Introduction
12 Years a Slave is a devastating memoir released as a movie by Steve McQueen. The movie starts with “based on a true story” and the end credit shows the life of Solomon Northup and other assailants after they were freed. In between, the story shows the 12 years where Northup was kidnapped and served as a slave in South (“slate”). While most of the movie is based on the Book by Solomon Northup, there are still some facts which have been added to give the story a more glamorous look of a movie, some of them are discussed below:
Firstly, When Solomon defends himself from Tibeats a slave handler, who Solomon embarrassed by proving he is smarter, fights his assailant and eventually gets better of him. Tibeats embarrassed by this retaliates with thugs and attempts to hang Solomon, only to be stopped at the last moment. At last, Solomon is left hanfing as his punishment, until Mr. Ford is master cuts the rope at the last moment and frees him. Mr. Ford is forced into selling him, for protecting Solomon from Tibeats.
In reality, these events happened much differently. Mr. Ford sells Solomon to Tibeats when, Solomon as described in his memoir “even more morose and disagreeable than usual” – his servant is beaten unwisely in the way portrayed in film. In contrast, the reason for Tibeats being stopped in hanging Solomon was that Mr. Ford had remaining mortgage on Solomon and until that debt was settled Tibeats had no right for Solomon’s murder (“screenrant”).
Secondly, in the book, described by Solomon many incidents occurred while he was transported to the South, like the Amistad revolt planned by him and fellow prisoners only for one of them to die of smallpox before the attack and encounter of Solomon with the sailor who helped Solomon and wrote letter for Solomon’s friends in North. By comparison, film shows the slaves were harassed, murdered and raped and Solomon being advised by a peer to keep his head down (“screenrant”).
Thirdly, Mr. Epps, Solomon’s owner for a decade is described by Solomon in his memoir as equally menacing and detestable as portrayed in the Movie. In addition, in his detailing of Mr. Epps, Solomon mentions him as pompous, neurotic, gratified and disillusioned with Solomon’s polite manner and hard work. Likewise, Solomon also revealed in the book that he had a personal relation with Mrs. Epps and he did most of her biddings. When Solomon was rescued, she felt seemingly sad and shed tears after seeing his favorite slave leave. In the film, viewers can only see the character of Mr. Epps who brutalizes and torments Solomon as weel as his other slaves (“screenrant”).
Lastly, the film also skips a crucial chapter of the Solomon’s memoir in the book. In this segment Solomon remembers how Henry B. Northup, a lawyer and his “relative of the family in which my forefathers were thus held to service, and from which they took the name I bear” which Canadian Bass contacts and he is the one who helps in the rescuing of Solomon (“screenrant”).
Especially, there are no scenes about how Henry B. Northup dealt with the red tape and other roadblocks of government to uncover the commitment of crime against Solomon. This story gives and insight into the United States history which is relevant till date, in terms of the enduring discussion over the legacy of Unites States slavery and institutionalized racism.
Conclusion
Some room has to be left when an artist attempts to turn a life inside a Book into a 2 hour movie. However, most parts of the book which are engaging and keep the gist of the memoirs of Solomon Northup have been showcased in the book. Still, some facts have been left out to make sure the movie encapsulates the book that was “12 years a slave”.
Works Cited
Schaefer, S. ‘12 Years a Slave’: The Movie vs. The True Story.
http://screenrant.com/12-years-slave-movie-book-differences-true-story-fact-fiction/3/. screenrant.com. 4 Nov. 2013. Web. 5 Dec 2013
Wickham, F. How Accurate Is 12 Years a Slave?. http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/10/17/_12_years_a_slave_true_story_fact_and_fiction_in_mostly_accurate_movie_about.html. slate.com. 17 Oct. 2013. Web. 5 Dec. 2013
