Well, old Nat is a special slave. When he is first referred to as a slave, he becomes distraught. Nat believed himself to part of the Turner family. “You take a little slave like that one there-. And it was an instant before I realized he was speaking of me.” (Styron, pg. 163).

The slave community at Marse Samuel’s property was hierarchical in nature. After his lust for education and reading was discovered, the Turner family allowed him the advantage of rising a few rungs on the ladder by moving out of the fields and mills. Samuel Turner gives Nat the opportunity to apprentice in carpentr

One of the goals Nat Turner was striving for was freedom. However, free blacks in South Hampton seemed to be a little worse off than the slaves working for less than what it takes to survive. However, Nat’s mother always let him know he had a good thing and that he was better off with the Turner’s. “Druther be a low cornfield nigger or dead than a free nigger. Dey sets a nigger free and only thing dad po’sol gits to eat is what’s left over or de garbage after the skunks an’ dogs has et…” (Styron, pg. 194).

Overall, I found The Confessions of Nat Turner disturbing. I have never been very comfortable with the whole issue of slavery. The way slaves were treated, sold, and used turns my stomach. However, I feel that Nat Turner was just a rotten man, a slave sure, but ultimately a homicidal maniac. Styron’s representation of the actual events sounds believable. The book almost reads like non-fiction, though it is fiction. The only indisputable fact is that Nat Turner killed over sixty people. He premeditated, planned and carried out the execution and slaughter of many innocent people. I believe Nat Turner got what he deserved…hung. It seemed as though Nat was portrayed as a hero of his time, especially to the abolitionists. I think he was just a con man, thief and murderer.

In this review, I will cover the following points:

y and Nat does very well, thus increasing his value as a slave. As a result of his hard work and loyalty, Marse Samuel tells Nat he will grant him his freedom. He is to go and work for a reverend for a while, who will then release him from service. Well, this doesn’t work out and Nat is sold again. Nat now feels betrayed. “But you can’t do this. You and Marse Samuel had a written agreement.” (Styron, pg. 246). At this point, Nat hurt very badly. He realized that he would never be free. Freedom was like a “carrot on a stick”; it kept Nat going, but it would always remain just out of reach. As a result, I believe he begins to use religion as a cover. Ultimately, he conspires to initiate one of the worst blood baths in history. Nat claims to have had a vision or guidance by the Lord to commit his horrible deeds. I think he was just another killer given a motive and opportunity. If Marse Samuel had punished Nat for stealing the book, the rebellion might never have taken place.

Initially, Nat felt he was privileged. As a result of learning a trade, he was able to be a little higher on the hierarchical ladder at Marse Turner’s. “Thus my duties, compared to what I h

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