It is obvious that communicators prefer using indirect speech acts to direct speech acts when expressing their intended meaning. According to the results of the research, there are a variety of functions of indirect speech acts realized in conversations of Solomon Northup and other slaves in “12 years a slave”
such as to refuse, to convince, to defend, to order, to warn, to protest, to insist, to promise, to apologize, to deny, to beg, to agree, to thank, to express one’s sadness, to desire, to accuse, to complain, to explain, to ask for permission, to hesitate, to advise, to disagree, to express one’s anger, to joke, to predict and to suggest. The results of the functional feature of indirect speech acts in “12 years a slave” uttered by Solomon Northup and other slaves are presented clearly in Table 4.2
Table 4.2: Distribution of functional feature of indirect speech acts uttered by Solomon Northup and other slaves in “12 years a slave”
No. FUNCTION
Uttered by
Solomon Northup
Uttered by other slaves
N % N %
1. To refuse 10 11.63% 01 3.33%
2. To convince 08 9.30% 03 10%
No. FUNCTION
Uttered by
Solomon Northup
Uttered by other slaves
N % N %
3. To defend 08 9.30% 01 3.33%
4. To order 06 6.98% 02 6.67%
5. To warn 05 5.81% 0 0%
6. To protest 05 5.81% 05 16.67
7. To insist 04 4.65% 01 3.33%
8. To promise 04 4.65% 01 3.33%
9. To apologize 04 4.65% 0 0%
10. To deny 04 4.65% 02 6.67%
11. To beg 03 3.49% 03 10%
12. To agree 03 3.49% 01 3.33%
13. To thank 03 3.39% 0 0%
14. To express one‟s sadness
02 2.33% 03 10%
15. To desire 02 2.33% 0 0%
16. To accuse 02 2.33% 0 0%
17. To complain 02 2.33% 03 10%
18. To explain 02 2.33% 0 0%
19. To ask for permission 02 2.33% 0 0%
20. To hesitate 02 2.33% 0 0%
21. To advise 01 1.16% 0 0%
22. To disagree 01 1.16% 0 0%
23. To express one‟s anger 01 1.16% 04 13.33%
24. To joke 01 1.16% 0 0%
25. To predict 01 1.16% 0 0%
26. To suggest 01 1.16% 0 0%
TOTAL 86 100% 30 100%
4.3.1. To refuse
Table 4.2 shows that an enormous preponderance belongs to the refusal uttered by Solomon Northup in this movie. There are 10 utterances (equivalent to
11.63%) employed to refuse commands or suggestions of masters as well as other slaves in the movie. By contrast, there is only 1 case (equivalent to 3.33%) uttered by other slaves. That is to say, Solomon Northup is believed to be in great favour of this function to refuse the orders of evil masters politely without making them angry. Examples (4.12) and (4.13) are provided as typical cases of this function.
(4.12) Setting: Master Epps‟s plantation/ slave shack – night
-Solomon: It is melancholia. Nothing more. How can you fall into such despair?
- Patsey: How can you not know? I ain't got no comfort in this life. If I can't buy mercy from you. I'll beg it.
- Solomon: There are others. Beg them.
In example (4.12), it is the conversation between Solomon and Patsey at midnight after she is beaten and looked down on by Mrs. Epps. Apparently, she is begging Solomon to help her lighten the burden by killing her as soon as possible. However, being a well-educated man, he intends to refuse Patsey‟s offer by saying “There are others”. Solomon says his refusal indirectly to Patsey without making her sad through the declarative structure.
(4.13) Setting: Shaw‟s house
- Solomon Northup: Excuse me, Mistress Shaw.
- Mrs. Shaw: Nigger Platt.
- Solomon Northup: Patsey, Master wishes you to return.
- Patsey: The Sabbath day, I is free to roam
According to the example above, the conversation between Northup and Patsey, a victim of sexual abuse, is on the Sabbath day. It‟s time when this poor female slave not only has the right to have a day off but also has a
valuable chance to drink and chat with Mrs. Shaw. However, she feels angry when Solomon Northup asks her to come back to Epp‟s plantation immediately. Therefore, she refuses him politely by the declarative sentence
“The Sabbath day, I is free to roam”. She respects Northup very much, so she refuses indirectly to come back that “It is the Sabbath day, so I don’t need to go home soon.”
4.3.2. To convince
Another function of indirect speech acts employed by Solomon Northup in “12 years a slave” is to convince, which occupies 9.30% (8 utterances). In terms of utterances uttered by other slaves, there are 3 cases (equivalent to 10%). To protect from being beaten by vicious slave handlers and masters, the runaway slave tries to use his logical arguments to convince slavers of his logical opinions.
Let‟s take an example (4.14) as a representative of this function.
(4.14) Setting: Ford‟s work area - Day
- Tibeats: And you know what of transport and terraforming?
- Solomon: I labored repairing the Champlain canal on the section over which William van Nortwick was superintendent. With my earnings, I hired several efficient hands to assist me and entered into contracts to transport large rafts of timber from Lake Champlain to Troy.
- Mr. Ford: Well, I'll admit to being impressed even if you won't. Collect a team. See what good you can do.
As can be seen in example (4.14), it is a conversation between Solomon and Tibeats, who is always hostile and completely unpleasant due to the fact that Mr. Ford appreciates Solomon‟s ability higher than Tibeat‟s one.
Remarkably, the jealousy of Tibeats is shown clearly when Solomon persuades Mr. Ford successfully to decrease the expense of transportation by
using water instead of land. Obviously, when Solomon says “I labored repairing the Champlain canal on the section over which William Van Nortwick was superintendent” not to describe his previous job, but to convince Master Ford and Tibeats that he used to take part in repairing canal in the past as well as he had the experience of working as an engineer.
Moreover, his suggestion for taking advantage of the creek to transport wood is reasonable and more economical. Therefore, Solomon is supposed to use a declarative sentence to perform a different function, namely convincing masters to change their minds.
(4.15) Setting: Master Epps‟s plantation/ slave shack - night - Patsey: I'm begging you.
- Solomon Northup: Why? Why would you consign me to damnation with such an ungodly request?
- Patsey: There is God here! God is merciful and he forgives merciful acts.
Won't be no hell for you. Do it. Do what I ain't got the strength to do myself.
The conversation between Solomon Northup and Patsey occurs after she is despised and beaten by Epp‟s wife. Because of losing her spark, she asks her sincere friend to end her life. Unfortunately, he refuses immediately without hesitating. Therefore, she convinces him that “It’s not bad behaviour, the god will forgive you killing me” through a declarative sentence “God is merciful, and he forgives merciful acts. Won't be no hell for you”.
4.3.3. To defend
Regarding utterances uttered by Solomon Northup, To defend is ranked the same position as to convince. It makes up 9.30% (8 utterances) in the total of 86 utterances. It is unavoidable that Solomon Northup frequently defends his point of view against the alcoholic plantation owner when attempting to
regain his freedom. On the other hand, only 1 utterance (3.33%) is spoken by other slaves. Let‟s consider the following example.
(4.16) Setting: Master Epp‟s plantation/ slave shack - Solomon: There's no truth to it –
- Mr. Epps: You say.
- Solomon: How could I write a letter without ink or paper? Who am I gonna write to? I got no friends living as I know of. That Armsby. That Armsby is a lying, drunken fellow.
From the example (4.16), it is possibly interpreted that the utterance “ Who am I gonna write to?” is an interrogative sentence, but it is utilized to defend Northup‟s opinion against Mr. Epps s‟ one. In detail, being threatened by a malevolent plantation owner, Northup utters an interrogative sentence “Who am I gonna write to?” not to expect an informative answer from the master. He intends to defend against Mr. Epp‟s statement that he is going to run away from the plantation. In other words, the function of this interrogative sentence is to defend.
(4.17) Setting: Master Epp‟s planation – Day - Mr. Epps: Ah! You admit it.
- Patsey: Yes, freely. And you know why? I got this from Mistress Shaw.
Mistress Epps won't even grant me no soap to clean with. I stink so much, I make myself gag! 500 pounds of cotton. Day in, day out! More than any man here. And for that, I will be clean. That's all I ask. This, here, what I went to Shaw's for
As we can see from the example, when faced with Mr. Epps‟s accusation that she plans to run away from his plantation, she tries her best to defend her innocence. She does not run away and just goes to Mr. Shaw‟s plantation for asking a bar of soap because she wants to be much cleaner, but Mr. Epps has
doubts about her faith. To protect herself from a brutal beating, she defends her innocence indirectly and politely through declaratives “I got this from Mistress Shaw. Mistress Epps won't even grant me no soap to clean with. I stink so much, I make myself gag! 500 pounds of cotton. Day in, day out!
More than any man here. And for that, I will be clean. That's all I ask.”
Clearly, she does not mean to tell Mr. Epps her routines. Instead, she wants to protect her against her master‟s assumption.
4.3.4. To order/ Command/ Request
To order is to ask for something. Moreover, due to his low status in society, Solomon Northup doesn‟t always make a request. Therefore, this function accounts for 6.98% (6 utterances) in the total of utterances realized.
In contrast, there are 2 cases uttered by other slaves (equivalent to 6.67%).
This function is clearly demonstrated with example (4.18), where Solomon Northup asks Armsby to send a letter at a post office.
(4.18) Setting: Epps‟s plantation / Armsby‟s shack - Solomon: First, your word, sir.
- Armsby: On my honor.
- Solomon: It's a simple enough request. I only ask that you deposit a letter at the post office in Marksville, and you keep the action an inviolable secret forever. A patron is what I require, sir.
In example (4.18), to ask for help from Armsby, Solomon Northup employs the declarative sentence “you keep the action an inviolable secret forever” to make a polite request. Particularly, he intends to ask Amrsby to keep a secret if he can‟t accomplish the task. It is not acceptable to use imperative structure to make a command directly in this situation. Thus, to ask Amrsby to send the letter, Solomon Northup avoids the direct request and
chooses to use declarative sentences to indirectly express his desire.
(4.19) Setting: Master‟s Epps‟s plantation/ Slave shack - Night - Patsey: Platt. Platt, you awake?
- Solomon Northup: I am.
- Patsey: I have a request. An act of kindness. I secreted it from the mistress.
Regarding the example above, it is obvious that Patsey is in a miserable circumstance that she is physically and emotionally abused. She often keeps her head down and cannot suffer from the envy of Epp‟s wife, so she asks Northup to lighten her burden by inhuman action, hanging her secretly. As a result, she uses the declarative sentence “I have a request. An act of kindness”
not to make a statement but to order.
4.3.5. To warn
To warn is another function of indirect speech acts realized in “12 years a slave”. It accounts for 5.81% (5 utterances) of the total number of indirect speech acts uttered by Solomon Northup. However, in terms of utterances uttered by other slaves, there is no case performing this function. In fact, it is analyzed that Solomon Northup employs this kind to help other slaves realize the possible dangers of being lashed anytime by cruel slavers. It is demonstrated clearly by example (4.20)
(4.20) Setting: Shaw‟s house
- Solomon Northup: Patsey, Master wishes you to return.
- Patsey: The Sabbath day, I is free to roam
- Solomon Northup: Master sent me running to fetch you, said no time should be wasted.
It is clearly seen from example (4.20) that Solomon expresses his warning
about the upcoming punishments of the master Epps towards Patsey. In detail, the slaves in Mr. Epps‟s plantation are not allowed to go out on the Sabbath day. Solomon Northup tries to persuade her to return home as soon as possible, but she does continue to chat with Mrs. Shaw. Therefore, Solomon Northup utters a declarative sentence “Master sent me running to fetch you, said no time should be wasted” not to make a statement, but to warn Patsey that “You will be punished if you don’t return home sooner”. Thus, it can be concluded that Solomon expresses his warning indirectly through a declarative structure to help Patsey avoid getting whipped by her master.
4.3.6. To protest
As Table 4.2 shows, to protest occupies 5.81% (5 utterances uttered by Northup) and 16.67% (5 utterances uttered by other slaves). It is essentially noticed that the enslaved men sometimes can‟t face the white man‟s whip and awful torments, so they attempt to struggle as well as to protest against vindictive masters with the hope to escape from these monstrous experiences. That is the reason why to protest is used to express Northup‟s will and other slaves‟ desires.
The use of this function is illustrated with examples (4.21) and (4.22) (4.21) Setting: Ford plantation
- Mr. Ford: Platt. Poor Platt. I believe Tibeats is skulking about the premises somewhere. He wants you dead, and he will have it so. It's no longer safe for you here. And I don't believe you will remain passive if Tibeats attacks. I have transferred my debt to Edwin Epps. He will take charge...
- Solomon: Master Ford. You must know that I'm not a slave.
To protest is used to express strong disapproval and disagreement with somebody on something, and Solomon sometimes has to show his opposition to the accusation of masters. In example (4.21), Solomon Northup and Mr. ford, the
first master, are arguing about the true identity of Northup. Although Mr. Ford treats Northup like a family, he cannot assist his truthful slave with regaining freedom. This master is also forced to transfer Northup to another malevolent master. For this reason, Northup is extremely anxious to express his opposition through a declarative sentence “You must know that I’m not a slave.” He does intend to use the declarative sentence to protest against Mr. Ford‟s opinion that “ I am a free man and you can’t sell me for another master”.
(4.22) Setting: Gadsby hotel/ Solomon‟s room - Solomon Northup: Master Ford is a decent man.
- Eliza: He is a slaver!
- Solomon Northup: Under the circumstances
According to the example above, Eliza seems to have a heated argument with Solomon Northup about master Ford. Eliza supposes that Northup obeys his master entirely and accepts to become a faithful slave, so she expresses strong opposition to Mr. Ford through the declarative sentence “He is a slaver”. Indeed, the declarative sentence is used to protest against Solomon‟s view about the kindness of Mr. Ford, not to make a statement.
4.3.7. To insist
As shown in Table 4.2, to insist is ranked at the same position as the function, to promise and to apologize. There are 4 utterances said by Solomon Northup (equivalent to 4.65%) and only 1 utterance uttered by other slaves (equivalent to 3.33%) performing this function. Solomon is believed to say firmly when other people suppose that he is a runaway slave from Georgia.
Thus, it is unavoidable to insist on his true identity during the journey to an eventual escape from slavery. Example (4.23) is a good representative of this kind.
(4.23) Setting: Burch‟s Dungeon - Morning - Burch: You're not any free man.
- Solomon: And I promise you. I promise you upon my liberation. I will have satisfaction for this wrong.
The context in example (4.23) is Northup‟s conversation with Burch, the guard of prison. Solomon Northup is confined to a lightless room, and his hands, as well as his legs, are cuffed. Additionally, Burch claims that Solomon Northup is not a free man and a runaway nigger from Georgia.
Facing injustice and the risk of being sold as a slave, he tries to insist on his freedom by uttering a declarative sentence “I promise you upon my liberation”. Indeed, although it is challenging to change the guard‟s viewpoint, Solomon Northup doesn‟t give up any chances and always insists that “I am a free man”. In this situation, Solomon Northup is supposed to use the declarative structure to insist on his freedom and identity.
(4.24) Setting: Master Epps‟s plantation - Day
- Patsey: And you, blind with your own covetousness! I don't lie, Master. If you kill me, I'll stick to that.
- Mr. Epps: I'll fetch you down. I'll learn you to go to Shaw's. Treach. Run and fetch some lines. Strip her. Strike her bare and lash her to the post.
According to the example above, when the inhumane master has doubts about what Eliza says, she just says firmly with the hope of changing her master‟s view. Consequently, she still insists that she does not tell lies. Her intention is conveyed through the declarative sentence “I don't lie, Master. If you kill me, I'll stick to that.”
4.3.8. To promise
The realization of this function, to promise, is shown in Table 4.2. It makes
up 4.65% (4 utterances uttered by Solomon Northup) and 3.33% (1 utterance said by other slaves). Making promises accounts for the small proportion because being considered property, working in poor condition, and being whipped anytime make slaves defend or convince rather than promise.
However, the hope for escaping from slavery urges them to promise themselves a bright future. Example (4.25) and (4.26) are just some exceptional cases of this function.
(4.25) Setting: Epp‟s plantation/ Armsby‟s shack
- Armsby: I'll do it. And I'll accept whatever payment's offered. To assist you, I put my own self at risk. I will do so fair compensation is all I ask. Draw up your letter. We'll meet again in two days?
- Solomon: In two days. Thank you.
In example (4.25), Solomon Northup asks Armsby to send a letter at a post office in Marksville, and Armsby agrees to help him. Especially when he utters “In two days, he intends to promise Armsby that “ I will give the letter to you in two days later.” Therefore, Solomon Northup is supposed to conduct a function of indirect speech act, to make a promise.
(4.26) Setting: Master Epps‟s plantation/ Field - Day - Patsey: Platt!
- Mr. Epps: Get my horse, Treach. Get away from him, Pats.
- Patsey: I'm gonna be seeing you real soon.
As we can see from the example above, when Eliza is going to say goodbye to her close companion, she is sad and promises to meet Solomon Northup sooner through the declarative sentence “I'm gonna be seeing you real soon”. That is the reason why she is said to use the declarative structure to perform another function.
4.3.9. To apologize
Another function of indirect speech acts is to apologize, which occupies 4.65% (4 utterances from Northup), and this function is not found in conversations of other slaves. This function plays an essential role in acknowledging failings or faults that cause unhappiness for someone. The reason that leads to the small number of this function is that Solomon Northup doesn‟t have many chances to apologize to his master. The use of this function is demonstrated in the following example.
(4.27) Setting: Shaw‟s house
- Solomon: Master Epps has somehow come to believe that Master Shaw is something of a lothario. A misguided belief, no doubt.
- Mrs. Shaw: No doubt... if not born out of truth itself.
- Solomon: I meant no disrespect.
In this context, Solomon Northup and Mrs. Shaw talk about master Epps.
When Solomon accidentally talks bad things behind Mistress Shaw‟s husband, he just realizes that he shouldn‟t have talked about Mr. Shaw like that. Therefore, he utters a declarative sentence “I meant no disrespect” to express his apology that “I am sorry for my intrusion and an unrespectable comment.” That is to say, thanks to this declarative structure, Solomon Northup makes an apology for his mistakes.
4.3.10. To deny
To deny is another function of indirect speech acts. There are 4 utterances said by Northup (equivalent to 4.65%) and 2 utterances said by other slaves (equivalent to 6.67%). This function just makes up a small percentage because denying is often used when plantation owner is compassionate and is not easily angry with the denial of slaves. As a result, slaves don‟t have