During this past year we have been studying about slavery. We studied about how they were treated, the way they lived, the limited resources they had and the difficulties they overcame. I find that watching Steve Mcqueen’s movie, “Twelve years a slave” was the best option to show in summary what slaves really went through. The movie is based on Solomon Northup’s memoir and slave narrative.Mcqueen portrayed this man’s fight, survival and freedom through the whole movie perfectly. This action led him to win the golden globe award for best movie. Therefor I found it worthy to watch, not just because it won a golden globe but because the way Mcqueen directed it, the way the movie was created. I believe he did such a good job, because it was a personal topic to him as well, it was a matter that touched him profoundly.
The movie was quite disturbing at times, but I believe Mcqueen wanted it to be that way, so it would enlighten the viewers more about the topic. The slaves difficulties were portrayed rather well. Seeing how their health was, seeing how the family was separated, at times even sold separately and seeing how they would get treated, especially the women and the way they were sexually assaulted, was quite horrifying. The movie made me realise that they really did have a hard time, and being an outsider just made me feel bad and at times ashamed that white people would do such degrading acts towards these slaves that in the end they were people just like us. These slaves had bones, flesh, blood and hearts like us, so why treat them differently? Why treat them in an inhuman way?
In the beginning on the movie we have Solomon as a free man, but that soon changes when he goes to the South and these guys “drug” him and chain him up. Solomon would soon face many years (twelve to be exact) as a slave, who would endure tremendous pain not only physical but emotional as well, from being far away from his family. When Solomon was already mixed with the slaves , we see him board a ship where he would be faced with many diseases and illnesses. He is faced with this sicknesses because slaves back then had poor health they weren't taken care of and being in a closed place with many people leads to these issues. These slaves were all skinny due to malnutrition many even died. When Solomon and the others docked, they soon had their names changed. This demonstrated how slaves had their names changed. After that , they were taken to a slave auction, where they would be sold. In these auctions many families would be parted from the families, children separated from mothers and husbands from wives, each sold to different plantations. See, family is a big deal, so being separated caused much pain to many. In the movie we would could see this lady who tried to fight to keep her family together, although trying tremendously it was unsuccessful. This mother weeped through the whole movie because of her loss, this would sadly leave to her deaf.
Plantation life was cruel, they had to work tremendously and if they didn’t they would have consequences( whipped ,beat or even having privileges taken away such as food). Solomon was smart because he did his best not to get in trouble, always working as much as he could, picking the most cotton, he was an exploratory slave. This would lead to certain privileges. Women from plantations were treated horribly, men would see them as objects. Objects that could be toyed with and then thrown out like trash. These women were rapped, they were scared for life, beaten repeatedly. In the movie Patsey was the victim, her master would do this to her constantly. To make matters worse, the masters wife would punish her for it as if it was her fault. There was a moment in the movie where the wife threw something heavy at Patsey’s head that I felt the pain she was going through. In the end she would even get wipped, she would get punished for the husbands actions.
Parker Boice October 3, 2014 Analysis of 12 Years a Slave The entire story of 12 Years a Slave is terribly sad. To imagine having lived in freedom only to be sold into slavery, it’s terrifying. There was nothing Salomon could do to escape the grasp of the 19th century American South. It was a completely different world from the North. Slaves were valuable; plantations would collapse without them. Emancipation meant a huge financial loss and they would do whatever possible to make sure that didn’t…
Johnson History 1301 September 25, 2014 Book Report 12 Years A Slave Black man Solomon Northup lives as a free man in Saratoga, New York with his wife and two children him earning a living as a violinist. In 1841 he was kidnapped by slave traders, having been enticed to Washington, D.C. (where slavery was legal) with a job offer as a violinist with traveling entertainers. Shortly after he and his employers arrived in DC, they sold him as a slave, having drugged him into unconsciousness to effect…
Twelve Years A Slave Essay During a time of cruel punishment and harsh conditions of life as a slave in the 19th century South, there was a book that shed a light on the life of a slave unparalleled in past as well as in modern literature. That book was entitled Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup. Northup was born a freeman that was obtained from his father after being freed by the Northup family due to loyal service. Growing up in the free state of New York, Solomon was allowed an education…
Samantha Williams HG 11/11/14 12 Years a Slave Extra Credit Throughout this entire movie, connections to the workshops could be seen. For example, when the African-Americans are traveling on the ship at the start of the movie, there were exact parallels to the snippet of the film Amistad we saw in Macon's workshop. In both films, the Blacks being transported were badly mistreated and the women were seen as sex objects by the white sailors. However, in 12 Years a Slave, the woman who is pulled aside…
10/15/2014 Evaluation Draft 1 12 Years A Slave One of the great movies filmed this year is “12 Years A slave”, shot and directed by Steve McQueen. Steve McQueen is British artist, director and screenwriter. His films include “Hunger” filmed in 2008, “Shame” filmed in 2011 and of course “12 Years a Slave” filmed in 2013. An action packed film, that tells a true story of Solomon Northup and how he went from being a free man to being sold into slavery for a total of 12 years. This film was based off a…
freedom, injustice, the inherent dignity of all humanity the place of women in society, religion and slavery man’s inhumanity to man slavery’s toll on servant and master alike. The reason I picked the book of 12 Years a Slave it presents a startlingly accurate and verifiable account of the common slave experience in the United States in the antebellum (pre-Civil War) South. From start to finish, basic facts about the time, the places, the people, and the practices of the day are incorporated, sometimes…
Tiffany Harris 12/5/13 12 Years a Slave Analysis The movie 12 Years a Slave, surprisingly, is a British- American film based on an autobiography of Solomon Northup. This sad, extremely vivid, and horrid tale is based on a true story that is based around 1940 during the Pre-Civil War era. The movie depicts Solomon Northup’s unbelievable fight for freedom and survival during a twelve year period. While watching this movie my emotions were on a rollercoaster that my heart wanted to get off of, but…
work for the person who paid for their voyage until their debt was paid off. Usually six or seven years. Cheaper than African slaves. • Black and white Virginians lived together for years before black Virginians’ status became fully and legally debased. • Creole cosmopolitans People that show up in records but are Negroes. The ones that owned land and owned slaves and such. • Negroes could be indentured servants as well Anthony Johnson •…
12 Years a Slave Extra Credit Project Solomon Northup was born a freeman in Minerva, New York, in 1808. He married Anne Hampton in 1829. Together they had three children. During the 1830’s, he became locally renowned as an excellent fiddle player. In 1841 two men offered Northrup very good pay to join a traveling musical show. But soon after he accepted the deal they sold him into slavery. He was sold into slavery in New Orleans. He served under many masters, some very brutal and others praised…
| The Slaves of "Freedom" | Slavery Term Paper | | Cara Harbaugh | 11/15/2012 | Stout - 6 | Arriving in Virginia in 1619, the African American race was given a fresh start to re-cultivate their lives and culture in a new country, or so they thought. That was the beginning of slavery in North America. Slavery became the new workforce throughout the colonies, spreading down into the South more because of more crop farms. But not everything was so easy on these farms. Slave owners…