Analysis

Names carry both literal and symbolic importance in 12 Years a Slave. First, they serve to reinforce Northup’s constant appeal to make his memoir credible. Anyone who wanted to fact-check his story could easily find record of a slave trader named Theophilus Freeman in New Orleans. A survey of legal records would also reveal the paperwork needed to secure the rescue of Arthur by his white friends at the port. Additionally, it’s incredibly ironic that the final slave trader who handled Northup in New Orleans bore the name “Freeman.” That name was a cruel reminder to Solomon of who he had been and what he no longer was: a free man.

Most important, though, was the renaming that Theophilus Freeman forced on Solomon Northup. By assigning Solomon the random, indistinct name “Platt,” Freeman took from the former free man his last trace of identity, his last connection to the life his father had provided to him and to the family he had once enjoyed in his own house. From this day forward during his slavery, he would be known by an arbitrary name. The day Solomon Northup’s name was changed to “Platt” was the day he finally, seemingly irrevocably, became a slave. By Northup’s account of prayerful despair, it was perhaps the darkest day of his life.