My narrative is at an end ... what is in the region of Red River, is truly and faithfully delineated in these pages. This is no fiction, no exaggeration.
Throughout the narrative, Northup attests to the truthfulness of his story. He does so by having a white man authenticate his narrative at the beginning of the book, and he ends the book with this quote, assuring the reader that what they have just read is a work of fact. Northup's objective in writing this narrative from the very beginning was to share the horrors of slavery as a narrative of facts.
What'll become of me?
This quote is uttered by Patsey in desperation as Northup is freed from Epps's plantation. She desperately clings to him, terrified for her life and what it will become once he has left. Northup removes her from his body and turns to leave; as he walks away, Patsey asks this question. Patsey's experiences of physical and sexual violence make her life a hopeless and painful one, and this line demonstrates how she fears that losing Northup's company and protection may mean the end for her.
Thus far the history of my life presents nothing whatever unusual—nothing but the common hopes, and loves, and labors of an obscure colored man, making his humble progress in the world.
Northup spends the first chapter laying out his life before he was kidnapped and enslaved. He does this to contrast the peace, love, and independence he had while free with the fear, oppression, and trauma of his life while enslaved. He also endeavors to present himself in the most "normal," relatable, and humble way in order to show Northern readers just how similar to them he is. Just like them, he works hard, loves his wife and children, and enjoys his hobbies. Many abolitionist writers sought to do this very thing: to show their readers that black men and women are people too who are endowed with the same rights as anyone else.
Let not those who have never been placed in like circumstances, judge me harshly. Until they have been chained and beaten—until they find themselves in the situation I was, borne away from home and family towards a land of bondage—let them refrain from saying what they would not do for liberty.
When Northup was free, he often wondered why the slaves he met in the North were "content" to remain enslaved. He didn't understand why they didn't run away. He may have also had antecedent views on the use of violence, perhaps thinking that it was categorically wrong. However, he now admits that slavery is so dastardly, so inhumane, and so immoral that a man pushed to murder cannot be judged by those who have not experienced the same situation. He cannot be expected to remain submissive and pliable; his freedom and his manhood are at stake, and he must act.
"Your name is Platt—you answer my description. Why don't you come forward?"
This brief moment reveals a great deal about how slaves' humanity was ignored or reduced. It does not matter what Solomon's actual name is anymore, for he is just property now. He has no past, no identity, nor any name of his own. He is just like any other middle-aged black man, and it does him no good to protest this. Slavery could only succeed by reducing human beings to the level of animals or mere ciphers; this allowed those who perpetuated slavery to justify it to themselves. If Africans were not entirely human, or at least lacked all the "noble" characteristics and abilities of the white race, then why should they not remain in their "proper place"?
Looking through the same medium with his fathers before him, he saw things in the same light. Brought up under other circumstances and other influences, his notions would undoubtedly have been different.
Ford may be a benevolent and Christian man, but he is still a slaveholder and cannot conceive of a world in which white people cannot own black people. Solomon does not blame him for this, but rather blames the entire system that allows for this paradoxical situation. Children are raised to think that slavery is normal. The Bible is used to justify it. People inherit slaves as property. The law delineates who a slave is and what rights they (do not) have. For slaveowners, slaves mean wealth, security, and power. All of these reasons help to explain why the system was seemingly a permanent fixture of Southern life, and how even "good" people could grow up without questioning or rejecting it.
Warner, Will, and Major, according to Tanner's account of them, were melon-stealing, Sabbath-breaking niggers, and not approving of such wickedness, he felt it his duty to put them in the stocks.
Solomon doesn't dwell on the irony of this statement, but it is present nonetheless. Tanner considers himself a good Christian man and leads his slaves in Bible readings. At the same time, he decides that the Sabbath would be a good day to put some of his slaves in the stocks. Perhaps they did steal melons, but most slaves were only trying to supplement their meager rations. Their "wickedness" was all relative, then, and it is easy to see much more wickedness in Tanner than in Warner, Will, and Major. It is a minor moment, but it says a lot about the absurdity and hypocrisy that characterized even the most minute encounters between slaveowners and their slaves.
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.
Northup writes passages like this to provide insight into the hearts and minds of slaves. He doesn't let readers get away with assuming that slaves aren't capable of profound emotions, can't fathom their state of enslavement, or cannot see the distance between their state and the state of freedom. Slaves are fully cognizant of these realities, and anyone who pretends that they aren't is ultimately self-serving. They wish to live in their ignorance or to continue to benefit from slavery in some respect. Northup's narrative is thus valuable because it does not obfuscate, nor mince words, nor lie.
I was then offered as a witness, but, objection being made, the court decided my evidence inadmissible. It was rejected solely on the ground that I was a colored man—the fact of my being a free citizen of New-York not being disputed.
Northup's case against Burch should be solid. Doubtless, if he were able to testify, it would be; however, the mere color of his skin prevents him from providing his testimony. This is a painful reminder of how limited the rights of citizenship were, and that citizenship was something only a small percentage of black people were able to claim.
There were heaps and piles of money to be made of her, he said, when she was a few years older.
In this disturbing scene, Eliza learns that her daughter will not be going with her, but also that it is her beauty that keeps her with Freeman for now and that will result in her fetching a good price for some lascivious slaveowner. We do not know Emily's fate, but it was likely that her beauty proved to be a curse. Slave girls faced unspeakable dangers. As Harriet Jacobs writes in her own narrative, "If God has bestowed beauty upon [the female slave], it will prove her greatest curse. That which commands admiration in the white woman only hastens the degradation of the female slave."
