Twelve Years a Slave

As reaffirmed in David Wilson’s preface and throughout the book, Northup takes great care to present his words as absolute truth. He not only aims to speak the truth, but he presents the book as a truthful performance that will be accepted and appraised as such by his white audiences. Even within this rhetorical tailoring to white audiences, however, Northup acknowledges the fact that he is pandering and that such pandering is necessary for white readers to believe him.

Evaluate and discuss the concept of “truth” throughout Twelve Years a Slave. Use these questions to help in formulating a response.

• What are some examples of the truth-telling complexities that Northrup encounters in the book?
• What are some facts of life for Northup that complicates the process of truth-telling for him?
• Why do you think it is of the utmost importance for Northup to have this tale accepted as “truth” by white readers?
• How do you think Northup would receive the 2013 film adaptation of the book, in light of his aims of truth-telling?

Teaching Suggestion: Northup also offers several illustrative examples of truth-telling complexities in the book: situations wherein he is forced to lie or stretch his own definitions of truth in order to survive, thus appeasing the white men who control every element of his environment. Furthermore, despite his commitment to truthful documentation, Northup also recognizes the necessity of using pathos to stir his white readers, emphasizing the details he knows they will empathize with: his love for his family, Eliza’s separation from her family, and the sexual violence Patsey experiences at Epps’s hands. Within the memoir’s most emotionally charged moments, Northup calls for his white readers to assume responsibility for the lies that have been spread about slavery. Once students have considered and taken notes on the bulleted questions, they might brainstorm and discuss these complexities in small groups.

Differentiation Suggestion: For visual learners and students interested in film studies, you could expand this prompt to spend more time discussing and analyzing the 2013 film 12 Years a Slave for “truth,” asking students the following questions: Does the film hold up in terms of historical accuracy in its portrayal of antebellum life of an enslaved person? Would it hold up to Northup’s personal goals for truth-telling to white audiences in 2013? You can opt to screen the film in its entirety, if time permits, or choose a single scene and compare it to the scene in the memoir. The following articles on the film that might be of particular use in the class discussion around Northup’s conception of “truth” and the film adaptation: (1) The American Historical Association’s “12 Years a Slave Examines the Old South’s Heart of Darkness” and (2) Slate’s “How Accurate is 12 Years a Slave?”.