Resume af '12 Years a Slave' og personlig refleksion

The movie “12 Years a Slave” tell us about Solomon Northup. Solomon was a free man, working as a fiddler. Solomon lived in a house in Saratoga in New York. There he lived with his wife Anne and his children Margaret and Alonzo. In 1841, where he was only 32, Solomon met two men, Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton. They introduced themselves to Solomon as entertainers managing a circus. The performances were supposed to be in New York, but the tour extended to Washington, where slavery was legal. One-night Solomon was drugged and sold into slavery, by the men who had previously hired him.

Solomon was sold to the plantation owner William Ford. Though a slave owner, Ford was kind to Solomon and treated him with some degree of respect. Ford knew that Solomon was more than just a slave. But Ford came into financial troubles, and had to sell 18 slaves, including Solomon. The slaves were all sold to a man named John Tibaut, whom was working at Ford´s plantation. Tibaut was a very cruel man. Solomon could not take it anymore. Eventually Solomon once tried to defend himself and beat Tibaut, which nearly resulted in Solomon being hanged. But the day he was supposed to be hanged, Ford´s overseer, saved Solomon and chased Tibaut and his men out of the plantation. Tibaut decided to sell Solomon, so he got sold to Edwin Epps. Edwin is the antagonist in the movie. He was that because of how he treats slaves. He was a drunk and was known for being able to “break” almost any slave that is put in his hands. He was so cruel and hateful to each of his slaves, more so than other slave owners. He had no compassion at all, and he only thought of himself. He was a southern slave owner.