12 years a slave

3. A building on a plantation that held a "cotton gin"—a machine used to separate cotton fibers from their seeds.
5. Slavery: A cruel system where human beings are legally treated as "chattel"—meaning actual property or objects (like a piece of furniture or cattle) that can be bought, sold, and owned forever.
8. Looking at something very carefully, paying attention to every single tiny detail (pronounced my-NOOT-lee).
9. Spoke quietly under your breath, usually in a grumpy or complaining way.
10. A raw material or product that is bought and sold in business (like gold, sugar, or corn).
11. A small piece, quote, or passage taken out of a larger book, poem, or song.
13. Said something very strongly and firmly, as if there is no doubt it is true.
14. Something that spreads through and affects an entire system, group, or country, rather than just one single person or place.
16. The process of treating human beings as if they are animals or objects, stripping away their rights, feelings, and dignity.
17. Talking a lot; extremely talkative.

1. Being completely worn out, exhausted, or deeply tired.
2. In this specific context, it means a person who buys, sells, and deals with horses.
4. A specific target, number, or amount of work that someone is required to finish.
6. Explains or expresses an idea very clearly and effectively.
7. To trade or swap goods and services directly without using any money.
8. Having to do with a mother, or showing the deep love and care of a mother.
12. A fancy word that means having to do with the methods and practice of teaching.
15. A sudden, powerful, and completely uncontrollable explosion of emotion, like crying frantically.