12 Years a Slave

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The Gruesome Truth
“My name is Solomon Northop, I am a free man residing in Saratoga, New York” CITATION McQueen \l 1033 (McQueen). Unfortunately at this point for Mr. Northop it would do no good for him to speak up, in fact, it did more harm than good. In the film 12 Years A Slave, the audience encounters the horrible kidnapping, based on a true story, of a free black man named Solomon Northop. This film is by no means easy to watch but it accurately portrays the life of slaves, and free blacks, who were caught up in the gruesome world of slavery. The history of Slavery in the American South is not a secret. African American people were treated like rag dolls; they were locked up in cages, sold off continuously for money, separated …show more content…

This gets her tied to the post and beaten with the whip until she has almost now skin left on her back.
Mr. Bass to Master Epps: “What amused me just then was your concern for my well-being in this heat, when quite frankly the condition of your laborers, it is horrid” CITATION McQueen \l 1033 (McQueen). The story comes to an end when Mr. Bass, a carpenter hired by Master Epps who just happens to be a Canadian abolitionist, learns of Northup’s status and gets his letter out to his friends and family in the north. Solomon’s original Master who had granted him his freedom, Mr. Parker finally arrives to take him back home to Saratoga.
The effect that slavery, such as seen in 12 Years a Slave, has had a heavy impact on society still today. People of color still don’t feel like they have every right and freedom as the white man and think they have it so terribly today. When in reality, the blacks of today’s generation don’t have a clue how lucky they are to be living in the conditions they are now. My prime example of this still being an issue is the mess that recently occurred in Ferguson, Missouri over the shooting of young African American man by a Caucasian police officer. The African American culture still holds a chip on their shoulders from all those years ago when their ancestors were brutally beaten and slaved. They believe the shooting only happened because he was black in color. Society as a whole needs to take a step back and remember what our country was

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