Twelve Years a Slave Summary and Analysis of

Chapters I-IV
Summary
Chapter I

Solomon Northup narrates his own story of being kidnapped and sold into slavery, in which he
remained for twelve years until he was freed. He states that he will tell his story as faithfully as
possible.

Solomon paternal ancestors were slaves in Rhode Island, and eventually his father became free. Henry
B. Northup of Sandy Hill, a lawyer and the person to whom Solomon owes his freedom, is a current
relative of the family who freed his father. Solomon’s father moved to Minerva in Essex County, New
York, where Solomon was born. He died and left Solomon, a brother, and their mother. He had been
respected for integrity and industry, and he had peacefully worked in agriculture. Even though his time
in slavery was not as bad as others’, he still saw the degradation of the system and taught his children
morality and faith.

As a young man, Solomon worked with his father on the farm. He married Anne Hampton in 1829.
Solomon and Anne lived near the Hudson River. Solomon worked diligently on navigation and rafting.
He arranged to purchase part of the old Alden farm, where the family resided until 1834. Solomon
often played the violin, and everyone nearby loved to hear him. Anne was known for her cooking.

The couple and their three children moved to Saratoga Springs. Solomon writes of purchasing items
from storekeepers Mr. Cephas Parker and Mr. William Perry, who would later be helpful in delivering
him from slavery.

While Solomon lived in the North, he did encounter slaves visiting with their masters from the South.
Solomon observed that they always evinced the desire to escape but were afraid of punishment.
Solomon could not understand how one could be content to live in those conditions, and he could
comprehend neither the "justice" nor the religious systems that upheld the system of Slavery.

Solomon loved his three children, Elizabeth, Margaret, and Alonzo. His life was peaceful and
comfortable while he resided in the North with his family.

Now, though, he comes to the part of the story where the cloud begins to overshadow him.

Chapter II
Anne is about twenty miles away with Elizabeth, engaged in culinary work. Alonzo and Margaret are
with their aunt. Thus, Solomon is alone as he strolls about Saratoga Springs one day in 1841. He meets
two respectably-dressed gentlemen named Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton. They tell Solomon that
they are part of a circus company, which was in Washington DC at the time, and that they were going
to rejoin it. They hope that Solomon will accompany them and play the violin, as they had heard he
was proficient at it. Solomon accepts because his expenses will be paid and he will earn more money.
He assumes his absence will be brief and therefore does not write his wife. He is extremely happy to
set out on this adventure.
On their journey, Solomon gets to see Brown and Hamilton do one of their performances and is struck
by the sparse, uncouth nature of the audience. Nevertheless, he continues on. Leaving New York, the
men suggest he get his free papers because they are entering a slave state. This is completed, and
Solomon is relieved.
As they get closer to Washington, the men seem more and more anxious to arrive. They finally arrive
on the occasion of President William Henry Harrison’s funeral. The men tell Solomon that the circus is
leaving tomorrow but thst they plan to stay another day on account of the funeral. Solomon never
suspects anything strange of them at this time. Looking back, he knows they must have known what
was happening and have been part of it, but it is still difficult to fathom.
The next day, a great pageant is held for Harrison. Solomon stands with Brown and Hamilton watching
the pomp. They venture into a few saloons and the men order Solomon drinks. He accepts but does not
become drunk. However, he begins to feel extremely ill. Brown and Hamilton advise him to retire, and
he does.
In his room, he cannot sleep and his thirst becomes acute. He is in a strange lodging house; he makes
his way downstairs to get water. When he returns, though, the thirst has started up again. He feels a
wild, burning pain and desire for water.
In a stupor, Solomon hears voices in his room. He thinks he hears them saying that he must go to a
doctor. However, when he wakes up from his insensibility, he finds himself alone in the dark and
chained up. He is faint, weak, and confused, knowing neither where he is nor why he is chained. There
is a blank period in his mind that he cannot account for. His pockets are empty, his money and free
papers gone. He starts to wonder if he has been kidnapped, but he knows it is a mistake because he is a
free citizen of New York. He weeps bitterly.
Chapter III
Solomon hears footsteps above him. He seems to be in an underground space; it is damp, dark, and
moldy. Finally, two men enter: the first is James H. Burch, a repugnant, coarse, and cruel slave trader;
and Ebenezer Radburn, a lackey and a turnkey. The light coming into the room reveals more of its
dimensions. There is a stairwell that leads up and out to a yard surrounded by a tall brick wall. In this
place, the black man’s fate is sealed. On the outside of the house, though, everything appears normal,
pleasant, and private. Ironically, the Capitol building is visible from this slave pen.
Burch addresses Solomon, and Solomon bursts into protestations about his freedom and the treatment
he has received. Burch becomes enraged and blasphemes Solomon, viciously beating him. Solomon
refuses to yield even though he feels like he is amongst the flames of Hell. He cannot speak anymore.
Radburn tells Burch he should stop now, and Burch sneers at Solomon that if he ever says anything
about being free, or kidnapped, or anything else, Burch will conquer or kill him.
Solomon is left alone in the dark again. Radburn returns with a bit of food and water and seems
disposed to be more sympathetic. Solomon’s wounds preclude him from moving about. For the next
few days he lingers there, heartsick and in pain. His spirit is not broken, though, and he thinks about
how he can escape. Perhaps Hamilton and Brown can be addressed? Alas, he now knows the extent of
man’s inhumanity to man.
In a few days, Solomon is allowed into the yard. There, he meets three other slaves. There is Clemens
Ray, an older man who’d been laboring in Washington and is horrified to be going south. He is smart
and tells Solomon that they are in Williams’ Slave Pen. He tells Solomon he should not mention his
freedom around Burch anymore. The second man is John Williams, taken by Burch as payment for a
debt. There is also a young child about ten years old named Randall. He occasionally cries for his
mother and does not quite comprehend his situation.
Ray and Williams ask Solomon many questions about New York. They are in the pen for two weeks,
and the night before their departure, a woman and a young girl arrive. They are Eliza, Randall’s
mother, and Emily, his sister. Eliza is inconsolable. She is wearing lovely, rich clothing and accessories
and cannot grasp why she is here. She knows her children will be taken from her and cannot stem her
grief on that account. She tells the men her story: she was the slave of Elisha Berry, who separated
from his wife and daughter and took Eliza as a wife in a house at the edge of his property. She resided
with him for nine years, had servants of her own, and had Emily by him. Her young mistress, Elisha’s
daughter, married a Mr. James Brooks. When Elisha Berry’s property was divided against his will,
Eliza and Emily fell to Mrs. Brooks and her mother, who hated both Eliza and Emily. Brooks had
brought the two to the city under the pretense of getting them their free papers, but it was actually a bill
of sale. All of Eliza’s hopes were dashed at that instant.
Solomon writes that Eliza is now dead, resting somewhere up the Red River. Her heart broke from the
loss of her children.
Chapter IV
It is a long night, and Eliza speaks bitterly of Mr. Brooks and how Elisha would never have done that
to her. Around midnight, Burch enters and tells the group to get ready to go on the boat without delay.
They are marched through the silent streets of Washington. Little lights flicker, but no one is out of
bed. Solomon considers breaking away, but he is handcuffed. They pass through the city of
Washington, a city ironically dedicated to liberty and equality.
The slaves are hustled onto the steamboat and the vessel starts down the Potomac. Clem Ray is wholly
overcome with the idea of going south, and he and Eliza bemoan their cruel fate. Solomon will say
nothing more of being a free man, but he resolves that he must escape.
The next day, the boat continues along. The fields along the river are lovely and birds are singing. They
make it first to Fredericksburg, and then to Richmond. In Richmond, the slaves are taken off the ship to
a slave pen. When the man, Goodin, looks at Solomon and asks where he came from, Solomon
accidentally responds with New York. He tries to cover his tracks, especially as Burch looks at him.
Burch approaches him later and threatens him, but Solomon promises he meant no harm.
Solomon is handcuffed to a man named Robert who is also free but captured. The two lament their
shared situation. There is a couple, David and Caroline, who are mulatto and distressed to be separated;
there is a girl named Mary, who never knew anything but brute treatment; and there is Lethe, who
looked more like a Native American woman, full of revenge and anger.
In the morning Clem Ray learns he will be taken back to Washington, and he is overjoyed. Solomon
later learns Ray escaped to Canada. The others are taken to a ship and stowed away in the hatch. Burch
and Ray remain in Richmond. Solomon doesn't see Burch’s face again until twelve years later. Burch is
a slave trader, a speculator in human flesh, but he will eventually be seen as a criminal, cringing and
unassisted by the law.
Analysis
Solomon Northup’s Twelve Years a Slave provides an utterly visceral look at the horrors of slavery.
Northup’s perspective was unique in that he was a free man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery,
which shocked Northerners, and that he had gained his freedom through legal, unimpeachable means
and thus had nothing to fear by publishing the work (unlike Douglass or Jacobs, for example, who had
run away). During its own time, Twelve Years was a key work for the abolitionist movement, and it is
read today by scholars and students looking for insights into the “peculiar institution.” Northup
prepared the work with David Wilson almost as soon as he returned to the North, knowing that it
would be useful to abolitionists. This is why he not only provides an incredible wealth of detail, but
also assures his readers numerous times that he is not fabricating or exaggerating anything, or leaving
anything out.
Southerners denounced the work when it was published and sought to undermine it by identifying
discrepancies or lies, but they could not accomplish their aim. In the early twentieth century, Sue
Eakins, who’d found a copy of the narrative at a plantation, dedicated herself to tracking down details
and confirming what Northup had written. Another historian, David Fiske, found reports of a
corroboration from Edwin Epps. Union soldiers had met Epps in Louisiana and reported, “Old Mr.
Epps yet lives, and told us a greater part of the book was true.” Fiske writes that “the inclusion of all
these facts…has enabled modern researchers to make independent verification of many of the
individuals and events described by Northup.”
Fiske suggests that the veracity of Northup’s account can also be seen in the fact that his ghostwriter
and editor, David Wilson, was anti-slavery but not abolitionist, and that Northup could read and write,
meaning that he was actually less dependent on Wilson than other slaves who needed their editor more.
Northup had an incredible memory and was able to transcribe all of his experiences into his work. He
also maintained an even, balanced tone. Fiske writes that he “exhibited a surprising lack of bitterness”
and found a response from 1854 that praised Northup’s “unaffected simplicity, directness, and
gentlemanly bearing” that “impressed us far more than many fervid appeals to which we have
listened.”
One of the ways that Northup’s story achieves its impact is by his account of what his life was like
before slavery and how, in one fateful instant, it all changed. Northup had a wife, children, a home, and
a life. He knew the beauty of freedom and could not fathom how others were “content” to be enslaved.
He would come to see the irony in his ruminations, for once he was enslaved he realized how difficult
it was to extricate himself from it.
Northup uses metaphor and imagery to contrast his life before slavery and his life during slavery.
When he approaches the part of his story during which he meets Brown and Hamilton, he writes, “Now
had I approached within the shadow of the cloud, into the thickness whereof I was soon to disappear”
from “the sweet light of liberty” (11). When he wakes up in the slave pen in Washington DC, he is
submerged in darkness, barely conscious of what has happened or what is happening, which parallels
his overall situation. He is in bondage now, severed from the light of his freedom. Critic Vanessa
Vaughn notes that this “offers both a literal and a metaphorical description of the situation. He was
literally sitting by himself in darkened space meant to hold slaves awaiting sale, chained to a ring on
the floor; on a broader, more symbolic level he was without the protection of the law or even a
sympathetic ally in the utter darkness of slavery.”

The light/dark contrast is paralleled in the powerful and ironic image of the chained slaves being
paraded past the Capitol at night. This symbol of American government — of life and liberty —
is made a mockery as the unfortunate slaves go by. It is an image meant to resonate with readers
who similarly acknowledge the discrepancy between the founding principles of America and her
 Twelve Years a Slave Summary
current tolerance of the system of slave.
and Analysis of Chapters V-IX
Summary
Chapter V

The brig Orleans heads downriver and arrives at Norfolk, where it takes on four more slaves. One,
Arthur, had also been a free man, and he struggles mightily before he is subdued. During the day, the
slaves are allowed to remain on deck. Solomon is in charge of cooking. In the evening, they are locked
in the hold.

Solomon asks the reader not to judge him too harshly for what he is about to relate: he and
the other slaves planned a mutiny, and they were going to have to kill the first mate and the
captain. Unfortunately, though, Robert contracts smallpox and he dies when the brig reaches
New Orleans.
Everyone on board is panic-stricken by smallpox, which compounds Solomon's frustration
that the mutiny could not occur.

One sailor kindly asks Solomon why he is so down, and, trusting the man’s warm mien,
Solomon tells him the truth. The man promises to take a letter from Solomon and mail it to
Henry B. Northup. Solomon later learns it did reach Sandy Hill and that Northup took it to
Governor Seward, but there was no info about Solomon’s location at the time so there was
nothing to do but wait.

On the crowded wharf in New Orleans, Solomon realizes that he knows no one. His wrongs
will not be avenged and he feels desolate.

Traders and consignees come aboard the ship. Burch’s gang is consigned to Burch’s
partner, Theophilus Freeman. Freeman calls out for “Platt” and no one answers. He consults
his list, looks at Solomon, and tells him he answers the description so therefore must be
Platt. From now on, this will be his name.

The group is taken to Freeman’s slave pen, where about fifty people are staying.

That night, Solomon is still overcome by the absurdity and horror of his situation. Is this real? His
sorrow seems to be overflowing, and he cries out to God.

Chapter VI

The next day, the slaves wash and get dressed for the sales-room. They are to be smart, lively, and
polite, and Solomon plays the violin. Many customers come to inspect the group. One old gentleman
almost buys Northup, but Freeman will not take the price he offers. A planter from Baton Rouge
purchases Lethe and the boy Randall. Eliza is hysterical and begs him to buy her too, but the man
cannot afford it. Freeman threatens her to be quiet; the man, Randall, and Lethe depart.
That evening in the pen, little Emily complains of feeling ill. It turns out that all of those who came on
the brig Orleans have come down with smallpox. Solomon is blind for three days and almost dies.
Though his circumstances are grim, death appalls him. Thankfully, he recovers.

One day after the pox has passed, Freeman calls everyone to the room. There is a good-looking and
cheerful middle-aged man there, and he moves about the group of slaves. He offers a sum for Solomon,
Eliza, and Harry. When Eliza hears she is to be separated from Emily, she becomes hysterical again,
weeping and clinging to the child. She begs the man to buy Emily, but Freeman asserts that the girl is
not for sale because in a few years her beauty will make her a prime offering.

Freeman tears Emily away from Eliza and takes his new slaves away. Eliza never hears of nor sees
Emily or Randall after that. Her intelligence, information, and brief time experiencing a higher life
make this situation utterly unbearable to her.
Chapter VII

The steamboat Rodolph begins its trek up the Mississippi to the Red River. Solomon's new owner
is William Ford, who resides in the Great Pine Woods in the parish of Avoyelles in the heart of
Louisiana. He is a minister, and Solomon asserts that “there never was a more kind, noble, candid,
Christian man than William Ford” (57). All the same, Ford is a product of his time and thus sees things
in the same light as those who brought him up. He treats his slaves well, though, and is a model master.
The river passage takes a couple of days; Solomon almost tells Ford the truth about himself, but he
decides not to. In retrospect, he thinks it may have helped, but it was not worth the risk. His identity
would have consigned him to the remote depths of slavery, and he could have been taken into Texas or
over the border.

When their time on the steamship is over, the only way to reach the plantation is to walk. Ford,
Solomon, Eliza, and Harry begin their trek on an extremely hot day. Ford, who rides his horse, is
solicitous of their condition, but it is still very arduous.

The land is low and marshy. There are numerous trees and wild cattle all around. The four stop at the
summer residence of Mr. Martin, a rich planter who stays here during the summer season due to the
shade and cooler temperatures. Ford dines with Martin and the slaves eat in the kitchen.

They traverse five more miles; as the sun begins to sink, they arrive at Ford’s plantation. The house is
large and surrounded by woods, and Solomon finds it lonely but pleasant. He meets a slave named
Rose, another one named Sally, and a teenager named John. Harry and Solomon sleep, and in the
morning they meet Rose’s husband, Walton.

At this time, Ford is a wealthy man. He has a lumbering establishment on Indian Creek, this seat in
Pine Woods, and, in his wife’s name, a plantation on Bayou Boeuf.

Harry and Solomon work throughout the summer at Indian Creek, piling lumber and chopping logs.
Every Sunday they have Sabbath and Master Ford reads to them from the Bible. Another of Ford’s
slaves, Sam, becomes very spiritual that summer. Some white men see that Ford has given Sam a Bible
and criticize him for that, but Solomon writes that those who treat their slaves leniently get more labor
out of them.

Solomon suggests to Ford that he may be able to reduce the shipping costs of lumber if they use the
river and rafts. His own experience is critical to this, and he works hard to build a raft and navigate it to
Lamourie. This creates a sensation, and people throughout the Pine Woods laud his intelligence. He is
in charge of the project until its culmination.

Indian Creek flows through an incredible forest, and a tribe of Native Americans still resides on its
shores. They host tribes from elsewhere and once Solomon was present at a great dance where the
music was melancholy and mesmerizing.

One day, Mistress Ford asks Ford to buy a loom so Sally can weave cloth for the winter garments of
slaves; Ford offers that he can build a loom. It is finished and works perfectly, and he continues to
make more.
A carpenter named John M. Tibeats arrives to do work for Ford, and Solomon is instructed to leave off
his looms and assist Tibeats for two weeks. To his dismay, Tibeats is the complete opposite of Ford.
He is ignorant, vengeful, quick-tempered, and disliked by slaves and white men. He reveals to
Solomon the real, dark side of slavery, as opposed to the benignity of Ford.
Clouds are gathering on the horizon for Solomon, and he is “doomed to endure such bitter trials as only
the poor slave knows” (66).

Chapter VIII

Unfortunately, Ford’s financial situation begins to deteriorate and he has to sell Solomon to Tibeats due
to Solomon’s skill as a carpenter. Ford does take out four hundred dollars in excess of what he sold
Solomon for, which will prove crucial later.
Tibeats takes Solomon down to Bayou Boeuf to continue working on the unfinished contract for Ford.
Bayou Boeuf is sluggish, stagnant, and teming with alligators. Plantations line each side; Mistress
Ford’s is here, as is that of Peter Tanner, her brother.
At Bayou Boeuf, Solomon meets with Eliza, who did not please Mistress Ford because all she did was
brood and sulk all day. She does not look well; she droops and spends her time remembering her
children. Ford’s overseer here is Mr. Chapin, a friendly man who has no love for Tibeats.

Solomon must labor very hard from dawn until dusk and never seems to please Tibeats, who curses and
complains. The two of them have their first major conflict when Tibeats orders Solomon to procure
nails from Chapin and start putting on clapboards. Solomon sets off on his errand but does not want to
wake Chapin, so he waits until he arises. Solomon then begins nailing the clapboards, but Tibeats
comes to him and irritably asks why he is not further along. Solomon explains, but Tibeats grows angry
and cuts him off. He then procures the whip and moves toward Solomon.

Solomon and Tibeats are alone. Everyone else is in the field; Rachel and Mrs. Chapin are somewhere
close but out of view. Solomon is frustrated because he knows he did nothing wrong. He considers
running but decides against it. His anger mounts, and he tells Tibeats he will not strip his clothes.
Tibeats goes to strike him, but Solomon catches his collar, throws him down, places his foot on his
back, and whips him over and over again. Tibeats screams, and Solomon looks up to see Mrs. Chapin
and Rachel.

Chapin gallops up quickly, and Solomon explains about the nails. Chapin rebukes Tibeats; Tibeats
groans and sneers that he will have revenge. He leaves.

Solomon does not know whether to fly or stay for the punishment. Chapin goes inside and then comes
back out in a rush. He tells Solomon not to go anywhere and fears that Tibeats will be back soon.
Solomon realizes how stupid he has been and fears for his life.

Tibeats and two other horsemen arrive. They are carrying whips and a long coil of rope. Solomon
knows his fate, and he walks down to them. His feet and hands are bound, and the noose put around his
neck. Solomon can see Chapin pacing up and down the piazza, Rachel crying, and Mrs. Chapin peering
out the window. He is certain it is the time for his death.

Suddenly he sees Chapin striding purposefully toward them with two pistols. He addresses the men
evenly and tells them they’d better listen. He states that Platt is a faithful slave and Tibeats is a
scoundrel. He says it is his interest to protect Ford’s property and that Ford has a mortgage out on Platt
for $400; there is a law for the white man, and he cannot take another’s property. He tells the other two
men to leave if they value their safety — and they do. Tibeats also sneaks off, like a coward.

Chapin orders a slave named Lawson to fetch Ford as quickly as he can. He writes Lawson a pass and
Lawson rides the mule away.

Chapter IX

Solomon remains completely bound in the hot sun. He feels near collapse and his limbs ache, but he
cannot move. Chapin never relieves him, but he paces the porch. Perhaps he wanted Ford to see how
badly Tibeats had treated Solomon, or perhaps he did not want to interfere more.

Rachel comes out once to give Solomon water and tells him she pities him.

Finally, Ford comes riding up, and all he says is that Solomon is in a bad state. He cuts his bonds and
rushes into the house. Solomon topples over, unable to walk. He sees Tibeats and his two friends
approach the house and talk to Ford, only to depart again.

Solomon crawls to his cabin at dusk because he cannot work. He is in great misery. The other slaves
return from their labors. They listen to Solomon’s story and give him food and water. Rachel adds what
she saw. Lawson also tells his version of the story.
Suddenly, Chapin appears at the door and tells Solomon he will sleep in the floor on the great house
tonight. On their walk over, he says that he believes Tibeats will be back before morning to kill
Solomon, and if he kills him in front of other slaves, no one could lift a finger against him in court.

Solomon lies on the floor and tries to sleep. Around midnight, the dog begins to bark; Chapin looks
outside but sees nothing. He tells Solomon that he thinks Tibeats is somewhere skulking around the
property, but he is not sure. The dog barks again; Chapin investigates, but there is nothing. The rest of
the night is uneventful.

The next morning, Solomon sets out to do his day’s work. Chapin tells Solomon to be wary, as Tibeats
has bad blood in him and he may do him wrong some day. Tibeats rides up at that moment, and
Solomon feels a great weariness that this is his life now: he must toil and suffer the slights and dangers
of monsters. Would that he had died when he was young.

It takes a week to complete the weaving-house, and Solomon learns to his delight that Tibeats has sold
him to Peter Tanner to work with another carpenter named Myers.

Solomon’s reputation has preceded him across the bayou, and Tanner impresses upon him that he is
severe with his slaves, though Solomon gleans that he has some good humor. Solomon works for
Myers for a month.

Tanner has a habit of reading the Bible to his slaves on the Sabbath, and one day he reads that servants
who do not do their Lord’s will should be beaten with many stripes. He calls up three of his slaves —
Warner, Will, and Major — and tells them that they are melon-stealing, Sabbath-breaking slaves and
must go into the stocks. He orders Solomon to stand watch over them.

When the Tanner family goes off to church, the three slaves beg Solomon to let them out. He gives in;
they all eat melons, and then the men go back into the stocks when Tanner comes home.

This levity is short-lived, though, for Solomon’s great conflict with Tibeats looms ahead.

Analysis
Northup spends a good deal of time painting the terrible picture of Eliza and her children,
demonstrating beyond a shadow of a doubt that the separation of a mother from her children was one of
slavery’s grossest inhumanities. The mournful, hysterical, and disconsolate Eliza would have garnered
sympathy from Northern white women who would not have been able to fathom such a monstrous
thing happening to them. Critic Vanessa Vaughn writes of this scene that “the description is… aimed at
the white reader and seeks to reinforce the overall argument that slavery was an inhumane and unjust
institution that inflicted legal, physical, and emotional damage upon those who suffered under it.”

Indeed, the slave auction was one of the most potent images of abolitionists seeking to reveal to their
audiences just how unjust and immoral nearly every single aspect of the system of slavery was. It
humiliated and stripped slaves of their humanity, reduced them to the property and chattel they were
perceived to be, and reminded them that they had no control over their own body and fate of their
family members. Nothing Eliza did could preclude her children from being taken from her, and, as
Northup recounts, nothing could ever fill that hole in her heart.

Northup’s first master, the minister William Ford, is a good, kind, Christian man whom Northup is
careful to present as evidence that not every Southerner was a monster. For Northup, Ford is simply a
reminder of how slavery wasn’t just an economic system but rather an entire way of life that permeated
the South’s consciousness. He writes that Ford was blinded to the wrongs of slavery, that “he never
doubted the moral right of one man holding another in subjection. Looking through the same medium
with his fathers before him, he saw things in the same light. Brought up under other circumstances and
other influences, he is notions would undoubtedly be different” (17). It might seem unbelievable to
modern readers that a man as Christian and benevolent as Ford would think slavery was okay, but
Northup’s words remind us of slavery's power and prominence in the South. It is no wonder that
slavery was only exterminated with a brutal war, given its entrenchment.

Unfortunately for Northup, his time with Ford is relatively short-lived and he is forced to work for the
coarse, ruthless, and vengeful Tibeats. For Northup and the reader, Tibeats is a prominent example of
how a man’s whiteness allows him a more elevated social position despite his shortcomings in intellect,
morality, and work ethic. Northup is Tibeats’s superior in every possible respect, but the color of his
skin means that he has to submit to the man. For a man like Northup who was — and still is, at least
legally — free, offering obeisance to a man like Tibeats is nearly impossible. Thankfully, Tibeats’s
reputation is well-known in the area, and Ford and Chapin’s intervention is seen as right; all the same,
Northup has the chilling reminder that his blackness means he is considered the lowliest of all men.

Working under Tibeats also reveals to Northup what most slave labor is actually like. He did work hard
for Ford, yes, but he was not privy to the capricious punishments, unrealistic expectations, or
backbreaking tasks that Tibeats and especially Epps require of their slaves. Now under, Tibeats, he is
“forced to labor very hard. From earliest dawn until late at night, I was not allowed to be a moment
idle. Notwithstanding which, Tibeats was beer satisfied... I was his faithful slave, and earned him large
wages every day, and yet I went to my cabin nightly, loaded with abuse and stinging epithets” (68).
Life was labor for most slaves, which is something that will only become more apparent to Northup
when he is sold to Edwin Epps.

Twelve Years a Slave Summary and Analysis of

Chapters X-XIV
Summary
Chapter X

Solomon is sent back to work with Tibeats building a cotton press. They spend a great deal of time
together, much of it alone, and Solomon has Chapin’s warning in his mind.

One day, they are working and Tibeats chastises Solomon. Solomon makes a mistake and then tries to
correct it. Tibeats grows more and more irate, grabs a hatchet, and rushes toward Solomon. Solomon
knows this is a life-or-death moment, for he can see murder in the man’s eyes.

Solomon leaps toward Tibeats, stays his arm, kicks him to make him drop the hatchet, and kicks the
hatchet away. Tibeats grabs a large white oak stick and rushes toward Solomon again. Solomon takes
the stick from him, and Tibeats lunges for a broad-axe. He cannot get it in time before Solomon jumps
atop him and holds him down. Solomon is conscious of how dear life is, and he begins to press down
on Tibeat's throat. The man’s face grows black with suffocation. Part of Solomon wants to end his
enemy’s life now, but he does not; however, he knows he is in trouble if Tibeats lives. He decides to
run away.

Solomon leaps off Tibeats and runs as fast as he can away from the workbench to the field. He sees
Tibeats mount a horse in the distance and ride off. Solomon is grateful that he made it this far, but he
does not know what to do now.

Suddenly, other slaves nearby in the field tell him to run, and he can see three horsemen and dogs.
Solomon knows what kind of bloodhound these are and how they could tear him apart. Thankfully, he
is a good swimmer, so he runs as fast as he can into the swamp to disguise his scent. He plunges into
the river and swims to the other side.

This is the Great Pacoudrie Swamp, which is filled with immense trees and is completely wild.
Poisonous moccasin snakes are everywhere, as are alligators. Making his way through the swamp is
utterly terrifying, and Solomon fears being attacked at any moment. This dread almost equals that
which he feels towards the hounds. He thinks he should get out but he knows he does not have a pass,
which means that white men could arrest him.

The silent swamp resounds with quacking ducks and fluttering wings, and Solomon cannot control his
overwhelming terror at the beasts and fowl of this world. The moon has risen and he decides he must
get to the Pine Woods near Ford.
Around daybreak, he comes to an opening in the trees and sees two men: a slave and his young master.
He assumes a fierce expression and walks toward the men. His wild appearance frightens them, and he
asks where Ford lives. They tell him, too shocked to do anything but obey.

Finally, by eight that evening, Solomon makes it to Ford’s house. He tells Ford what happened and
Ford takes pity on him. He is able to collapse into a deep sleep.

Chapter XI

The next day, Solomon works in Mistress Ford’s garden to show his appreciation to her and Ford.
Ford takes him to the bayou the next morning. Solomon’s heart is heavy as he looks on the beauty of
the Pine Woods, knowing he will probably be sold elsewhere. Ford speaks to him of God, His power,
and His goodness. They encounter Tibeats along the way, who sneers at how fast a runner Solomon is.
Ford tells him that it is shameful to attack a slave with a broad-axe and hatchet and that he must sell
him because they can no longer work together.
A white man named Mr. Eldret, who lives below Ford, hires Solomon to work in the Big Cane
Brake for a time. They travel down to Sutton’s Field, a place once lived in by a solitary white man who
was killed by Native Americans; the place is now said to be haunted. They reach Eldret’s wild lands;
the very next morning, Solomon starts cutting cane away to build two cabins: one for the slaves, and
one for Myers and Eldret.
The major annoyances are the insects, but Solomon is mightily relieved to be away from Tibeats.
Eldret promises he can visit his friends at Ford’s in four weeks, which he looks forward to.

Tibeats appears on the day when Solomon is supposed to go to Ford’s; Eldret assures him that
Solomon worked hard and he told him he could go. Tibeats writes him a pass reluctantly.

Solomon explains to the reader that a pass allows a slave to travel unmolested. Most of the time, rich
men leave the slaves alone, but unscrupulous men ask to see the pass, perhaps hoping to luck into
capturing a slave and making money. With a pass, a slave can seek victuals at any plantation in
Louisiana.

Solomon arrives. He sees Eliza, who is a mere shell of her former self. He relates to the reader how
he later learns about her death. She became helpless, would do nothing, and collapsed in her cabin. Her
master at that time did nothing to help her or eliminate her, and she died.
After his visit, Solomon makes his way back to Eldret’s, but Tibeats meets him and tells him he has
been sold to Edwin Epps. Solomon is pleased to be away from Tibeats. He tells the reader that he
only would only see Tibeats one more time: when he passed with other slaves through Bayou Boeuf
and caught sight of Tibeats in a slovenly groggery.
Chapter XII

Epps is heavy, Roman-nosed, and tall. He has a sharp expression, coarse manners, no education,
violent tendencies, and a drinling habit. When drunk, he is rousing and blustering; when sober, he is
cold and cunning. He grows cotton on a plantation belonging to his wife’s uncle.

Solomon provides an overview of the cotton planting and harvesting process. He accounts for the
dropping of the seed, its covering up, its early growth, the scraping of the cotton, and the hoeing. Then
comes cotton-picking, which slaves do with large sacks. A slave must bring in the same amount as he
or she brought in the previous night; if they don’t, it is evidence that they are laggard and they must be
whipped. An ordinary day’s picking is two-hundred pounds or so; beyond that, each slave is judged
according to their ability. One slave of Epps’s, Patsey, gets over five-hundred pounds per day.
The cotton field is beautiful when in bloom, but the labor is arduous. Slaves work from daybreak to
moonlight during the season, with only a miniscule break for food. Approaching the gin-house with the
cotton is a fearful thing, for one does not want to be short.

After picking cotton, the labor is not done. Slaves then move on to their own chores, such as lighting
fires and making food. Epps’s slaves live off the bare minimum of rations. Slaves fear oversleeping, so
they never get real rest. Their cabins are hot or cold, full of cracks for the wind to blow through. Every
day is filled with fear: fear of oversleeping, fear of lagging, and fear of not picking enough.

Once cotton is done, it is time for corn, which is a secondary crop and easier to work with. The area
also features the sweet potato. In September and October, the hogs are slaughtered. The slaves get
some meat, but sometimes it is infested with worms. The swamps are full of cattle, but those are not a
great food source. Southerners are indebted to the North for their milk and cheese.

Chapter XIII

It is the season of hoeing, but Solomon finds himself weak and ill. Epps does not care, until the doctor
says that Solomon will die and Epps will be out a thousand dollars. Solomon partially recovers but is
soon sent out to pick cotton. He is not very good at it and is not yet healed, so his crop is thin. He is not
designed for that sort of labor, as his fingers are neither dexterous nor quick. He is employed hauling
wood and bringing cotton from the field to the gin-house, as well as doing numerous other tasks.

Solomon writes bitterly that whippings occur every day on the plantation for any number of “causes.”
Sometimes when Epps is very drunk, he procures his whip and tries to snap at any slave he sees;
usually, the young and aged bear that burden.

Solomon is often called into the house to play music, as the mistress is fond of it. Epps forces the
slaves to dance no matter how tired they are, and the next day they have to be up early to work in the
fields.

For ten years, Solomon toils without reward. For ten years, he addresses Epps modestly and demurely,
and he gets nothing in return but stripes and abuse. Solomon wishes to be fair in his account, but Epps
truly has no redeeming qualities. He is rude, rough, uncultivated, avaricious, prideful, cruel, and cares
not a whit for his slaves. He boasts about being a “nigger-breaker” (120). Only one man in Bayou
Boeuf is crueler: Jim Burns, who employs an all-female force of slaves.
Solomon’s companions are the same for eight years: Abram, Wiley, Phebe, Phebe’s children
(Bob and Henry), Edward, and Patsey. Abram is sixty and quite tall; he loves to entertain them and
admires General Andrew Jackson, whom his first master followed into war. Phebe works in the kitchen
and is very garrulous. Wiley is silent. Bob and Henry do not have any distinguishing features to note,
and Edward is very young. Patsey is splendid, slim, and athletic; she is the queen of picking cotton. She
is a joyous woman, but, unfortunately, it is her lot to fall prey to Epps’s lasciviousness. Mistress
Epps thus despises her and wishes she were dead. Patsey walks under a cloud, a victim of lust and
hate.
Chapter XIV

In 1845, the caterpillars destroy the cotton crop throughout the region. There is a rumor that wages are
high and laborers are in demand on the sugar plantations in St. Mary’s parish, so a drove of slaves is
sent down there. It is a long trek full of inclement weather, but they make it to the region.

Solomon works for Judge Turner, a distinguished man with an estate in Bayou Salle. He finds it
much easier to cut cane than to pick cotton. Eventually, he is transferred to the sugar house to act as
driver.
During sugar-harvesting time, labor does not cease at all; Solomon’s job is to whip anyone not
performing efficiently enough.

It is a custom in Louisiana to allow slaves to retain whatever compensation they receive on Sundays.
Solomon is furnished with a blanket and is allowed to have a gourd, but he is not furnished with a
knife, nor a cup, nor a plate.

During the sugar time, there is no distinction between the days of the week, and everyone knows slaves
must labor on the Sabbath. However, they do receive remuneration, and most are able to purchase
small luxuries with this money.
Solomon plays his violin constantly and makes money that way, becoming the wealthiest slave in the
region and finding succor from his despair.

The slaves return to Bayou Boeuf. Solomon learns from Phebe that Patsey is getting deeper and deeper
into trouble. Epps covets her more and then whips her to gratify the mistress. The mistress wants her
out of her sight—or, at least, she wants her to suffer. Solomon writes that Mistress Epps is an educated,
beautiful, and accomplished woman; she is good to all the slaves except Patsey. Epps would gratify any
whim his wife had, as he loves her in his own coarse way, but his selfishness prevents him from getting
rid of Patsey. On Patsey’s head, “the force of all these domestic tempests spent itself” (131).

During the summer after Solomon returns from the sugar plantation, he learns how to provide himself
with food. The bacon rations are disgusting and filled with worms, and it is hard to hunt for coons or
opossum without firearms. Solomon decides to construct a fish trap; the area of Bayou Boeuf is rich in
number and variety of fish, and this trap works well enough to keep Solomon and his companions
relatively full.

On the opposite side of the bayou is Mr. Marshall’s plantation. He comes from an aristocratic family
and is accustomed to getting what he wants. One day, Solomon writes, a man from Natchez is
negotiating with Marshall to purchase the estate. A messenger arrives at Epps’s saying there is a
bloody battle going on. Marshall kills Natchez due to a difficulty in their negotiations. Solomon
remarks that this would have resulted in punishment in the North, but here in the South, violence is
common and almost passes without notice.

Slavery exacerbates man’s propensity to sin and violence. Solomon does not blame the slaveholder for
being cruel: he blames the system and the fact that man cannot withstand the influence of it. There are
humane masters and inhumane ones, happier slaves and more depressed ones, but
overall, every slave—either somewhere deep down or on the surface—hopes for “life, liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness.”
Analysis
Northup’s time with Epps is the fodder for his narrative that best reveals the horrors of slavery. Critic
Ira Berlin writes, “On page after page, Northup tells of the brutality of chattel bondage the endless and
often senseless beatings, the frequent, soul-crushing humiliations, the casual and callous destruction of
family life –themes sure to raise the ire of white Northerners…He is especially attentive to the dangers
salve women faced…he demonstrates how slavery subverted the work ethic and undermine the values
of self-improvement that white Northerners believed central to the creation of the good society.”
Northup’s years with Epps are very different from those with Ford. Epps is a different character
altogether, and Northup spares nothing in the description of him: “His manners are repulsive and
coarse, and his language gives speedy and unequivocal evidence that he has never enjoyed the
advantages of an education” (108). He is a drunk fool and a sly, cunning sober figure. He whips his
slaves for any and all reasons, provides them with only the barest necessities to get by, and pushes
them to the brink of their physical and mental abilities. Northup writes, “Ten years I toiled for that man
without reward. Ten years of incessant labor has contributed to increase the bulk of his possessions.
Ten years I was compelled to address him with downcast eyes and uncovered head – in the attitude and
language of a slave. I am indebted to him for nothing, save undeserved abuse and stripes” (119).

As for Mistress Epps, Northup considers her a lovely and educated woman but notes the glaring
discrepancy in her personality: she absolutely despises one of Epps’s slaves, Patsey, because her
husband cannot control his lust for her. The slave mistress is a tragic figure in this respect, for she has
to watch her husband prey on the women who work for them and, due to the prevailing patriarchal
system, has no recourse of her own. Women like Mistress Epps can only do so much to oppose their
husbands; it was commonplace to pretend they didn’t see anything or, as in Mistress Epps’s case, to
abuse the poor slave(s) whom their husbands pursued.

Like Sophia Auld in Frederick Douglass’s Autobiography, Mistress Epps may have redeeming
qualities, but Northup suggests that the system of slavery utterly corrupts her all the same. In perhaps
one of the most significant passages of the work, Northup writes: “The existence of Slavery in its most
cruel form among them, has a tendency to brutalize the humane and finer feelings of their nature. Daily
witnesses of human suffering—listening to the agonizing screeches of the slave—beholding him
writhing beneath the merciless lash—bitten and torn by dogs—dying without attention, and buried
without shroud or coffin—it cannot otherwise be expected, than that they should become brutified and
reckless of human life. It is true there are many kind-hearted and good men in the parish of
Avoyelles…It is not the fault of the slaveholder that he is cruel, so much as it is the fault of the system
under which he lives. He cannot withstand the influence of habit and associations that surround him.
Taught from earliest childhood, by all that he sees and hears, that the rod is for the slave's back, he will
not be apt to change his opinions in maturer years.”
Northup adds to this when he explains his perceptions of young Master Epps: “[He] possessed some
noble qualities, yet no process of reasoning could lead him to comprehend, that in the eye of the
Almighty there is no distinction of color. He looked upon the black man simply as an animal, differing
in no respect from any other animal, save in the gift of speech and the possession of somewhat higher
instincts, and, therefore, the more valuable. To work like his father's mules—to be whipped and kicked
and scourged through life—to address the white man with hat in hand, and eyes bent servilely on the
earth, in his mind, was the natural and proper destiny of the slave. Brought up with such ideas—in the
notion that we stand without the pale of humanity—no wonder the oppressors of my people are a
pitiless and unrelenting race.” Slavery corrupts everyone in its path, Northup suggests, which is one of
the most morally compelling reasons to abolish it.

Returning to Patsey, who was “the enslaved victim of love and hate” (124), readers can discern more
about the particular difficulties slave women faced. They were subject to their master’s, and perhaps
other white men’s, abuse frequently; this ranged from lewd words to outright rape. Oftentimes, slave
women became pregnant and had to carry the child. Such children were despised by the mistress of the
plantation for being visual and unforgettable reminders of their husband’s fornications. Slave women
often had to labor during their pregnancies up until the very day they gave birth. They faced potential
separation from their children, like Eliza, and they suffered greatly because they were not able to
protect their children in any real way. Ultimately, Epps destroys Patsey through his attention to her,
which also leads him to brutally beat her in order to appease his wife. Northup notes that all vitality,
hope, and joy leave Patsey; she is one of the most tragic figures in his work.

Twelve Years a Slave Summary and Analysis of Chapters XV-XVIII

Summary
Chapter XV

Since Solomon is skilled at cutting cane, Epps often hires him out during the season.
Solomon describes the process of cultivating cane. He begins by explaining that the land is
only planted every three years. The joint of cane has an eye and sends out sprouts. The field
is hoed three times and general cutting begins in October. A slave takes a knife, shears the
flags from the stalk, severs the stalk at the root, and places the stalks on the cart. The stalks
are taken to the sugar house and ground up.

In January, the slaves prepare the field for another crop. The dry debris is set afire and the field left
clean for the hoes. This works until the third year, at which point the seed has exhausted its strength
and the field must be plowed and planted again.

Solomon often works in the sugar house. The mill is a massive building with a great deal of machinery.
Slave children place the cane on an iron roller that moves the cane to be crushed, dropped upon another
carrier, and deposited on top of a chimney with a fire below. The juice falls into a conductor below as it
burns and is collected in a reservoir. It then goes to filters, and then to coolers. Molasses and sugar are
separated at this point, and the molasses is converted to brown sugar.

The only respite slaves get from work is Christmas. They get a few days; Epps gives them three, while
some other planters give up to six, and old and young alike delight in it. It is a time to feast and frolic.
Slaves wear their best attire and go to one planter’s meal that is provided for all the slaves in the
region. The table is spread with glorious provisions and everyone seats themselves on benches. Many
love matches are made, and laughter is frequent. After the food comes the Christmas dance, and, as
Solomon was quite famous by then, he always played his fiddle. He believes that this instrument was
essential to his surviving slavery.

Solomon describes one Christmas where two men try to woo the pretty Lively, and the uproarious
dancing and “patting” of hands to the beat.
In the remaining days after Christmas, slaves get passes to go where they please within a limited
distance. Slaves are ebullient to have this "freedom." Solomon reminds his readers that this lasts for
only three days per year: the other three-hundred and sixty-two are full of unrelenting labor and
sorrow.

Chapter XVI

Solomon explains that Epps is considered a smaller planter and that he must hire during some seasons.
Plantations with fifty or one-hundred slaves need an overseer, whose qualifications are “heartlessness,
brutality, and cruelty” (147). Overseers also keep dogs and pistols with them. Under the overseer are
drivers, who are slaves themselves and must whip their brethren if they are not working hard enough.

Solomon is appointed driver. When Epps is around, Solomon knows he cannot show any leniency, and
it seems like Epps is always lurking. However, Solomon learns to use the whip so precisely that it
looks as if it were touching the slaves without actually hurting them.

One day, Epps comes near Patsey and Solomon. Solomon whispers to her not to look up; when Epps
nears, he drunkenly sneers that “Platt” whispered something. He grabs his knife and begins to totter
about, chasing Solomon. Solomon keeps a respectful distance as he eludes him; he knows that when
Epps is sober he will laugh at himself.
Solomon recounts a time when Epps asked Solomon if he could read or write, and Solomon admitted
he’d had some training. Epps warned him threateningly to never be caught with any paper or pen.

Solomon’s main goal during this time is to get a letter out, but the obstacles in the way are massive.
First, it is hard to procure the materials. Second, a slave cannot leave without a pass and a postmaster
will not take it. Solomon is a slave for nine years before he finds an opportunity. A stranger
named Armsby comes into the region. He applies for an overseer position at Epps' and then works
at the neighboring Shaw’s for a bit. Armsby has to work in the fields along slaves because he is so
poor, and Solomon does his best to cultivate his friendship. Finally, he asks about Armsby taking a
letter, and Armsby promises to do so. Solomon has a letter on him, having made ink with bark, but he
does not trust Armsby yet, so he returns to his cabin to see what happens.
That night, Epps enters with a rawhide in his hand and announces to Solomon that he hears that he has
a slave who can write and asks white men to deliver letters for him. Solomon knows that his only
recourse is to lie, so he says that he has no paper or pencil, has no friends to write to, and Armsby is a
drunken, lying man who clearly wants to make Epps think that one of his slaves is going to run away
so he will have to hire an overseer. Epps is compelled by this and becomes angry with Armsby.

After Epps leaves, Solomon burns his letter—and, with it, all of his hopes. He does not know where to
look for deliverance. The hope of rescue is a flame that is quickly being distinguished.

Chapter XVII

Solomon recounts the sufferings of Wiley, who goes for a nocturnal visit without a pass. He is
caught by a band of slave patrollers and is brought back. The patrollers whip him, and Epps does as
well. His sufferings are so bad that he decides to run away. He tells no one and sets out. The search for
him is fruitless; days and weeks pass. The slaves wonder if he survived.
Three weeks later, Wiley appears. He had tried to make it back to his former master, Buford, but he
was captured again without a pass and was thrown in prison in Alexandria. Joseph B. Roberts, uncle to
Mistress Epps, happened to recognize him there, and he was sent back. Wiley is whipped again, and he
never tries to run away after that.

There are countless obstacles in the way of the fleeing slave. Solomon is always thinking of ways to
escape, but he is aware of these obstacles. Every white man’s hand is against him; everyone is looking
for him. Solomon does manage to terrify Epps’s dogs into never attacking him and he even learns to
control them, just in case he is able to escape.

Slaves who do escape are often caught and occasionally lose their lives. A boy named Augustus was
mutilated by the dogs and died. A woman named Celeste once showed up at Epps’s plantation and
talked to Solomon in the field, telling him her story. She explained that her master’s dogs would not
touch her either, and that she was living in a space made between the tall trees at the edge of the
swamp. She came to Solomon’s cabin many times for food, but eventually her fear of the all the wild
things in the swamp sent her back to her master, where she was scourged and sent into the field again.
Solomon also mentions Lew Cheney, a slave plotting a rebellion and a fight all the way to Mexico. He
became notorious, but he decided to turn in his fellow slaves to curry favor with his master. The white
men in the region became so frightened and angry that they indiscriminately began hanging slaves until
a regiment of soldiers from Texas shut this down.

This march to Mexico is not a new idea, Solomon writes. He mentions how, during the Mexican-
American War, many of the slaves cherished hope that an invading army would come for them. He
adds that the master who thinks that the slave does not understand the magnitude of his situation does
not understand the truth: that one day, vengeance will come for him.
Chapter XVIII

Any trivial cause could lead Epps to whip one of his slaves, including Solomon. Solomon relates how
one day, Phebe came to him and told him that a Mr. O’Niel, a tanner, wanted to buy Solomon.
Solomon replies that he would be glad to go there. Mistress Epps hears this and tells her husband,
and Epps comes to Solomon, enraged that he would say that. He brutally whips him.
Epps also whips the elderly and confused Abram, but the figure who bears the brunt of the whipping
is Patsey. Mistress Epps often has her husband whip the unfortunate slave, but Epps takes this a step
further one day when jealousy enters his heart.
It seems that Patsey has gone to visit the black wife, Harriett, of a neighboring planter, Mr. Shaw. A
suspicion enters Epps’s mind that she has gone to see Shaw himself, as the man is a notorious libertine.
When Patsey returns, she defiantly tells Epps that Harriet gave her soap since Mistress Ford does
not let her wash with soap anymore and she smells awful. Epps will not be mollified and yells that she
is a liar.
He rapidly sets up four stakes, tells Patsey to disrobe, and ties her wrists and feet to the stakes. He
orders Solomon to whip her. Solomon cannot refuse, but he is disgusted by the demonic exhibition.
Mistress Epps stands and watches from the piazza with her children.

Solomon whips her thirty times and hopes Epps is satisfied, but Epps delivers bitter oaths and threats
and orders more. Finally, Solomon throws the whip down; Epps picks it up and whips Patsey even
more. Her screams fill the air, and her back is “literally flayed” (171). Solomon thinks she is dying, and
he notes with bitter irony what a beautiful Sabbath day it is.

Finally, Epps ceases his whipping. The slaves bring Patsey into the cabin and tend to her grotesque
wounds. It would have been a blessing if she had died. She lives, though, and her spirit is broken. She
is consistently melancholy; she no longer has a buoyant step. She is always silent and has a careworn
expression. She truly is her master’s beast. Solomon writes that some people think that slaves do not
understand freedom, and he vociferously corrects this: they know its meaning, and they constantly
observe the contrast between their condition and their master’s.

The children of slaveholders soon take on their parents’ attitudes. Solomon sees how Epps’s oldest son
is intelligent but loves to play with the whip and evinces delight in punishing the slaves. There is no
reasoning that could convince him that there is no difference between those of different skin colors. It
is no wonder, Solomon writes, that “the oppressors of my people are a pitiless and unrelenting race”
(175).

Analysis
Throughout his narrative, Northup takes pains to correct assumptions people have about slaves. He
writes, “they are deceived who flatter themselves that the ignorant and debased slave has no conception
of the magnitude of his wrongs. They are deceived who imagine that he arises from his knees, with
back lacerated and bleeding, cherishing only a spirit of meekness and forgiveness” (165) and “It is a
mistaken opinion that prevails in some quarters, that the slave does not understand the term—does not
comprehend the idea of freedom. Even on Bayou Bœuf, where I conceive slavery exists in its most
abject and cruel form—where it exhibits features altogether unknown in more northern States—the
most ignorant of them generally know full well its meaning. They understand the privileges and
exemptions that belong to it—that it would bestow upon them the fruits of their own labors, and that it
would secure to them the enjoyment of domestic happiness. They do not fail to observe the difference
between their own condition and the meanest white man's…” (173). One of the other things that
Northup does frequently is depict a culture among the slaves, even those who labor for such
controlling and soul-sucking monsters as Epps. He seeks to show how slaves create meaning in their
lives, how they maintain their dignity, and how they strive to improve their conditions even
infinitesimally.
Critic William Nichols identifies Northup’s evocation of slave culture as early as the slave pens, where
Northup finds “communities of shared emotion” and “the frequent exchange of autobiographies and
reflections on injustice.” It is notable that despite the slaves’ isolation from family and friends, these
separations “[do] not seem to have destroyed their willingness to risk ne human relationships.” Northup
befriends Clem, Arthur, and Robert, and he also works with the latter and other slaves to foment
mutiny (though this does not get carried out, unfortunately). Once on the plantations, Northup recounts
slaves telling stories, giving advice, delighting in a white person getting their comeuppance, helping
each other, and rehashing interesting events. Nichols sees these as “reminiscent of folk tales in their
tough humor and masked resentment.”
Northup reveals how slaves also supplemented their meager rations in a variety of ways. He builds
himself a fish trap while some try to catch possums and coons. Slaves are allowed to keep money that
they make on Sundays and buy small luxuries. Ira Berlin explains that “plantation hands have been
depicted as cogs In a great machine, marching mindlessly up and down the rows of cotton or through
fields of cane, driven by an overseer’s lash. Northup reveals that even on the great plantations, slaves
were often jacks-of-all-trades, laboring on a multitude of tasks…In the interstices of these many tasks,
slaves created their own economy and their own life.” Northup is keen to note the small bits of
rebelliousness that slaves evince, and “emphasizes how slaves found satisfaction and pride in their
daily accomplishments, even knowing they gained few benefits from the labor that made their masters
rich.” He explains that many masters think beating their slaves and instilling fear in them makes them
more productive, but that the truth is it makes them less productive. The plantation system is
inefficient and wasteful; free labor is far more productive and profitable.
During the holidays, Northup writes, slaves forge romantic relationships, dance, dress up, celebrate,
and travel from plantation to plantation. Northup is aware of the problematic nature of the holidays:
slaveowners consider themselves benevolent in "giving" these days to slaves, while the rest of the year,
their slaves toil and suffer; yet he does acknowledge how much slaves delight in these days.
Ultimately, as Berlin states, Northup “understands the essential truth that while slavery may define
black people, it is not who they are.”

Twelve Years a Slave Summary and Analysis of

Chapters XIX-XXII
Summary
Chapter XIX

In June 1852, the man to whom Solomon owes his freedom arrives in the bayou. Bass is an itinerant
carpenter from Canada who travels around the country doing work; he currently lives in Marksville. He
is noble, warmhearted, inoffensive, and firmly committed to the end of slavery. People throughout the
South find him genial and do not take offense to his strong words. Even Epps, who hires Bass to work
on a house, likes Bass and merely laughs when Bass tells him that white men and black men are equal,
that slavery is a sin and a stain on the nation’s conscience, and that the system is absurd and cruel.
Solomon hears Bass tell Epps these things and thinks that this man may be able to help him,
but he is still wary. Finally, one day, when the two of them are working alone, Solomon asks
Bass what part of Canada he is from. Bass tells him that Solomon wouldn't know the area,
but Solomon tells him he’s been to many places. He rattles off the names of places in
Canada and upstate New York. Bass is shocked into silence. After expressing hesitation,
Solomon tells him his whole melancholy tale.
Bass immediately volunteers to help Solomon by mailing a letter to his friends in the North.
They meet the next evening and Bass takes down names of people Solomon knows, to
whom he can send letters. Solomon tells Bass openly of his sufferings, and Bass assures
him of his friendship and support.

Over the next couple of weeks, Bass and Solomon are very careful never to interact with
each other in other people’s sight; there is no suspicion of intimacy between them.

Bass goes home to Marksville and pens the letters. One is to Judge Marvin; one is to the
Collector of Customs in New York; another is to Messrs. Perry and Parker (this is the one
that succeeds). He includes Solomon's message along with one of his own.

When Bass returns to Epps’s place, he tells Solomon that a response would arrive in
perhaps six weeks at the latest. Sadly, six weeks pass, then ten, with no response.
Solomon's hopes begin to crumble. Bass endeavors to lift his spirits and promises to take a
further step if necessary. Solomon worries that the letters miscarried, or were misdirected, or
that the people to whom they were addressed had died. Perhaps they did not care at all
about him.

Chapter XX

The day before Christmas, Bass returns again from Marksville. He gives Solomon a nod to
meet him after dark. He does not show up, and Solomon assumes correctly that they should
meet the next morning before the rest of the household awakes. Bass tells him he has heard
nothing, and Solomon despairs. Bass adds quickly that he has planned to go to Saratoga
himself. Shocked, Solomon listens as Bass says that he is tired of the South and slavery; he
will go to Saratoga to see the people Solomon mentioned.

During the Christmas holidays, Solomon has to play his violin for local planters. One day, he
plays for Madam McCoy and her household. He states that McCoy is a delightful, lovely, and
benevolent young woman who treats her slaves well and proves that not all slaveholders are
monsters.
On the morning of January 3rd, Solomon is working in the cold fields with Abram, Patsey,
Bob, and Wiley. Epps yells at them for not picking cotton well, but their fingers are numb
with the cold.
The slaves look up and see two men approaching on horseback. Solomon writes that he will
now double back in the narrative to follow the movement of Bass’s letter.

Chapter XXI

Messrs. Perry and Parker receive Bass's letter and immediately inform Anne. Her children
visit Henry B. Northup to attain his assistance. As there is a statute protecting free citizens
from being reduced to slavery, he pursues this with the Governor. He is able to prove that
Solomon is a free citizen of New York and that he is being wrongfully held in bondage.

The Governor is very interested in the matter and appoints Northup as agent. Northup travels
to Washington and meets with the Louisiana Senator, the Secretary of War, and a Justice of
the Supreme Court. He receives papers to show the officials in Louisiana.

Northup plans to go directly to New Orleans but stops in Marksville first. He shares his
business with the Hon. John P. Waddill, who is happy to help him. Waddill has never heard
the name of Solomon Northup, though, and asks his boy, Tom, who also does not know the
name. Northup despairs a bit, as Solomon's letter was vague and the course to take is not
clear.
There is a fateful moment, however: the two men are discussing politics when Northup asks
if there are any free-soilers in the region. Waddill laughs and mentions a man named Bass.
Northup starts and looks at his letter. He realizes this is the same man who wrote the letter
for Solomon, and he tells Waddill this.
A bit of searching locates Bass at a landing on the Red River. Northup goes to him and asks
after Bayou Boeuf and Solomon. Bass is reluctant to respond at first, not knowing whether
Northup is an honest man, but Northup tells him frankly of his purpose in inquiring and Bass
tells him all.

Bass provides a map to Bayou Boeuf, and Northup begins legal proceedings against Epps.
He and a sheriff travel to Epps’s plantation as soon as they can so that word cannot leak to
Epps.

Solomon now returns the narrative to the moment when he saw the two men coming across
the field. He does not recognize them. The sheriff comes up to “Platt” and asks if he
recognizes the other man. Solomon looks carefully, and memories begin flooding back. He
joyfully cries out that it is Henry B. Northup. The sheriff asks Solomon a few questions to
establish his identity, and Solomon bursts into happy tears. The other slaves are completely
discombobulated as they watch this.

Northup and Solomon embrace, and Northup and the sheriff lead him to the house. Epps
comes out, puzzled. When the information about Solomon is conveyed to him, Epps asks
Solomon sharply why he said nothing. Solomon speaks with more authority than he has with
Epps before: he states that he was never asked and that he was whipped when he had said
something.

Epps grows violently angry that a white man helped Solomon and demands to know who it
is. He swears profusely and wishes he’d had an hour to secret Solomon away.

Mistress Epps politely bids Solomon goodbye; Epps only swears. When Solomon says
goodbye to Patsey, she looks at him tearfully and says she does not know what will become
of herself.
The Louisiana court settles that Epps will not litigate and that Solomon is free to return
North.

Chapter XXII

The ship heads up the river to New Orleans, where the men tarry for two days. Northup has
Solomon’s free papers with him, and he is unaccosted.

In Washington DC, they try to bring charges against Burch. Burch is arrested, allowed to
post bail, and ordered to trial. Unfortunately, a former partner of Burch’s lies on the stand
about the situation. No one will challenge him about it. Solomon’s own testimony cannot be
used because he is black. Burch is acquitted of the charges.

Northup and Solomon leave Washington and finally make it to Sandy Hill. Solomon’s reunion
with his family is tremendously emotional. He learns that they did know he was in bondage
from the letter onboard the brig (and from Clem Ray), but they could do nothing to find him.

Solomon concludes by stating that there is neither fiction nor exaggeration in his text. If
anything, he painted the picture too brightly.
Analysis
Though Northup is eventually rescued, he seeks to make clear that this was not at all a
guarantee, and that getting out of slavery in any way is almost impossible. For himself,
procuring paper and pen is rare, and getting the letter to the right person is also difficult (as
seen in the fiasco with Armsby). He is lucky because he knows how to read and write, unlike
most slaves, who do not have this vital tool at their disposal. Northup details the various
reasons that running away, especially deep in the Louisiana bayou, is rarely successful.
There are slave patrols and vicious dogs sent after fugitives, terrifying wild animals in the
swamp, a lack of food and drinkable water, and a high likelihood of getting lost. Many slaves
return to their plantation after a time because trying to survive in the wild is sure death, while
returning home brings with it punishment but life as well. Northup uses Wiley and Celeste’s
experiences to provide specific anecdotes about slaves who tried and failed to achieve
freedom. His own experience in the bayou after running from Tibeats also adds to the sense
of terrifying isolation amid the slimy, deadly creatures of the swamp.
Northup’s background as a free man, however, makes his case a bit different and ultimately
allows him to succeed in becoming free. He meets the rectitudinous and kindhearted Bass,
who recognizes the grievous inhumanity and injustice of this free man being enslaved. Bass
is ardently anti-slavery anyway, and Northup’s story shocks him into taking action. It is
through his brave and tireless efforts on behalf of Northup, as well as those of Henry B.
Northup, that the wrongly enslaved man’s liberty is secured.

Northup doesn’t make this sound like a miracle, however: he details in exacting fashion just
how many steps it took to get a single man out of bondage. Governors, senators, lawyers,
sheriffs, and more are needed to right this wrong, revealing that the South was desperate to
hold onto its “property” and would only relinquish it after an exhausting process. For
historians and scholars, this part of the book is a useful way of looking at the real debates
about the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, which had been passed just a few years prior
to Twelve Years a Slave’s publication.
Even though he gains his freedom, Northup cannot win in the courtroom against Burch. He
cannot be a witness because of the color of his skin: “objection being made, the court
decided my evidence inadmissible. It was rejected solely on the ground that I was a colored
man—the fact of my being a free citizen of New-York not being disputed” (213). Due to
Northup’s elided evidence and the lies of Burch’s former partner, “the court held the fact to
be established, that Burch came innocently and honestly by me, and accordingly he was
discharged” (213). This reveals the extreme ways in which black people were marginalized
legally and politically, even if they were free citizens.

It should not be surprising that Northup’s narrative became a bestseller after it was
published. The trial had riveted the North and the book was full of damning evidence that the
system of slavery was indeed as monstrous as the abolitionists were claiming. Inefficiency
and waste; rape and sexual abuse; the separation of mothers and their children; cruel
punishments; limited provisions; backbreaking labor; the deleterious effects on white people,
making them inured to evil; hypocrisy in religion; and many more examples of slavery’s
immoral, inhumane, and unjust characteristics make this work profoundly important during
its own time and in the contemporary moment.

Twelve Years a Slave Themes

Religion
Though it is not at the forefront of Northup's narrative, religion plays a crucial role in his story.
Northup uses religion to emphasize which characters are "good" and which are "bad." For example,
Tibeats and Epp both swear profusely and use God's name in vain, emphasizing their poor character.
By contrast, Ford never takes God's name in vain and is depicted as a devout worshiper of God. Ford
even holds sermons and invites his slaves to participate in sharing the word of God. In 1853, when this
book was published, these characteristics would have stood out to readers. Furthermore, Northup
portrays himself as a religious person on multiple occasions, such as when, after successfully fleeing
through a snake-infested forest, Northup credits God for his survival. Religion was comforting to
slaves held in bondage, offering them visions of an afterlife in which they could be free from suffering
and connect with those they'd lost on earth.
Sexual Assault
Misogyny (and the resulting sexual abuse) is a vital piece of Northup's commentary on slavery. In his
initial introduction of Patsey, Northup describes how, as "The enslaved victim of lust and hate,
Patsey had no comfort of her life" (135). As a female slave, Patsey was forced to succumb to Epp's
sexual violence and physical violence. She not only belonged to him as a means of picking cotton, but
for sexual gratification as well. This inspires the jealousy that leads to the violence Patsey experiences
near the end of the novel, wherein Epps whips her until she is unconscious. A male slave would not
have been subjected to this, and Northup recognizes this in his narrative: "If ever there was a broken
heart — one crushed and blighted by the rude grasp of suffering and misfortune — it was Patsey's"
(188). Slave women were thus subject to all of the arduous labor, capricious punishments, and
emotional trauma of slaves in general, but they also faced the added tortures of rape, abuse, and
pregnancy with a master's child.
Identity
Identity drives Northup's narrative. At the beginning of the narrative, prior to his enslavement,
Northup's identity is one of an affluent, well-liked, and talented violinist. Not only that, but his identity
is also one of a free man. Following his enslavement, however, his identity is stripped away: he is no
longer "Solomon"; instead, he is "Platt." His identity is now that of a slave: when he insists that he is
free, he is beaten until he stops insisting. He is no longer allowed to move through the world however
he likes, instead being forced to yield to what white people expect of him. His identity — at least
outwardly — is forced to completely change. Internally, however, Northup remembers his past
identity, which inspires him to survive. He finds value in the violin; he never gives up trying to escape;
he is faithful to his wife; he always remembers who he is and what he wants to return to.
"Man's Inhumanity to Man"
Northup reveals just how awful man can be to man. The lucrativeness of slavery and concomitant
racism created a situation that the South jealously guarded. In order to keep it intact, many felt that
black people must be stripped of all rights and must be frightened or manipulated into working hard
and knowing their artificially subordinate place in society. Violence and abuse of all kinds began to
come naturally to slaveowners, for deep down they were aware of the flimsiness of their claims that
slavery was a positive force. Fear of rebellion also stoked their increasingly cruel treatment of slaves,
and when violence went on for so long unchecked, it became the norm. Man's baser impulses — such
as greed, selfishness, and desire for power — cannot easily be ignored or quelled in the context of
slavery.
Slavery's Corrupting Influence
Not only was slavery problematic for the African Americans caught in its grasp, but, Northup writes, it
also corrupted any and all in its path — including white people. It made white people who were
otherwise kind or moral into tyrants. It raised children in an environment where brutal treatment of
slaves was considered the norm. Violence, sexual abuse, and cruelty were de rigeuer on many
plantations; owning slaves and doing what one wanted with them was seen as right and normal. Even
the generous and Christian Mr. Ford was raised in this milieu. Mrs. Epps was otherwise a wonderful
woman, but she was corrupted by having power over Patsey, the slave with whom her husband had
relations. Overall, slavery was bad for the economy and environment of the South, bad for free labor,
bad for slaves, and bad for the white people who participated in it.
The Dignity and Humanity of Slaves
Northup does not depict slaves as mindless cogs in the machine of plantation slavery: rather, they are
alive and unique. They may vary in terms of their intellect and personality, but they understand their
conditions, desire freedom, and seek to make their lives as meaningful as possible even when their
autonomy is limited in all respects. They form relationships, make a little money on the side, rebel
and/or try to escape, play music, dance, share stories, and ultimately reveal their humanity. This allows
his work to resonate with readers in that they can recognize the "characters" as authentic human beings.
Abolitionism
The text makes it seem as though Northup knew it would become a core part of the abolitionist
movement in the North. He doesn't hit readers over the head with this, but his descriptions of the
terrible things slaves endure, the corrupting influence of the system on white people, the problems for
free labor, the hypocrisies of the system in light of the nation's founding principles, and the
normalization of family disintegration seem to be calculated to shock and move readers to action.
Northup is entirely forthright and thorough; he does not lie or omit or embellish. His work needed to be
solid so it could be touted by abolitionists as a visceral example of why slavery must be abolished.
Almost every page echoes with Northup's firm belief that slavery was immoral and untenable.

Twelve Years a Slave Character List

Solomon Northup/"Platt"
Solomon Northup is the author of Twelve Years a Slave. Born a free man in New York in
1808, he is kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841. After being kidnapped, he is given a slave name:
Platt. He remains a slave until January, 1853. During his time as a slave, he keeps journals outlining
everything he experienced, making the faithfulness to his experiences in his novel, Twelve Years
a Slave, possible.
Solomon is at an advantage during his time as a slave due to the experiences he had and education he
received prior to his kidnapping. He is intelligent, charming, and likeable, which helps him obtain
higher positions and survive during his slavery. He is a skilled violinist, and this talent makes him
favorable for entertainment among slaveowners. His violin is one of the only ways he keeps hope in his
heart, especially as he plans to escape numerous times but cannot carry it out successfully until twelve
years have passed.

He endeavors to be as true and faithful as possible to his experiences, sparing no one but also
acknowledging that some slaveowners were kind.
Anne Hampton Northup
Anne is Solomon's wife. She and Solomon married on Christmas in 1829, and they have three children.
Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton
Brown and Hamilton tell Solomon that they are members of a circus and are interested in his violin
skills. They tell him that he will be paid one dollar per day, and three dollars for every performance if
he accompanies them to New York City and Washington DC. One night at dinner, they drug Solomon
and give him to the slave dealer James H. Burch. Solomon spends much time wondering about their
complicity in the whole matter: they were very kind to him, but he ultimately decides that they must
have been in on it.

James H. Burch
Burch is a slave trader who takes control of Solomon and sells him down South. Burch beats Solomon
brutally when Solomon insists on his freedom. From this experience, Solomon learns that in order to
survive, he must agree with what white people tell him.
Eliza
Eliza is a slave whom Solomon meets in the Washington DC slave pen. She has children, and she was
promised that she and her children could remain together. However, they are ultimately separated.
Eliza and Solomon are both bought by William Ford. Eliza's grief at being separated from her children
is overwhelming, and Ford, annoyed, sells her to a new owner. Solomon notes that she becomes
emaciated and depressed.
William Ford
Ford is Solomon's first owner. Solomon writes that Ford was kind to his slaves and was a moral
Christian minister who could not be blamed for his views on slavery since it was the way he was
raised. Solomon gains Ford's favor over and over again, and Ford comes to his defense in his troubles
with Tibeats. Unfortunately, Ford has money troubles and has to sell Solomon.
John M. Tibeats
Tibeats is a carpenter who works at Ford's plantation. A man of terrible character, he is coarse,
repulsive, uneducated, and prone to blaspemous curses. He despises Solomon and has two brutal
encounters with him: he tries to kill Solomon, but Solomon is able to hold Tibeats off and beat him
instead. Tibeats's poor reputation among other white men protects Solomon, for Ford and Chapin step
in to prevent Tibeats from going further. Tibeats eventually sells Solomon to Epps.
Edwin Epps
Epps is Solomon's second owner. Epps is extremely cruel and inhumane, taking pride in breaking his
slaves' spirits. He is consistently drunk and disorderly, waking the slaves up in the middle of the night
to dance for him. He frequently rapes a female slave on his plantation, Patsey, which is a point of
conflict for him and his wife. He beats the slaves indiscriminately, gives them the smallest rations
possible, and rages when he hears that Solomon no longer (or never really did) belong to him. Solomon
says flatly that Epps has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
Patsey
Patsey is a slave at Epps' plantation. She is the fastest cotton-picker on the plantation, and as such she
has Epps's favor. She is young and attractive, which makes her a target of Epps' sexual violence. She is
despised by Epps' wife, who orders her husband to beat his mistress frequently. After a particularly
brutal beating, Patsey loses all of her spark and hope.

Henry B. Northup, Esq.

Northup is a relative of the family that held Solomon's father in slavery. He is an esteemed lawyer
residing in Sandy Hook. He diligently pursues Solomon's deliverance from slavery, making
preparations and then traveling down to Bayou Boeuf to get him.
Ebenezer Radburn
The lackey and turnkey of the slave trader Burch. He evinces a slim degree of sympathy for Solomon
when he is in the slave pen.
Clemons "Clem" Ray
An older slave in the DC slave pen with Solomon, Clem is terrified of going South. Luckily, he gets to
remain in the North and Solomon later learns he escaped to Canada.
John Williams
A slave in Williams' slave pen. He is later redeemed by his master.
Mr. Goodin
The keeper of a slave pen in Richmond.
Robert
A slave whom Solomon meets in Goodin's slave pen. He and Robert bond over the fact that both were
captured freemen with families at home in the North. He dies of smallpox on the boat sailing down
South.
Mr. Theophilus Freeman
Burch's partner, who calls Solomon "Platt." He is industrious, crude, and cruel.
Mistress Ford
A kind and lovely woman who treats her slaves well.
Mr. Chapin
Ford's overseer at his Indian Creek plantation. He is a fair and kind man who sticks up for Solomon
when Solomon beats Tibeats. Chapin informs Tibeats that there is a mortgage on Solomon, that Tibeats
is a lowly creature, and that he will defend Solomon.
Peter Tanner
Mistress Ford's brother, who owns an extensive plantation across the bayou. He hires Solomon to work
carpentry at his place for a time. He tries to act severe, but Solomon "could perceive there was a vein
of good humor in the old fellow, after all" (82).
Mr. Eldret
A plantation owner who lives below Ford and hires Solomon for carpentry work in the Big Cane
Brake.
Mistress Epps
Solomon describes her as pretty, educated, and generally kind, but he notes that her jealousy and hatred
of Patsey twisted her and made her encourage her husband to beat Patsey mercilessly. She is an
example of how slavery corrupts otherwise "good" people.
Abram
An older and intelligent slave whose mind is now somewhat prone to confusion, Abram works for
Epps. He remembers fondly his time with his former master and General Andrew Jackson, and he often
regales the other slaves with these tales.
Wiley
Phebe's husband and one of Epps's slaves. He is very quiet. He runs away but is unsuccessful and is
returned to Epps.
Phebe
Mother to Bob and Henry, and wife to Wiley on Epps's plantation. She is warm and garrulous.
Armsby
A man who Solomon thinks may be able to take a letter for him to Marksville. However, Armsby is
untrustworthy and tells Epps that Solomon approached him about this matter. When Epps confronts
Solomon, Solomon is able to lie and make Epps think Armsby was merely trying to get an overseer
position at the plantation by suggesting that Epps had uncontrollable slaves.
Celeste
A runaway slave whose story Solomon relates. She spent time in the bayou trying to survive, and she
would often get food from Solomon. She trained the dogs not to follow her, and she would have
survived out there if not for her fear of the wild creatures. She eventually returned to her master.
Bass
An itinerant carpenter from Canada, Bass is strongly against slavery and does not hesitate to express
those views—even when he is working down South. He is cool-headed and non-offensive, and the
local planters like him. He is kind and principled, and he immediately offers to help Solomon when
Solomon decides to tell him the truth about his identity. Bass delivers letters and plans to go to
Saratoga for Solomon. He is able to tell Northup where Solomon is when Northup makes it to
Marksville.
Judge Turner
A wealthy sugar plantation owner down near Mexico for whom Solomon works in 1845 when the
cotton yield is destroyed due to caterpillars.
Madam McCoy
A young, beautiful, and kind mistress of a local plantation in Bayou Boeuf. Solomon writes that she is
an example of how some slaveowners could be benevolent.

Twelve Years a Slave Essay Questions

1. 1
What are the "free papers" that Solomon has?
Solomon lived in a time in America when most black people were
slaves. However, in some parts of the country, some slave owners
could decide to free their slaves after a period of time, or the slaves
could be released after their master died. Also, if a black man or
woman had the financial means, they could buy their own freedom.
To distinguish between black fugitive slaves and free black people,
some states started issuing freedom papers and certificates of
freedom. Those papers attested that a black person was indeed a free
one. The papers were extremely important because, in some parts of
the country, some men made a living by capturing runaway slaves
and selling them again. The papers made sure that a free person
remained free even if that person were captured by the police or by
the aforementioned slave hunters. If a black person lost their freedom
papers, they could no longer attest they were indeed free, meaning
that they could be easily sold off as slaves once more.

2. 2
 Why did Solomon need a permit from his owner to travel to other
places and plantations?
Solomon mentions how, in order to travel from one place to another,
he needed to have a written permit from his master. The pass was
necessary because it was a protection both for the slave and for the
master. White men could legally stop a black man on the road and ask
him whether he was a slave or not. If he was a slave, he needed to
present them with a permit attesting the fact that his master allowed
him to leave his property. If the slave did not have that permit, then
he could be kidnapped and sold again. Through the permits, the slave
owners were also protecting themselves by making sure that their
property was not stolen from them.

3. 3
Why did slaves still try to escape even though they knew there
was a slim chance they will be successful?
Solomon mentions numerous slaves who tried at one point in their
lives to run away from their masters. Some of the slaves were caught
before escaping. or even in the act of escaping. and they were
punished severely by the masters. Other times, the slaves were found
by white men patrolling and then taken back to the masters who
would beat them and humiliate them. When Solomon analyzed such
incidents, he sometimes reached the conclusion that some slaves did
not run away to be free, but rather just to have a few days to rest from
the grueling tasks they were made to do. For them, being beaten and
tortured was worth it if that meant having a few days to relax. Others
wanted to make a choice for themselves—to live their own life.
Others genuinely thought they would make it to freedom. Regardless
of the motivation and the level of confidence in the success of the
mission, running away gave slaves a sense of power and purpose.

4. 4
Why are slave narratives valuable?
First, many Northerners either did not know the particulars of how
horrible slavery was or they pretended not to notice them. Slave
narratives made them conspicuous and undeniable. Second, they
provided evidence against the word of slavery's sympathizers,
correcting problematic assumptions and misunderstandings. Third,
they provided undeniable evidence of their writer's humanity, and, by
extension, the humanity of all slaves. Northerners could move beyond
thinking of them as sub-human and see within slaves the same things
that motivated them. Fourth, they were crucial tools for abolitionists,
and their authors made valuable speakers. Fifth, to the writer who
 penned such a story, it could be a remarkably cathartic, meaningful,
and important thing to do.
5. 5
What are the particular difficulties that slave women and girls
face?
Slave women face all of the troubles that slave men do—hard labor,
separation from family, cruel punishments—but they also face
troubles particular to their sex. From the time a slave girl hits
puberty—and especially if she is beautiful, as Harriet Jacobs notes—
she becomes prey for the master and other white men. She is a sexual
object and she cannot say no to a white man's advances. She is privy
to lewd words and leers, molestation, and rape. She may become
pregnant with his child and forced to bring it into the world. Then, she
may be separated from her children and suffer from not being able to
protect them from the trials and tribulations of slavery. She often
faces the mistress's wrath, as do her children by the master.

Twelve Years a Slave Study Guide

Twelve Years a Slave is the memoir of Solomon Northup, a free black man who was
kidnapped and sold into slavery. Published in 1853, the same year in which he was liberated, it covers
his twelve years in servitude.
Northup recounts his life beginning in New York, establishing his origin and his status as a free man
residing in the North with his family. He then shares the details surrounding his kidnapping and
experiences within the slave market, and the subsequent years of captivity and enslavement he endures
until he steps onto free soil again twelve years later. Through his story of plight, Northup describes the
daily interactions between him, other slaves, and the various masters he works under, as well as
specific and extensive knowledge of agricultural practices and southern customs – shedding more light
on slavery than any textbook can.

The memoir is dedicated to Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose fictional narrative, Uncle Tom's
Cabin, was published only one year earlier. Critics have noticed Northup's story bears many
similarities to Stowe's, such as the condemnation of the legal system itself rather than individual slave
owners, as well as the shared setting of the novels. The publication of Twelve Years a
Slave helped affirm the fictional, albeit accurate, words of Stowe regarding the institution of slavery.
Northup enlisted David Wilson, an antislavery editor, as his amanuensis. Scholars have
debated how much of the work was written by Wilson, but most seem to agree that Northup
provided the facts and did indeed play a large role in its writing.

Twelve Years a Slave was a bestseller, with 25,000 copies sold in its first two years.
Subsequent editions were published as well, but the work fell into obscurity until 1930, when
a young woman named Sue Eakin found a copy of the narrative in a plantation house and
then for sale in a local bookshop. Intrigued, especially when the bookseller claimed it was
pure fiction, she pursued everything she could find about Northup, eventually corroborating
his narrative in numerous ways and bringing it back into the public domain. While not as
widely read as the Narrative of Frederick Douglass or Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, it
provides an outlook critical to the national debate leading to the Civil War as well as an
understanding of a brutal yet significant aspect of American history.
Notably, British director Steve McQueen adapted the work into an Academy-Award-winning
film in 2014.