The first instance seen in the film of emotional turmoil and hopelessness felt by Solomon can be attributed to his kidnap and therefore forced rejection of his former life. He was in obvious distress the moment he realized that he had been tricked by people that he had trusted and that he may never see his wife and children again. This was a grim reality for many of the freedmen unjustly placed into slavery due to the fugitive slave law, regardless of the fact that they were free individuals. In this moment Solomon, like many others, realized that he would be forced to suffer the harsh conditions that many other African Americans of the time were facing due to involuntary servitude, but that was the worst of his fears, he feared the unknown of what would become of his family and what they may believe caused his disappearance.
As the movie progresses Solomon is forced to reopen fresh emotional wounds when he sees the sale of Eliza and the resulting separation from her children and the suffering that many may go through in similar situations. He realized in this moment that thousands of families had been broken up due to the institution of slavery, a similar feeling to what he experienced being separated from his own family. Although, these two separations are not completely comparable due to the fact that at least Solomon had peace of mind that his
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This was one of the most emotional scenes of the movie as his suffering is finally over and he is able to regain the freedom that he so cruelly lost. Although, this moment is also bittersweet as this sequence of events was not the norm, and most if not all of the freedmen kidnapped into slavery did not regain their free status and the slaves were still living and working with no hope in sight for any