Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup

Dear Dr . Smith

In my previous mail I had mentioned you about one very interesting book , which I had bought with a great excitement . The book is titled Twelve Years a Slave ' written by Solomon Northup . The writer of this book has narrated his horrible experience as a slave which was forcefully induced by kidnapping him and subjected to all sorts of mental , physical and emotional torture for twelve long years as a slave . I have found this book so much informative as well as interesting that I could not stop

myself from writing this mail to share my views and sentiments about the most inhuman system of slavery prevailing in our society

The unfortunate writer of this book , Solomon Northup born in 1808 in New York After leading a free and happy married life . In 1841 , he was fraudulently kidnapped and sold as slave . He spent the next twelve years as a slave in the captivity of different cruel and heartless slave owners until 1853 when he was rescued from there and reunited to his family

Having been born a freeman and for more than thirty years enjoyed the blessings of liberty in a free state and having at the end of that time being kidnapped and sold into slavery , where I remained until happily rescued in the month of January 1853 , after the bondage of twelve years- it has been suggested that an account of my life and fortune would not be uninteresting to the public (1 . This is not something I 'm saying to you . These are the opening words expressed by , a Freeman ( slave Freeman , Solomon Northup writer of this book . Mintus Northup , father of Solomon Northup was brought to New York from Rhode Island where theirs ancestors were slave . On the death of the master , by the direction of the will , Mintus became free . Despite the fact that Solomon Northup was an educated person , he was earning his bread primarily by doing physical labor and also by playing violin as he was a very proficient Violin Player . He has mentioned , In the winter season I had numerous calls to play violin . When ever the young people assembled to dance , I was almost invariably there (2 . Solomon married to a very nice girl Anne . As he writes Anne was diligent about the house affairs , while I toiled laboriously in the field (3 . It was a very happy family , which gradually added three kids to make their parenthood extremely satisfied Suddenly the fortune played a very cruel jock with Solomon and while going in search of a work he was fraudulently kidnapped and sold into the world of abuse , apprehension and profound fear , yes , the world of slavery . A world where there is no sentiment , no emotion and no pity but full of hatred , cruelty and injustice . While forcing Solomon to accept that he was a slave and on refusing to accept the same , the slave traders beat Solomon mercilessly as he...