Slavery as a Peculiar Institution in 12 Years a Slave
One of the best and most important passages of Solomon Northup’s 12 Years a Slave comes at the very end of the memoir. It is a short passage that conveys the essence of the times in a few short words and that summarizes the character of the man who has written the tale. The passage comes on page 321 just before the book concludes with sheet music from the song “Roaring River,” about life on the plantation. The passage begins with Northup’s announcement that the story has concluded. And then comes the curious line, “I have no comments to make upon the subject of Slavery” (Northup 321). This is a most curious line because, of course, the entire memoir has just been about his life as a slave. Why does he end the story by saying he has no comments to make about slavery? And why is the word slavery written with a capital “S”? The answer to the first question is that the narrative itself serves as the “comment” upon the subject of slavery. It can be taken, for instance, as a kind of warning or parable, the way parables in the Gospel are delivered by Christ for the purpose of conveying meaning to His followers. Yes, he could speak to them directly and say what He wants to say, but the message is made all the more powerful when conveyed by way of story. It gives the hearer something to reflect on, something to experience, something to consider more deeply, something to understand in a concrete real-life way. This is also the case with Solomon Northup. He says that he has no “comment” to make because he has already said everything he has to say in the story of his own life as a slave for 12 years. If the reader comes away from reading the memoir without a sense of the horror of slave and the reason it should be abolished there is nothing that the author could add at the end by way of commentary that would give the reader any more reason to rethink it.

The answer to the second question is that Northup capitalizes the word slavery with a capital “S” because at the time slavery was more than just a common place noun that one could talk about as though it were just an abstract concept that did not really affect one in real life. Northup shows that slavery was something deserved to be viewed as a proper noun because it was such as serious and pernicious reality. It was not sin—it was Sin. It was not the fall—it was the Fall. By capitalizing it, Northup emphasizes its meaning and weight. He is talking about a real threat to the humanity of the nation and the world. And yet in the very next sentence he refers to slavery as the “peculiar institution” by which it had come to be known. This reference is indeed ironic and satirical. For in referring to it as Slavery in the previous sentence he shows his absolute conviction that the institution is heavy and wicked. It is not...…wearied him.

Overall, the passage connects to the rest of the narrative by summarizing its character in just a few short words. The essence of slavery is already conveyed in a way that should make the reader reflect on its seriousness. The passage connects to the story as a whole by distilling it to its bare bones meaning. The life of a slave is tortuous and inhumane. And it is experienced many. Northup’s experiences are just his own, but he assures the reader that there are many others like him who have never been restored to freedom and who do not have a voice.

He states:  “I doubt not hundreds have been as unfortunate as myself; that hundreds of free citizens have been kidnapped and sold into slavery, and are at this moment wearing out their lives on plantations in Texas and Louisiana” (Northup 321). In doing this, he obliges the reader to reflect on his own experiences and generalize them now with respect to a much wider population of men and women like the author but less fortunate in that they still remain in slavery.

The memoir tells the tale of Northup’s kidnapping and live as a slave and of his ultimate release after getting word back to his family. This passage acts as a final summarization of what slavery does to a man and shows how it does nothing other than to make him fit for the cemetery. It robs him of spirit and hope so that in the end he looks forward only to resting in the ground with those who have gone before him.