After being kidnapped from New York and sold into slavery, Solomon Northup uses his skills and carefully placed trust to survive and seek a way back to his family.
- Scenes 1–29
Solomon lives freely in Saratoga as a husband, father, worker, and musician.
- Scenes 30–65
Kidnapped and held under the imposed name Platt, Solomon must preserve his life and identity.
- Scene 86
Ford takes Solomon, Harry, and Eliza from Freeman; Eliza is dragged away from Emily, committing Solomon to plantation life and its family separations.
- Scene 87
Ford brings Solomon and the other captives into plantation life; Solomon must survive within a system that denies his identity.
- Just before
- Scene 104
At the river, Solomon watches a reed float upstream, then wades into the creek as he considers its current.
- Scene 105
Solomon sketches a water route that could reduce timber transport costs; Ford agrees to let him clear the creek despite Taydem’s doubts.
- Scene 106
Under Solomon’s direction, the workers clear the creek banks and build a narrow raft, which he tests by carrying timber upstream.
- Scene 107
This scene
