12 Years a Slave: Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

The next morning, a door opens, revealing two white men—the infamous, cruel slave dealer named James Burch, and his assistant, Ebenezer Radburn. Solomon notes that Burch’s “whole appearance was sinister and repugnant.” Solomon also notes in hindsight that at the time of his writing, both Burch and Radburn still live in Washington D.C.

With the door open, Solomon is able to get a better look at his surroundings, and he realizes that all of the doors are made of iron and the small windows are barred. Solomon likens it to a “farmer’s barnyard” that was constructed so “the outside world could never see the human cattle that were herded there.” Solomon explains to the reader that the exterior of the building looked like a quiet family home and sat “within plain sight” of the Capitol. He writes, “The voices of patriotic representatives boasting of freedom and equality, and the rattling of the poor slave’s chains, almost commingled.”

Burch gruffly tells Solomon that he is now his slave and will be sent to New Orleans. Solomon declares that he is a free man from New York, but Burch denies this, claiming that Solomon came from Georgia. Solomon continues to assert his freedom and demands that Burch remove his chains. Burch screams at Solomon, calling him a liar “and every other profane and vulgar epithet that the most indecent fancy could conceive.”

Burch orders Radburn to retrieve the paddle and whip, and Burch proceeds to beat and whip Solomon severely, increasing the severity and power of his blows every time Solomon insists that he is free. With his flesh hanging off of his body, Solomon thinks that “A man with a particle of mercy in his soul would not have beaten even a dog so cruelly.” Before departing, Burch threatens to kill Solomon if he ever tries to assert that he is free. An hour later, Radburn appears with water and a meager meal. Radburn tries to be kind to Solomon and tells him that keeping quiet about his identity as a free man will be much safer for him than telling the truth.

Solomon’s wounds are so severe that he can’t rest in any one position for more than a few moments. When he does manage to sleep, he dreams of his family. In his waking hours, he weeps and thinks about how his escape will come soon, deeming it impossible “that men could be so unjust as to detain me as a slave, when the truth of my case was known.” He also thinks of his overwhelming suspicion that Hamilton and Brown are to blame for his newfound imprisonment.

After several days, Solomon is allowed “the liberty of the yard,” where he meets three other slaves: Clemens Ray, John Williams, and a little boy named Randall. Clemens Ray tells Solomon that they are in Williams’ Slave Pen and will be sent to New Orleans to be auctioned off. Meanwhile, Randall just cries for his mother, clearly “too young to realize his condition.”

Solomon reaffirms to the reader that his goal is to “present a full and truthful statement” of his experiences and to accurately depict the institution of slavery. He asserts that “what I am about to say, if false, can be easily contradicted.”

During his two weeks in Williams’ Slave Pen, Solomon meets Eliza, the mother of the young Randall whom Solomon had met previously, as well as a young, beautiful, light-complexioned girl named Emily. Eliza explains that she was the slave of a rich man in Washington D.C. named Elisha Berry. Elisha and his wife had separated, so he built a new house and invited Eliza to live with him, promising that she and her children would be freed upon his death. Eliza lived a happy, lavish life with him for nine years, much to the horror of Elisha’s estranged wife and daughter. Eventually, Elisha’s daughter married a man named Jacob Brooks, and somehow Eliza became Brooks’ property rather than that of Elisha.

Eliza recounts how Brooks (Elisha’s daughter’s husband) tricked her by telling her that she would be freed. When Brooks took her into town to secure free papers, he promptly sold Eliza and her children to James Burch. Listening to Eliza’s story, Solomon is overcome with grief and empathy, declaring Eliza’s story “enough to melt a heart of stone.” Solomon then tells the reader that at the time of his writing, Eliza has died from “the burden of maternal sorrow.”