Text-to-Society: 12 Years A Slave

During our second memoir unit, I have been reading 12 Years a Slave, by Solomon Northup. A central idea found in 12 Years a Slave, is respect, and more specifically courtesy.

Solomon Northup is a freeman living in Saratoga Springs, New York with his wife, Anne, and their two children. Solomon leaves town with two white men, on what he thinks is an out of town violin gig. Instead, Solomon is kidnapped and sold into slavery under the name Platt, left with no evidence of his kidnapping. Solomon is at the mercy of his master and their associates, often being beaten and abused for the smallest mistake. Solomon meets and learns the stories of many slaves, the untold horrors they've experienced never cease to shock him. Solomon tries many times, unsuccessfully, to escape slavery, and eventually gives up all hope of returning to his family. That all changes when Canadian Abolitionist Bass, a carpenter, visits the plantation Solomon is a slave on to build the Master a new house. *Spoilers*. Solomon opens up to Bass about his life, and asks Bass to mail a letter to his friends in New York. Bass agrees and writes to Solomon's friends about his life and need of saving. The letter reaches a lawyer and friend of Solomon, who after a few months travels south to find Solomon. A chance meeting with Bass leads the lawyer and a town sheriff directly to Solomon, and Solomon is finally able to return to his family after 12 years.

Courtesy is a theme we see in everyday life. In my life courtesy is a common, natural way to act. You bump into someone in the hallway and your first thought is usually 'I'm so sorry', someone sneezes you say 'bless you'. Unfortunately for Solomon courtesy is not only lacking but completely nonexistent while he is a slave. Solomon's masters treat him like an animal, as if he is unable to form educated thoughts and understand simple directions. An article on courtesy discusses the writer's personal experiences with people who completely disregarding courtesy.  The writer goes further showing a question asked on a different site about courtesy and people's responses:

What's a common courtesy that has been lost?” The top five answers are as follows:

1. Saying "please" and "thank you"
2. Saying "you’re welcome"
3. Saying "excuse me"
4. Not swearing
5. Holding a door

It's interesting to see the many opinions and views on courtesy, as we all have had different experiences. I, for example, often forget to be appreciative about courtesy, as I see courtesy constantly. But for people like Solomon and the writer of the article I read, courtesy is lacking in their lives, making them wish for it and want a change.
In case anyone is interested in reading the article: http://www.ksl.com/?sid=20364871