Solomon Northup's book, Twelve Year's a Slave, tells the story of Northup himself as he was kidnapped and forced into slavery. He worked as a slave for 12 years before the government was able to locate and free him. Solomon Northup's story was relevant when it was written and still is today. At the time of its writing, it revealed to the general public the difficulties and cruelty of slavery, and today, Twelve Year's a Slave constitutes an important historical document, a primary source of information on the living conditions of slaves in the 1840s. Say no. to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essaySolomon Northup was a free man living in the state of New York. He was well known locally for his talents as a violinist. In 1841, he was approached by two men claiming to be from a traveling circus. They wanted him to accompany them on their way to Washington, D.C. and offered to pay him for every night he played the violin. They drugged him once they arrived in Washington and he woke up in a slave pen beneath the city streets. This is where the dirty truth about slavery begins to show itself to the reader. Solomon Northup refused to conform to the slaveholder, instead insisting that he was a free man with rights. The slaveholder beat Solomon Northup with a wooden paddle until he stopped talking about his free birth. Solomon was then transferred to New Orleans with some other slaves where they were sold at auction. Solomon Northup was sold to Mr. Ford with whom he worked for two years before moving to Epp's plantation. Solomon Northup worked on the Epps plantation for 10 years before finally being located and released. ​​This book was written at a time when slavery was a very controversial issue. Northup's story was very useful to the abolitionist movement because it showed American slavery from the slave's point of view. “Nevertheless he passed the whip relentlessly over my poor body, until it seemed as if the lacerated flesh was being torn from my bones with each stroke. a man with a part of mercy in his soul would not have beaten even a dog so cruelly” (Northup 17). Often, supporters of slavery made the argument that slaves were treated well; Solomon Northup provided strong evidence against this argument in his novel. Northup made a point of showing that although some slave owners might have been good to their slaves, such as William Ford, many were not because the practice of slavery is inherently evil. Solomon Northup described the brutal process he went through when he was kidnapped and forced. into slavery in a way that evoked empathy from many of his readers. He also described the trials he saw other slaves go through, focusing at one point on the agony of a woman named Eliza: “I won't leave without her. They won't take her from me,' she shouted, her screams mixing with Freeman's loud, angry voice ordering her to be quiet” (Northup 39). Northup also described the various physical examinations that slaves were subjected to to assess their worth before being sold, and how they were organized when presented to customers: "The men were arranged on one side of the room, the women on the other. The tallest was placed at the head of the row, then the next, and so on in the order of their respective heights” (Northup 35). At the time 12 Years a Slave was written, this scene should have focused primarily on Northup's thoughts during his.