The Fires of Jubilee by Stephen B. Oates is a historical non-fiction novel that tells the heartbreaking story of a gifted slave, Nat Turner. Turner was the son of a runaway slave father and a pureblood African mother, Nancy Turner, who was brought to America in 1795. By the time Nat was four, people started to see that Nat was far more intelligent than the average slave. He could somehow recall things that happened before he was born, with no one having informed him of the event. He also had unusual markings on his back and his head. African legends noted that a male with the markings such as his would grow up to be a leader. In The Fires of Jubilee, Nat Turner was a slave and is fighting to be set free.
Elizabeth and Benjamin Turner were Nat’s original owners in Southampton County, Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Turner were Methodists. At the time of this book (early 1800’s) Methodism had spread well across America. Methodist preachers preached to the slave-owners that God did not approve of them owning other people, no matter their race. In the South however, Methodists publicized half measures like “Methodist converters could own slaves, but they couldn’t turn them in” but even gave that up. They compensated by attempting to prepare their slave’s souls for the kingdom of Heaven. Elizabeth and Nat turner taught their slaves pieces of passages from the Old Testament. In 1810 Benjamin Turner died, making Nat become Ben’s eldest son, Samuel, his new owner. Samuel was very tough on his slaves so this was a change for Nat. Sam was also extremely religious. He often would use religion as a way to scare his slaves …show more content…
Thousands of the people who lived near the farms where Nat and his men were killing deserted their farms because of the fear of Nat’s rebellion. The people were completely clueless as to what had happened. Some had theories that an apocalypse had happened, and others predicted that it was a British
Elizabeth and Benjamin Turner were Nat’s original owners in Southampton County, Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Turner were Methodists. At the time of this book (early 1800’s) Methodism had spread well across America. Methodist preachers preached to the slave-owners that God did not approve of them owning other people, no matter their race. In the South however, Methodists publicized half measures like “Methodist converters could own slaves, but they couldn’t turn them in” but even gave that up. They compensated by attempting to prepare their slave’s souls for the kingdom of Heaven. Elizabeth and Nat turner taught their slaves pieces of passages from the Old Testament. In 1810 Benjamin Turner died, making Nat become Ben’s eldest son, Samuel, his new owner. Samuel was very tough on his slaves so this was a change for Nat. Sam was also extremely religious. He often would use religion as a way to scare his slaves …show more content…
Thousands of the people who lived near the farms where Nat and his men were killing deserted their farms because of the fear of Nat’s rebellion. The people were completely clueless as to what had happened. Some had theories that an apocalypse had happened, and others predicted that it was a British