12 Years A Slave By Solomon Northup

The Truth:

12 Years a Slave is an autobiography written by Solomon Northup who was born in New York on July 10, 1807. Solomon was a free man who was sold into slavery in 1841 and only regained his freedom in 1853. He held many occupations including craftsman, farmer, and violin player. In 1841 he encountered two men who offered him work playing his fiddle in a circus. He decided to take the offer and followed the men to New York where he was later believed to be drugged and enslaved. He was on the plantation of James H. Burch, who had no interest in hearing about Solomon’s freedom. Solomon then takes on the name “Platt” and is sold to William Ford. When ford goes broke, Solomon is then sold to a harsh owner named John M. Tibeats, and later

Northup was excited by the thought of this new gig and agreed to follow the men to Washington D.C. While in town, the men went out for dinner and drinks, where Solomon was drugged and taken to an unfamiliar building. When he woke up, he was chained to the wall and told he was no longer a free man, but a slave. He was sent out to be sold at James H. Burch’s slave pen. On the journey to Burch’s, he took the name of a fellow slave who had been killed on the ship. He told Burch that it was a mistake and he was a free man but Burch didn’t want to hear of it. He was then passed along to various owners, each more harsh than the previous one. While at the plantation of Edwin Epps, he met a girl named Patsey who received the majority of Epps anger. She was not only raped, but often whipped until her back was bleeding. Solomon then encountered a man who was willing to hear his story. This man promised to find someone who could help free him, but instead, he told Solomon’s owner what he had said. After more years of abuse, a Canadian abolitionist came to Epps’s establishment. Solomon hoped that this was his next chance at freedom, and he was right. The Canadian abolitionist took his letter into town and found someone who would help him. Northup was finally freed and went home to see his family. He learned that while he was gone, he had also become a grandfather to a son named

Very few scenes/ facts did not match up with the actual event which helped viewers get a true feel for Solomon’s experience. For example, in the movie, Solomon was depicted as having two children when in reality, he had two daughters and a son. Another inaccuracy dealt with the death of the man named Robert. The film shows him being stabbed to death by a soldier but Solomon reveals that he actually died of smallpox while on the ship. The movie also depicts William Ford as a hypocrite during his church services. Northup states that under the circumstances, he was one of the most kind and noble men he had met. He referred to Ford as a “model master” and believes that he was only born into the slavery owning aspect of his life. One of the largest differences between the movie and the real account was Patsey asking for Solomon to end her life. It is said that the directors misinterpreted what Solomon had written in his autobiography and it was actually Mistress Ebbs who asked for an end to Patsey’s