I read Solomon Northrup's 12 Years as a slave after it received Academy Award nominations and saw the movie afterwards. In his biography, Northrup chronicled his life as a free African American man making ends meet for him & his family in New York town where the lure of making extra money led to his being kidnapped. He described the details of his capture and years on a mid-sized Georgia slave plantation. As the slave Platt, Northrup forms relationships with other slaves, overseers, and masters for survival. In the end, he must depend on the kindness of white men to not only overcome the cruelties "the peculiar institution", but for his eventual freedom. The reader clearly grasps the black and white stark contrast between Northern industry and Southern slavery in the years prior to the American Civil War.
Steve Mcqueen's film focuses on the highlights of Northrup's twelve years. The biography becomes necessary reading for the following: -Background information of Northrup's family & northern life -Additional details of a slave's life & more in depth characterizations of Eliza, Patsy, Tibeats, Ford, Epps, Bass, etc. -A step-by- step process for Northrup's eventual return to the North -Laws which allowed for Northrup's freedom, but acquittals of the men who originally kidnapped him Read slowly to comprehend & digest the high level vocabulary & sophistication of Northrup's writing.
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AuthorI am Ms. April Geltch, CJUSD Librarian & advisor of the Yellowjacket Literate Book Club. YA Book Sites 50 Young Adult Book Blogs 100 Awesome Social Sites for Bookworms Ms. Geltch's 2009-12 Books of the Year: The Early Years Ms. Geltch's 2013 Books of the Year Ms. Geltch's 2014 Top Ten Books of the Year Ms. Geltch's 2015 Books of the Year Ms. Geltch's 2016 Books of the Year Ms. Geltch's Favorite Books 2017 Ms. Geltch's Reading Possibilities 2018 Ms. Geltch's YA Literature Recreational Reading Guide Nearby Libraries
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