12 Years a Slave book
I recently listened to the audiobook 12 Years a Slave. The book which was turned into an award winning movie was a fascinating audiobook. I have not seen the movie. I am sure there are some changes with the movie, but the book was really interesting.
The book is a memoir from 1853 of a free black man living in New York who was kidnapped, sold into slavery, and lived 12 years as a slave in Louisiana. Here are some of my thoughts and lessons from the book.
- Slavery was terrible. I have a history degree, and have studied slavery at various times, but this was an eye-opening journey into the daily life of a slave. The fear of the white slave owners could be seen so easily in the book. There abuse, constant threatenings, and beatings are hard for our modern minds to understand. It is not surprising it took so long for the civil rights’ movement and more equal treatment of blacks across the south to take place, because of the deeply entrenched racist views.
- The descriptions of life in the 1840s and 1850s in Louisiana was fascinating. As you may know, I grew up on a farm and have a small farm now. So to learn about farming practices in the mid 1800s on a cotton and sugar plantation was interesting. From the food they ate, to the cotton field practices, it is a remarkable first-hand account. I also enjoyed his recollections about slave culture, for example how they celebrated Christmas and observed the sabbath of Sunday.
- The role of faith was insightful in the book. Solomon Northup, the author and enslaved man, reflected often on God in the book. He had a deep faith in the Bible, God’s sovereignty, and prayer. Hearing his thoughts about God existing alongside such rampant injustice and suffering were faith building, and demonstrates how the general view of God has changed so much in our present culture. He also reflected on the faith of his masters. One of his masters was a Baptist preacher whom he described with such high terms and believed his character and gentleness were shaped by the Lord. While another master was active in his church, but used Scripture and his beliefs to abuse and mistreat the slaves.
- The book caused me to be grateful for the great blessing of freedom and opportunities that I enjoy. You can’t read the book without thinking about how you would handle such injustice and mistreatment. He was ripped away from his wife and kids and made to brutally toil as a slave. He longed for freedom and ached for his fellow slaves who never knew freedom. I am thankful I am free and I can be with my family!
I listened to the book through my local library using their Overdrive service. You can learn about how to do this at this post.
