Fires of Jubilee

The Fires of Jubilee Summary

The Fires of Jubilee by Stephen B. Oates is a narrative regarding Nat Turner’s life in pre- Civil War America. He tells the story of his life as he leads a violent rebellion in slavery. Oates puts the reader in the perspective of Nat Turner, achieving in depicting a picture of what the time was like for the reader. His careful style of writing helps with understanding his actions. Nat Turner is of importance as he changes the course of history. America will now have to embrace the emancipation proclamation, resulting in stringent laws against slavery.
Nat Turner’s mother, Nancy, didn’t originate in America, instead she was taken to America in 1795. She gave birth to Nat Turner on October 2, 1800 in Southampton, Virginia. “Then in 1800- the year… Nat Turner was born.” (p.16) He was birthed into the plantation of Benjamin Turner. He took nat in and connected him to an education. He learned about religion and developed literacy skills. He observed as people of color were oppressed in his community. Many were murdered, tortured, and raped. Nat was separated from his peers at the age of 12. This completely changed him. He began having a strong perspective on life as he was forced to see things differently. He grew up to be a colored preacher and was extremely religious. Turner was said to have had visions of a better system. “Nat was a self-styled black preacher—a lot of farms and plantations in Virginia had men like him.” (p.37)
Turner made friends of color and noticed their style of life they’re forced to live. The free blacks were living in small areas on swamps and forests. He found out about how limited freedom was in retrospect to politics. Compared to the whites, they had no rights whatsoever. “ye valiant sticklers for equal rights among yourselves!” (p.135) Nat’s life changed when his father escaped slavery to become a free black. He knew he would never see his father again. His second wave of trauma came as his master died in...