ipl-logo

Solomon Northup's Stolen Into Slavery

737 Words3 Pages

Two and a half million African Americans are enslaved, and Solomon Northup was one of them. Solomon Northup is the main character of the book, Stolen Into Slavery by Judith and Dennis Fradin. Solomon Northup was a freed man, who got kidnapped and sold into slavery when he was 32 years old. Lured then trapped in Washington D.C by the money and the promise of one day becoming a famous violinist all around the world. He had a wife, and three young kids, but after years of being away for many years, his kids cannot recognize him in a crowd. His wife left alone in a male-dominated world, struggling emotionally and economically without Solomon. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Solomon’s human rights were clearly violated. The heartless inhumanity of slavery is evident in Stolen Into Slavery by Judith and Dennis Fradin because it’s evident that Solomon’s human rights were violated.

In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it becomes clear that Solomon’s human rights were violated. More specifically article …show more content…

More specifically article four which state, “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article Four). First of all, it goes against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to even be a slave, but none of the less when promised the hope of freedom, freed slaves don’t always stay free. For instance, like Solomon, a freed black man always has the potential of being kidnapped and sold into slavery once again. This unfortunate fact becomes true when the author states, “While it is known that many African Americans went from slavery to freedom, it is less known that thousands of black people went from freedom to slavery”(Fradin 109). This shows the never-ending cycle of slavery, and how a freed slave does not always stay

Show More
Related
1866 Words | 8 Pages

He shows how they were people and had human qualities, not just animals who could be bought, sold, and traded. His purpose for writing the five stories he does focuses on the idea of voicing the enslaved people’s lives. The use of assertion/justification in writing helps an author seem confident. Davis states “Here is America's great contradiction.

Read More
1106 Words | 5 Pages

As a result, the slave is upset or depressed in that he has to live through this. Although he is a good person at heart, he is still not given the chance to prove himself or get the rights he

Read More
722 Words | 3 Pages

The Life of Solomon Northrup Solomon Northrup was born to two free African Americans who had never experienced the life of a slave. In 1841, his life turned upside down when he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Washington City. Solomon was a fiddle player who went to Washington for a job offer that ended up being just a scam. It seems like he was a trusted and fearless man. For twelve years, he was exposed to the horrors of being treated as a slave.

Read More
512 Words | 3 Pages

But I refused to speak that name. there was nothing united about a nation that said all men were created equal, but that kept my people in chains” (311). Slavery is a topic that can never get too much media as it is a dark passage in human history, one that should be

Read More
616 Words | 3 Pages

Americans were better informed of the harsh conditions that slaves suffered through works of literature written by literate slaves, such as “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” (Doc J). Through this and the work of many abolitionist organizations that published newspapers and pamphlets, Americans began to see the ethical flaws of slavery. In a declaration of sentiments written by the American Anti-Slavery Society, slavery is described as “the foulest stain that rests upon our nation” (Doc E). Societies and organizations like these preached that all citizens of the United States deserved equal rights and privileges (Doc E). All men are born free and equal, so blacks deserved the “natural rights of mankind” (Doc B).

Read More
1262 Words | 6 Pages

Solomon Northup was an American abolitionist and the primary author of the memoir Twelve Years a Slave. A free-born African American from New York, he was the son of a freed slave and free woman of color. Born in July 1808 in Minerva, New York, Solomon Northup grew up a free man, working as a farmer and violinist while having a family. He was lured south and kidnapped in 1841 and enslaved for more than a decade, enduring horribly violent conditions. Northup was freed in 1853 with help from colleagues and friends.

Read More
1388 Words | 6 Pages

Document 2, written by Ahmed Baba, a Muslim cleric of Mali, says, “…he should be set free directly…” referring specifically to Muslim slaves, but still expressing concern with slavery imposed on some people. Baba, while considering slavery imposed on non-Muslim African to be acceptable, still shows reservation on the institution as a whole because Muslims can be slaves. Document 3, written by an African slave and addressed to the Bishop of London, is a plea to the Bishop to grant more rights to the slaves to worship God more effectively and to let the slaves’ children be educated and taught to read the Bible. Overall, this document documents the harsh reality of slavery and shows an attempt at getting a Bishop across the Atlantic Ocean to realize this reality.

Read More
687 Words | 3 Pages

The era of the slave plantation only proves any Black male, or female, free or not, can become a slave. The story of Solomon Northrup tells a tale of his experiences of being a slave, the penalties, and the position of authority during

Read More
1405 Words | 6 Pages

I could not tell why I ought to be deprived the same privilege”. (Douglas,47). This quote relates to the sections idea of ways that slaves were dehumanized by Whites to become more animal like and less human like, this quote gives an example of one of the many ways that slaves were deprived of their human rights with something as common as age. He presents this quote in a matter of fact tone, not blaming anyone, but showing how much the whites were treated better where as he got nothing-not even age. To them, religious and economic arguments had demonstrated that blacks were much inferior to whites and belonged as an enslaved labor force.

Read More
782 Words | 4 Pages

Whether or not a slave narrative is able to persuade its readers of the inhumanities of slavery, the complexities within slave narratives and the discussions they create should not be overlooked. There is power within the act of writing one’s personal journeys and hardships throughout life, and that power gives former enslaved people the opportunity to express their own thoughts while making changes for future generations. Solomon Northup’s 12 Years A Slave gives a heart-wrenching depiction of what slavery was like in America. If the cruel images of the realities of slavery do not affect readers emotionally, then there is at least hope that the logical arguments raised throughout the novel can persuade those who are unwilling to see slavery

Read More
660 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
729 Words | 3 Pages

In regards to the abolitionist movement, Solomon Northup’s slave narrative was particularly important because it revealed the inhumane treatment, such as the brutal beatings done by masters and overseers, the sexual use of slave women and the merciless separation of families, and in his personal case the abuse of the Fugitive Slave

Read More
284 Words | 2 Pages

In the poem "Daybreak in Alabama," Langston Hughes uses several complex figures of speech to suggest that music can bring people together. For instance, the poem begins with the metaphorical phrase "Daybreak in Alabama," which describes how the dawn in Alabama marks a fresh beginning for equality. The expression "Rising out of the ground like a swamp mist / And falling out of heaven like soft dew" compares the "purtiest tunes'' to the swamp mist and describes how music will descend from heaven. The phrase conveys a deeper and more complex meaning by stating that music will range in pitches from as low as the mist to as high as the heavenly sky.

Read More
1489 Words | 6 Pages

It tells the tale of Solomon Northup, a free black man living in New York. Solomon is abducted and spends the next 12 years working as a slave. In this essay I will be talking about the similarities and differences between the text, as well as the significance of the text, the audience, purpose and stylistic and formal features (filmic devices). First of all, the similarities between the two films. There are a number of components that are similar.

Read More
723 Words | 3 Pages

Understanding the prevalence of food allergy in different regions in the world is vital for measuring the impact of food allergy for implementing prevention strategies (Martin et al. ,2013). Accurate determinations of food allergy prevalence are difficult because factors such as allergy definitions, study populations, methodologies, geographic variation, ages, dietary exposure, and other factors influence the estimate (Sicherer,2011). A review of the literature concluded that food allergy affects between 1-10% of the population. It remains unclear whether the prevalence is increasing.

Read More

More about Solomon Northup's Stolen Into Slavery

Related Topics

Open Document