12 years a slave- Solomon northup

First watched the movie before deciding to read the book, which i'd bought some time ago. Most of the time I would say the book is better than the movie but this time, I would say they were comparable. Solomon Northup was a free man in New York in the 1800s and had owned a farm and was also an occasional violinist. During a season when there was little work, he was lured by two sly characters to Washington with the promise of work, where slavery had not been abolished yet. He was kidnapped by the two men and sold as a slave to Louisianna, where he toiled as one for 12 long years. I couldn't believe how such outrageous acts could have been committed and how this singular event could change one man's life in the most unbelievable way. For 12 years, Solomon northup toiled in cotton fields, sugar cane plantation, etc with little food, daily whipping, and at one time, almost hung to death. Despite his sufferings, it seemed to the reader that he felt a sense of empathy and understanding toward his white enslavers. He said that he didn't blame them for not being able to see the injustice of slavery, for the belief that slavery was the norm had been inculcated in them for generations. Even in the most kind-hearted of men, they were blinded to the "wrong-ness" of slavery. We see in Solomon's story how easy it is for us to take for granted what is "right" without questioning simply because it was something that had been done for generations and is deemed as a way of life by society. Bass, the man responsible for Solomon's release, spoke out against slavery and was deemed an eccentric. He said that God created all men equal, therefore what right has one man over the other, to treat him as an inferior?

It was a very simple argument and yet, no one wanted to believe in it and brushed it off as hogwash. 

Bass went out of his way to help Solomon and I think Solomon was truly blessed to have many others who were concerned enough for his welfare to do something. Henry Northup, his father's employer's son, eventually managed to save him out of slavery. It was a wonderful "ending" or is it? In the preface we read that Solomon began giving lectures that spoke against slavery and shared stories of his enslavement. It was also mentioned however, that a few years later, nothing could be found on this man, that he was not recorded in the censure. We could only hope no harm was done to him although it does seem likely that he could have been killed by those who were for slavery.