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Twelve Years A Slave By Solomon Northup

1499 Words6 Pages

Back during the time of slavery, abolitionists used what they could to forward the antislavery movement. Arguably the most impactful sources used were slave narratives. Slave narratives gave readers personal insight into what real people really went through as slaves. The fact that they were nonfiction pieces increased their influence. Slave narratives were used to show the true evils of slavery to people who may not have known how bad things really were. One such narrative is Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup. In the book, Northup delivers the history of his time as a slave, what he experienced and what he had to go through. The narrative is filled with the adversity that slavery birthed. In Twelve Years a Slave, Northup uses his experiences …show more content…

It corrupted them and brought out their worst qualities and capabilities. In Twelve Years a Slave, Northup experienced firsthand the effects of this corruption. On more than one occasion, he had to deal with the radicalism of John M. Tibeats, a carpenter with a poor spirit. He describes Tibeats as a, "small, crabbed, quick-tempered, spiteful man...ignorant, withal, and of a revengeful disposition," (Northup 65). It is obvious to infer that this kind of man is not ideal to grasp the power that slavery gives him. One day while Northup was working for him, Tibeats snapped at him and became furious at Northup for something that he did right (Northup 70). Without even regarding Northup's explanations, he shouted curses at him and even went to grab a whip to whip him (Northup 70). This shows how owning slaves can increase the darkness in one's heart, giving them a target to direct all their negative energy towards. Tibeats' anger issues made him unfit to have control over someone else. Northup was also exposed to this corruption happening to others, such as Patsy. Edwin Epps, owner of the plantation, found Patsy quite pleasing, both for her work and her appearance. This left a pit of jealousy in the heart of his wife, Mistress Epps. Miss Epps loathed Patsy and used every opportunity she could to try and get rid of her. Northup even stated that she would bribe him to kill Patsy and bury her somewhere away from the plantation (Northup 124). Patsy was as innocent as a baby in the situation. Slavery allowed Edwin Epps to become an unfaithful husband. It gave him control over Patsy, allowing him to do as he pleased with her. This leads not only trouble in the Epps household, but also trouble for Patsy, who was literally stuck in the biblical statement of not being able to please two

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