all slave masters were as Mr. Ford slavery would never have died out because men and women under such care would have been content to serve all their lives.

Ford was the exception rather than the rule, however.  Northup makes an acute commentary of the dastardly effects slavery has upon the human soul.  Not only does it rob the slave of dignity and humanity, it brutalizes the slave owner as well.  People who could have been kind, caring, and edifying citizens were reduced to brutish thinking, robbing themselves of any dignity or respect they might otherwise have possessed had they not been slave owners.

And unfortunately for Northup, the next owners he served under certainly vied for the prize of being the most despicable, hateful, animalistic monsters ever to plague the planet.  Northup describes in heart breaking terms the savage treatment under the hands of people who suffered no accountability for their actions.  At least not while alive.

The final thing which impressed me, and I don't know if the movie brought this out, was Northup's Christian faith that gave him the strength and hope to press on through his trials, knowing that one day there would be a deliverance and a reckoning, even if at the time he didn't know if it would happen during his lifetime.  I believe that is why there is no trace of bitterness in his account of his ordeal.

Another interesting point to the story was Northup's meticulous descriptions of life on plantations.  He details the daily routine of slave life, cotton harvesting and also of corn.  These descriptions make his book a valuable record of history.

I'm glad that instead of spending the rest of his days shaking his fist at God and asking "why?"  Northup instead used his twelve years to expose the evils of an accepted practice and contributed to its eventual elimination.

http://www.comicbookreligion.com/img/s/o/Solomon_Northup.jpg
Solomon Northup


 
Fully illustrated 1853 Edition:
 

 



16 comments:

Brian Joseph said...

Great commentary Sharon.

I have avoided the film myself for the same reasons as you have. I have gotten squeamish as I get older.

The even handedness is indeed surprising and commendable.

The cruelty that some people can inflict is beyond comprehension.

Cleo said...

I keep eyeing this book and appreciated your review because now I'm more likely to pick it up.

I haven't read much about slavery yet (it's a much hotter topic in the U.S.) but I have read a couple of biographies on Thomas Jefferson and I found his views on slaves curious. He seemed to like and respect them but he felt their thought process was completely different than the white people's, and that they could never integrate. From the little I've read, I think it's almost impossible to understand people's mindsets and views from back then. I have Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery coming up for my biographies project and I'm looking forward to it.

Ruth @ with freedom and books said...

I'd probably like to read this. I saw the movie, which was difficult to watch at times; it was horrific what the people went through. The story, as you present it, has hints of Harriet Beecher Stowe's stories (from Uncle Tom's Cabin). Regretfully, I don't recall his Christian faith being a part of the story, but only because I cannot remember the details. I would need to see the movie a second time - but I think I'd rather read the book first.

David Fiske said...

You might find my essay interesting. http://newyorkhistoryblog.org/2013/11/13/authenticity-and-authorship-of-solomon-northups-12-years-a-slave/

Sharon Wilfong said...

HI Brian! I agree with you. It fascinates and horrifies me how when something becomes a cultural norm it is tolerated and justified -no matter how inhumane.

Sharon Wilfong said...

Hi Cleopatra! I have read a number of books about slavery. Living in the south it is a pertinent topic, especially in understanding the tenuous relationships between races here.
Up From Slavery is an excellent book. It offers a lot of insight as well.

Jefferson and all of the slave owners back then seem so strange to us today. Especially his relationship with Sally Hemings who was his slave, concubine and half sister of his wife Martha. I know that these people were a product of the time but morals transcend time, which is why slavery needed to be abolished. Another very good book is the biography of William Wilberforce called the Amazing Grace of Freedom by Ted Baher. In that book Baher writes of a slave owner in the Caribbean who proudly proclaims that all of his workers in the fields are his own sons!

Sharon Wilfong said...

Hi Ruth! I haven't seen the movie but it's possible they left his Christian faith out. Hollywood movies have a bad habit of doing that. I read Unbroken and the most inspiring part of the entire story was Zamparini's conversion which enabled him to travel back to Japan and personally contact and forgive his Japanese captors.

Sharon Wilfong said...

Hi David! I visited your blog and did find your essay interesting. I would say that I don't think that simply because Northup wasn't an escaped slave is why he showed no bitterness. I think losing your freedom for 12 years would make anybody angry and bitter.

I had never considered that he had a collaborator to write the book. I'm glad to know they were able to verify Northup's facts and therefore the authenticity of his story. Have a good day!

Phyllis Winn said...

Thank you, Sharon...I have never heard of this story or the movie. How did Solomon find freedom and how did his family receive him after 12 years?

Sharon Wilfong said...

Hey Phyllis! I will write you and personal e mail and let you know in case others don't want to know the ending.

Unknown said...

I have not read (and I have resisted reading) this one. Your eloquent "review" may alter my resistance. But I will not get around to it until I have completed my recently decided upon reading plan (as explained at Beyond Eastrod).

Finally, I have this observation: I have always been surprised by the ways in which slaves (displaced Africans) embraced the Christianity of their oppressors. I will not elaborate -- my analysis would be too provocative -- but perhaps my barebones statement is sufficient.

Sharon Wilfong said...

R.T. : That would be an interesting point of study: why did the slaves embrace Christianity when their only exposure to it would have been from the slave owners?
Not only that, but I have read records of history that said the slave owners had greater respect for their slaves' faith than their own. One instance I read was when an owner or one of his family members got sick they would have their slaves pray over that person.

Ruth @ with freedom and books said...

Yes, I read Unbroken, and my husband and I just watched the movie last week; I definitely felt the absence of his amazing conversion, which allowed him to live again and to forgive his captors -to seek them out and to share the gospel. That little blurb at the end of the movie about his faith did not do it justice.

Sharon Wilfong said...

Hi Ruth. Hopefully the movie will inspire people to read the book and get the complete and most meaningful part of Zamparini's life. Take care!

Unknown said...

Easily the most powerful, compelling, devastating, and just plain blunt film about slavery ever made, Steve McQueen's adaptation of Solomon Northup's 1853 memoir, 12 Years a Slave is a raw and searing indictment.

Mica
Moto G 4G Review

Sharon Wilfong said...

Hi Micaella! I'm sure you're right. I don't think I could bear to watch it, though. I think it would be too painful.