The author also accords to the treatment of other slaves he witnessed in those 12 years. This novel gives insight into the slavery practice, judicial authorities of different states, inhumane punishments for black people. Solomon Northup obtained freedom in January 1853 and wrote this book the same year, considered the best slave narrative. Until a savior came into his life and made a mission to reach Solomon's family so they could rescue him. But he got betrayed, and the hope is diminishing day by day. He laid out plans to escape, also tried to contact his friends and family. He still hoped to be free again and return to his family. So, he does all the hard work and endures beatings like every other slave.Īll the slaves feared their masters, but Solomon sometimes gets an eye-to-eye that nearly costs him his life many times.

He knows if he ever utters a single word and tells anybody that he is a free man, his master will kill him.

They changed his name to Platt and sold him to a far land where he had to accept his destiny and hide the truth to survive. When he tried to tell the truth, he was beaten ruthlessly. T hey didn't only steal his freedom but everything he stood for. In the author's words, my back is thick with scars for protesting my freedom. He was merciless, and he beat the slaves to death for his entertainment. One of them is Edwin Epps, a drunkard with no humanity. He was a slave for 12 years under different masters. Two men named Brown and Hamilton kidnapped him and sold him in Washington. Solomon Northup was born and brought up in Saratoga County, New York, married Anne, and had three children. It is a true story of a free man forced into slavery. I could not comprehend the justice of that law, or that religion, which upholds or recognizes the principle of slavery.

Solomon 12 years a slave