Thursday, January 1, 2015

Ownership Changes and Slave Lives

After being illegally sold into slavery, African-American free man Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor, left) finds himself answering to plantation owner Master William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch, center) and his ruthless overseer, Mr. Tibeats (Paul Dano, right), in “12 Years a Slave.” Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Mr Ford (center), Solomon (left) and Tibeats (right).
12 Years a Slave Benedict Cumberbatch and Chiwetel Ejiofor
Mr. Ford and Solomon.
Working and living conditions changed and/or were affected with or by ownership. Different slave owners had different beliefs. All slave owners had different expectations. Because different slave owners had different beliefs and expectations, they treated their slaves differently with different punishments and severity levels. They instilled different conditions on their slaves. After being captured, Solomon was sold to a slave owner called Mr. Ford. Mr. Ford was a kindhearted owner (despite the fact that he owned slaves) who liked Solomon. Mr. Ford valued Solomon’s input and suggestions. While a slave for Mr. Ford, Solomon and other slaves were able to service others for pay and keep the pay. The living conditions on Mr. Ford’s plantation were easy as his slaves would be grouped in cabins and not overcrowded. Because of Solomon’s hard work and nature, he was granted a violin by Mr. Ford and a treasured place with Mr. Ford. With Mr. Ford Solomon was respected and complimented. However, Solomon was then sold to Mr. Epps because his was no longer safe at Mr. Ford’s plantation due to a brawl with the rude and harsh overseer, Tibeats. Upon arriving at Mr. Epps’ plantation Solomon was treated harshly. He was whipped from the start for not picking at least the average weight of cotton. Solomon was not used to the working conditions or living conditions set by Mr. Epps’ since he had been treated respectfully by Mr. Ford. Mr. Epps’ living conditions were terrible as he bunched his slaves into large cabins and overcrowded them.


Mr. Epps and Solomon.



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