12 Years A Slave Sparknotes

His story is not just one of individual suffering, but a damning indictment of an entire system of oppression that caused the biggest divide in United States history. Twelve Years a Slave is a haunting memoir that unveils the unspeakable brutality and inhumanity of slavery in the antebellum United States. In Twelve Years a Slave, Solomon Northup's personal account of his enslavement provides readers with a vivid and harrowing description of the brutalities of slavery that sheds light on the dehumanizing experiences of slaves, the oppressive nature of slaveholders, and the ideological divide that fueled sectionalism in the antebellum United States. Through Northup's vivid and emotional account, readers are transported back in time to witness

His account illuminates the physical, emotional, and psychological abuse that was inflicted upon slaves, from the whipping and beating to the separation of families and the constant fear of being sold. Northup recounts, “Daily witnesses of human suffering—listening to the agonizing screeches of the slave—beholding him writhing beneath the merciless lash—bitten and torn by dogs—dying without attention, and buried without shroud or coffin,” to reveal how physically brutal slavery was (Northup, 2014). Northup uses intensely visceral and vivid descriptions of the physical torture endured by slaves, from his story of being tied up and left on the smouldering ground to recountings of sexual abuse of female slaves to expose the truth about an institution society was complacent with. Through Northup’s recounting of his experience as a slave, readers and historians are given a window into the minds of slaveholders as

His experience as a free man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery highlights the tension between the North and South, as well as the differing attitudes towards slavery. In Twelve Years a Slave, there are several people that ideologically represent the North, such as the abolitionist Bass Avery and the lawyer Henry Northup. These are anti-slavery men that did nearly everything they could to free Solomon from his unjust enslavement, and they represent the ideals of the North at the time. There are also several people that represent the South, such as Tibeats and Epps, who are both slaveholders that brutally abuse their slaves. Northup juxtaposes these individuals throughout his tale to provide an example of the great division and sectionalism of the nation during that time period. The ideological division between the North and the South all come together in the nation’s capital, where slaves are sold while people praise the values of freedom and justice. Northup sarcastically writes, “So we passed, hand-cuffed and in silence, through the streets of Washington—through the Capital of a nation, whose theory of government, we are told, rests on the foundation of man's inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness! Hail! Columbia, happy land, indeed!” to