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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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Douglass uses paradox to demonstrate that slavery degragrates the slaverholder. When Douglass under Mr. Sever’s care he described that: “He was less cruel, less profane… He whipped, but seemed to take no pleasure in it. ”(Douglass 24). Most slaveholders are characterized to be cruel and inhuman because of the whipping and the way they treated the slaves.

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Kristen Irvine 9/22/15 AP Government Ms. Suski Federalism The relationship between the states as outlined by sections one, two, and four of Article four in the Constitution examines how states should interact between each other. The first section of this amendment is the Full Faith and Credit Clause which says that judicial decrees and contracts made in one state will be binding and enforceable in any other state. The second section of Article four states that citizens of one state shall be entitled to the same privileges and immunities in another state. The fourth section of the fourth Article states that the federal government will ensure a republican form of government in all states. These four sections of the Fourth Amendment are all

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The next criticism presented is the callousness of the slaveholder. A characteristic of sterilized emotions that is consistent among many slaveholders. Perhaps an instance of sympathy—of human kindness—would only result in making the practice unbearable. Yet compassion is not lost on many northerners who bear witness to such wicked behavior. Yet it is Jacobs and Douglass's experiences that bear witness to such vindictiveness, institutionalized and reinforced through the culture.

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In the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass reveals several inhumane practices of slavery. He gives great description of the many horrors and evils of this practice along with the damaging effects slavery had on both slaves and slaveholders. During this period, ignorance was the most beneficial tool used to keep slaves ignorant and out of touch with reality. Along with robbing slaves of their identity and keeping them in the dark about basic facts about themselves, slaveholders also used false religion to justify treatment of the slaves. Lastly, Douglass describes the injustice and inhumane suffering and beatings amongst the slaves by white men without them ever having consequences.

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Douglass’ anecdote provided evidence to support his assertion that slaves often fought over the relative merits of their masters, adding to his argument’s ethos and establishing credibility. The substance of the anecdote also added to his argument by showcasing a harmful effect of slavery; its inconsistencies distorted the slaves’ view of the world, causing them to debate over their masters’ relative goodness and consider even the most basic of mannerisms to be indicative of a kind master. Though the readers obviously knew the true nature of the slave owners from the previous accounts of Frederick Douglass, the fact that slaves were so far

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Not only was he a prominent human rights leader in the anti-slavery movement, Frederick Douglass was also a great author. Among several of his writings describing his experience of being enslaved included his well known work: the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. With this narrative, Frederick Douglass shared his experience of being enslaved to persuade for the abolition of slavery. One of the most significant turning points in his life in slavery that Douglass shared in this narrative was his opportunity to live in Baltimore. Douglass being sent to serve as a slave in Baltimore caused him to better understand the evils of slavery and realize that he can be free.

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Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in 1818. Douglass wrote “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself” in 1845. This narrative was written to inform readers how the lives of slaves were, and the harsh treatment they experienced. Within the narrative we see how the slave system was corrupted. It was clear throughout the narrative that there were specific perpetrators, victims, and bystanders within the slave system.

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Northup goes into great depth when explaining the daily tasks of enslaved people, which slows down the narrative and forces audiences to give their attention to this section of the novel. “The fears and labors of another day begin; and until its close there is no such thing as rest,” Northup explains to the audience, using a cyclical pattern while describing the constant fears. The sentences in this section flow into each other creating a sense of repetition and endlessness, which reflects the constant pain and fear running in the veins of enslaved people. Northup includes this image and description of the daily lives of enslaved people in juxtaposition to Ford’s direction of treating enslaved people kindly in order to get the most profit and labor out of them. On the one hand, Northup focuses on Ford’s kind treatment towards his slaves and Ford’s nonviolent beliefs regarding the institution of slavery, which makes a respectable argument for slave owners to treat their slaves better.

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In his Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Frederick Douglass describes in vivid detail his experiences of being a slave. In his novel Douglass talks about what it was like to move from location to location and what it was like to work long, hard hours with less than substantial sustenance. Eventually he escapes the clutches of slavery but not before he endured beatings, forced hard labor and emotional mistreatment. During his time as a slave he was tasked with various kinds of work and after he became free he worked as a speaker who advocated for abolition of slavery.

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When Frederick Douglass published his self-written narrative, people finally got a fully comprehensive view of the life of a slave. To debunk the mythology of slavery, Douglass presents the cold, hard truth, displays slaves true intelligence,

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The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass shows the imbalance of power between slaves and their masters. In his book, Douglass proves that slavery is a destructive force not only to the slaves, but also for the slaveholders. “Poison of the irresponsible power” that masters have upon their slaves that are dehumanizing and shameless, have changed the masters themselves and their morality(Douglass 39). This amount of power and control in contact with one man breaks the kindest heart and the purest thoughts turning the person evil and corrupt. Douglass uses flashbacks that illustrate the emotions that declare the negative effects of slavery.

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Frederick Douglass’s narrative provides a first hand experience into the imbalance of power between a slave and a slaveholder and the negative effects it has on them both. Douglass proves that slavery destroys not only the slave, but the slaveholder as well by saying that this “poison of irresponsible power” has a dehumanizing effect on the slaveholder’s morals and beliefs (Douglass 40). This intense amount of power breaks the  kindest heart and changes the slaveholder into a heartless demon (Douglass 40). Yet these are not the only ways that Douglass proves what ill effect slavery has on the slaveholder. Douglass also uses deep characterization, emotional appeal, and religion to present the negative effects of slavery.

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Dehumanization of both slaves and slave owners must occur for slavery to exist. Slavery harms everyone involved, including the slaveholders who superficially seem to profit from the arrangement. Douglass’s narrative acknowledges the damage inflicted on both sides of the institution of slavery, emphasizing that a human being’s personality and disposition form per the laws and socially acceptable practices exhibited within the society. Douglass has an excellent example how he seen with his own eyes how his mistress became demonized when she became an owner of a slave. Douglass became Mrs. Auld's first salve owner and at the begging when they first met “she [was] of the kindest heart and finest feelings” (38).

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Relationships do not just happen. They seem to just form, but they actually follow a natural process that must be worked through. Sam Avers and I became friends in fifth grade. We were introduced through a mutual friend and we have been friends since then. Therefore, we have grown a pretty close relationship.

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his plantation, the amount of violence Northup details becomes more frequent, and he describes the fear that all slaves faced at the beginning of the new work day “Then the fears and labours of another day begin; and until its close there is no such thing as rest. He fears he will be caught lagging through the day; he fears to approach the gin house with his basket-load of cotton at night; he fears, when he lies down, that he will oversleep himself in the morning. (Northup, pg.171). Solomon Northup captures the relentless emotional and physical toll that slaves faced every day at the hands of their masters and the hired help.

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