On 12 Years a Slave

Solomon Northup, 12 Years A Slave

- My object is, to give a candid and truthful statement of facts: to repeat the story of my life, without exaggeration, leaving it for others to determine, whether even the pages of fiction present a picture of a more cruel wrong or a severer bondage. -

- To the Almighty Father of us all - the freeman and the slave I poured forth the supplications of a broken spirit, imploring strength from on high to bear up against the burden of my troubles, until the morning light aroused the slumberers, ushering in another day of bondage. -

- Don't cry, mama. I will be a good boy. Don't cry.' -

- I have seen mothers kissing for the last time the faces of their dead offspring; I have seen them looking down into the grave, as they earth fell with a dull sound upon their coffins, hiding them from their eyes forever; but never have I seen such an exhibition of intense, unmeasured, and unbounded grief, as when Eliza was parted from her child. -

- Let them know the *heart* of the poor slave - learn his secret thoughts - thoughts he dare not utter in the hearing of the white man; let them sit by him in the silent watches of the night - converse with him in trustful confidence, of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and they will find that ninety-nine out of every hundred are intelligent enough to understand their situation, and to cherish in their bosoms the love of freedom, as passionately as themselves. -

Comments

[Lisa]

I'm reading this book right now!