Solomon Northup lived a simple and happy life in Saratoga, New York. Life unfolds between streets, gardens, shops and homes. Whether it is with family or neighbors, friends or strangers, they get along well, everything is so simple. Then the style of painting changed, the cunning kidnappers, the vicious slave dealers, the cabins where the animals were loaded... After a short ten minutes of peace and freedom, the audience felt all kinds of oppression on a person's mind and body-slaves All the evil of the system is on the face, making people very uncomfortable and uncomfortable.
I bet that this is the first time the hideous features of slavery have been reproduced in movies since the Second Revolutionary War completely eliminated slavery. But let’s not forget that long before the horn of the revolutionary war was sounded, the truth of slavery had already been implemented by works like " Liberator ", "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and "Twelve Years as a Slave". The place spread.
Solomon Northup, the author of "Twelve Years as a Slave", was originally a free black man. Regarding ancestors, the author wrote:
"My father was born as a slave. Like millions of suffering slaves, he worked hard every day under extremely harsh conditions." He belonged to a family named Northup. "About fifty years ago, this order After the death of the respected gentleman, he left a will, announcing the dissolution of my father’s slavery status. Since then, my father has become a free man.” It was estimated that the northern states had abolished slavery one after another. when.
The author's childhood grew up in a free and equal north. But in the south of this country, blacks are just cattle, and their lives and deaths are completely in the hands of their masters.
As mentioned earlier, the author suddenly became a slave with no freedom at all when he knew what freedom was. The shock to him is by no means unimaginable. But the author is not like his companions—those who have been slaves since birth, who always report desperate attitudes toward the situation, and even often become so negative that they want to commit suicide. The author kept fighting against the evil laws, inhumane slave owners, and the entire slave production. His struggle finally yielded results and he was free again.
What is freedom?
Regarding the concept of freedom, this autobiography mentions it over and over again, each time from a different perspective: the author himself fully understands the meaning of freedom, and slaves have never been given that kind of freedom, only knowing that freedom means not having to be lashed again, not No matter how frightened they are, even though they have a vague sense of freedom, they still yearn for freedom. Unfortunately, in the face of powerful, strict, and insurmountable slavery, it is almost impossible for them to realize freedom on their own. The slave owner Epps knew very well what freedom was. For him, freedom meant that he could whipped his slaves at will, killed slaves at will, raped female slaves at will, and the law protected his freedom to do this. On the contrary, no one could interfere with his freedom, otherwise It is a crime.
The Canadian-American Beth has the most thorough definition of freedom:
"There is one thing you can't deny that black people are also humans. If they don't know much about their masters, whose fault is it? They are forbidden to be educated. You can read books and newspapers, and go wherever you want. You can pass There are a thousand ways to learn knowledge. But your slaves don’t have this privilege. When you find someone reading, you will whip him. They have been enslaved from generation to generation and deprived of the right and opportunity to develop their minds. In this case, How can we expect them to be knowledgeable? It is you slave owners who put them in the position of beasts. If they are baboons, or not much smarter than baboons, it is entirely your responsibility, as well as people like you. This country There is a kind of evil, a terrible evil, but believe me, this kind of evil cannot exist forever. If it is a sin, it must be punished. Epps, remember, there is always time to settle accounts after autumn. Really. When that day comes, it will be the momentum of the autumn wind sweeping the fallen leaves. This day will come sooner or later, but eventually it will come. I believe this day will come, just as I believe that God is fair."
It was Beth who helped the author escape from the sea of suffering and regain his freedom. We don’t know that this Mr. Beth was still alive when the Revolutionary War broke out in 1861, but one thing is certain. He has already witnessed the vigorous beginning of the abolitionist in 1831. In the second American Revolution, he believed that it was only a matter of time before justice prevailed over evil.
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