Twelve Years a Slave

Following the widespread attention of both fictional slave narratives—such as Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin—and nonfictional slave narratives—such as Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave—Twelve Years a Slave quickly became a bestseller. Critics of abolitionism, however, scrutinized the book’s details for accuracy and veracity. Examine two to three rhetorical strategies Northup uses throughout Twelve Years a Slave to prove—and illustrate—that his narrative is truthful.

While the chronology and many of the major events in Steve McQueen’s 2013 film adaptation of Twelve Years a Slave remain true to Northup’s memoir, the film changes several details, combining characters, attributing one character’s words to another, and even—in some cases—fictionalizing moments. Analyze at least three changes between the original memoir and the 2013 film. Do you think these changes were necessary, or do you think they detracted from the impact of the book? 

Throughout Twelve Years a Slave, Northup challenges a common myth among anti-abolitionists in the 1850s: that slaves were passive and content in their roles, and that life was actually harder for free Black citizens. Analyze at least three different ways Northup demonstrates the strength, resilience, and resistance of his fellow Black captives.

From the separation of Eliza’s family to the sexual abuse of Patsey, Northup is especially attentive to the hardships of women in slavery. Why was Northup so interested in the overlapping struggles of women and Black captives? How did he use the examples of Eliza and Patsey to further advance the abolitionist cause?

Twelve Years a Slave includes several intricate descriptions of day-to-day life and systems of production on different plantations. How does Northup’s memoir use these descriptions to illustrate the social and economic construction of slavery? What message does he send with these descriptions?

In numerous instances throughout Twelve Years a Slave, slaves are appointed as violent subjugators of other slaves, forced to whip them and punish them for behavioral infractions. Why do you think slave owners developed this practice? What point do you believe Northup is trying to make by describing this practice (including moments when he was the subjugator)?

From the slave pen in Washington, DC to the slave market in New Orleans, Twelve Years a Slave features several social environments in which Black people are viewed, presented, and examined as property. How does Northup expose the social normalization of selling humans as property? How do Northup’s White captors attempt to condition him and his fellow captives to see themselves as property?

In addition to his intricate deconstructions of life as a slave, Northup exposes the complex social hierarchies among White people on the plantation. Compare and contrast the different roles, perspectives, and experiences of Ford, Tibeats, Tanner, Epps, Armsby, and Bass. Why does Northup devote such careful attention to social and class dynamics among White people?