This memoir by Solomon Northup tells the harrowing story of a free African American who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. He takes us deep into the dark reality of American slavery, vividly describing the daily life of a slave—the brutal tortures they endured, the constant fear, and the cruel overseers wielding whips, alongside the few masters who ruled over them like gods.
The lives of slaves on the cotton farms are the most touching and heartbreaking part of the memoir.
They would pick cotton and clean it from dust, then at the end of each day, carry the bags to the master, who would weigh them. There was a minimum weight the master expected. If the bag weighed less than that, the master would start whipping them. If the bag weighed more, that new weight would become the expected minimum for the following days.
So every day, the slaves approached the master with fear and dread. And this is just a small glimpse into their brutal lives.
This haunting memoir kept me awake at night. How can one human being inflict such torture on another to this extent?
