# Arrival at Norfolk and the Voyage to New Orleans explained — Twelve Years a Slave > Chapter companion for Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup. ## What happens The brig Orleans travels from Norfolk to New Orleans, encountering a storm and a calm. Solomon is appointed steward. He meets Arthur, a free man kidnapped into slavery, and forms a conspiracy with Arthur and Robert to seize the brig, but the plan is abandoned. Solomon writes a letter to Henry B. Northup with the help of sailor John Manning, which is mailed but leads to no immediate rescue. Upon arrival in New Orleans, Arthur is rescued by friends, while Solomon is sold to Theophilus Freeman and forced to accept the name Platt. ## Themes in this chapter ### Injustice of Slavery Arthur, a free man, is kidnapped and forced into slavery, highlighting the systemic injustice and lawlessness of the institution. ### Resilience and Hope Solomon and Arthur conspire to seize the brig, demonstrating their desperate hope for freedom despite overwhelming odds. ### Hypocrisy of American Freedom The kidnapping of free blacks like Arthur and the forced renaming of Solomon to Platt expose the hypocrisy of American ideals of liberty. ## Character check-ins ### Solomon Northup Appointed steward on the brig Orleans; conspires with Arthur and Robert to seize the vessel; writes a letter to Henry B. Northup; forced to accept the name Platt upon arrival in New Orleans. ### Arthur A free man kidnapped in Norfolk; dragged aboard the brig; conspires with Solomon and Robert to seize the vessel; rescued by friends upon arrival in New Orleans. ### Robert Selected as the captain's waiter; joins the conspiracy to seize the brig; dies of smallpox during the voyage. ### Manning A noble-hearted English sailor who helps Solomon write and mail a letter to Henry B. Northup. ### Theophilus Freeman Consignee who receives Burch's gang in New Orleans; forces Solomon to answer to the name Platt. ### Elizabeth Part of Burch's gang; consigned to Theophilus Freeman along with her children. ## Key lines > It would have been a happy thing for most of us—it would have saved the agony of many hundred lashes, and miserable deaths at last—had the compassionate sea snatched us that day from the clutches of remorseless men. Many of the enslaved wished the storm had drowned them, as it would have spared them the future suffering and brutal deaths they would face. _Solomon reflects on the despair felt during the storm, preferring death to the horrors of slavery._ > Let not those who have never been placed in like circumstances, judge me harshly. Until they have been chained and beaten—until they find themselves in the situation I was, borne away from home and family towards a land of bondage—let them refrain from saying what they would not do for liberty. Solomon asks readers not to condemn him for considering violence to escape, as only those who have experienced such oppression can understand the desperation for freedom. _Solomon justifies the conspiracy to seize the brig, emphasizing the extreme circumstances that drove him to contemplate violence._ > But in all the crowd that thronged the wharf, there was no one who knew or cared for me. Not one. No familiar voice greeted my ears, nor was there a single face that I had ever seen. Upon arriving in New Orleans, Solomon felt utterly alone and desolate, with no one to recognize or help him. _Solomon contrasts Arthur's joyful rescue with his own isolation, deepening his sense of despair._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/chapters/v - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/twelve_years_a_slave_se/chapters