Abstract This paper reviews the book "Solomon Northup's Twelve Years a Slave" in which Sue Eakin describes the life of a free black man, Solomon Northup, from Saratoga, N.Y., who was kidnapped in 1841 and forced into slavery in Louisiana for twelve years. The author relates that the first chapter gives the background of Northup's life beginning at his birth and his freedom, which he gained through his father's tribulations; however, the second chapter delineates the process whereby Northup is deceived into his entrapment. The paper continues, chapter by chapter, and ends with chapter twenty-one with the trip back to New York; a warrant is issued for Burch for his role in the kidnapping and the chapter continues through Burch's trial in which he is acquitted, but the story still ultimately is completed with Northup's reunion with his beloved wife and daughters.
From the Paper "Chapter four begins with more of the recount of "Eliza's sorrows" and continues with another suggestion of the irony of the locale: "the Capital of a nation, whose theory of government...rests on the foundation of man's inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." It is here that Northup seems to resign himself to his position and seems to regain a sense of hopefulness, although the other characters remain downtrodden. Disturbingly, it is also in this chapter that Northup calls Burch by the title "Master" for the first time, before the reader is introduced to several other new characters facing the same fate as Northup."
Abstract A paper which shows how the image of windows serves as a divide between the innocent and the not so innocent William Faulkner's "A Light in August". It shows that those who dare to go outside the windows through which they gaze, are subject to the gossip and hypocrisy of society and those who remain inside are subject to this same torture as well. It discusses the character Gail Hightower chooses to stay inside, while Lena Grove chooses to venture outside. Lena is innocent because she has not experienced the falsehood of society while Hightower is not.
From the Paper "Windows play a major role in the first seventy- six pages of William Faulkner's novel, A Light in August. Faulkner first mentions a window on page five. It is through this window that the young Lena Grove climbs through during the night in order to see her boyfriend, Lucas Burch. Faulkner again mentions a window on page fifty-seven, while describing the daily life of former minister, Gail Hightower. According to Faulkner, by staying inside windows people are just as likely to be victimized by society as those who venture outside. The only thing that separates those who stay inside or go outside, is experience."
