Solomon intentionally takes time to capture the different Southern dialects of the characters in 12 Years a Slave, one of the many ways he persuades readers to trust that this is a realistic depiction of slavery in the South. Patsey’s dialect, for example, communicates her position as an uneducated enslaved person in Louisiana, as seen in the scene where she says goodbye to Solomon in Chapter 21:
“Oh! Platt,” she cried, tears streaming down her face, “you’re goin’ to be free—you’re goin’ way off yonder where we’ll neber see ye any more. You’ve saved me a good many whippins, Platt; I’m glad you’re goin’ to be free—but oh! de Lord, de Lord! what’ll become of me?”
Solomon’s decision to spell “going” as “goin’” and “never” as “neber” paints a more thorough portrait of Patsey as a real person.
It’s not only enslaved dialects that Solomon captures, though; he also alters the spelling and grammar of Epps’s speech, such as in the moment in Chapter 16 when Epps confronts him about asking Armsby to send letters on his behalf:
“Well, boy,” said he, “I understand I’ve got a larned nigger, that writes letters, and tries to get white fellows to mail ’em. Wonder if you know who he is?”
Solomon intentionally spells “learned” and “larned” and “them” and “’em” in order to capture Epps’s Southern accent. All of these dialect subtleties add to the authenticity of Solomon’s memoir, underlining that this is a true story (that, Solomon hopes, will inspire readers to take action against slavery).
Solomon intentionally takes time to capture the different Southern dialects of the characters in 12 Years a Slave, one of the many ways he persuades readers to trust that this is a realistic depiction of slavery in the South. Patsey’s dialect, for example, communicates her position as an uneducated enslaved person in Louisiana, as seen in the scene where she says goodbye to Solomon in Chapter 21:
“Oh! Platt,” she cried, tears streaming down her face, “you’re goin’ to be free—you’re goin’ way off yonder where we’ll neber see ye any more. You’ve saved me a good many whippins, Platt; I’m glad you’re goin’ to be free—but oh! de Lord, de Lord! what’ll become of me?”
Solomon’s decision to spell “going” as “goin’” and “never” as “neber” paints a more thorough portrait of Patsey as a real person.
It’s not only enslaved dialects that Solomon captures, though; he also alters the spelling and grammar of Epps’s speech, such as in the moment in Chapter 16 when Epps confronts him about asking Armsby to send letters on his behalf:
“Well, boy,” said he, “I understand I’ve got a larned nigger, that writes letters, and tries to get white fellows to mail ’em. Wonder if you know who he is?”
Solomon intentionally spells “learned” and “larned” and “them” and “’em” in order to capture Epps’s Southern accent. All of these dialect subtleties add to the authenticity of Solomon’s memoir, underlining that this is a true story (that, Solomon hopes, will inspire readers to take action against slavery).
