Essay: “The Fires of Jubilee Nat Turner’s Fierce Rebellion” by Stephen B. Oates

In book, “The Fires of Jubilee Nat Turner’s Fierce Rebellion” by Stephen B. Oates’ telling of the slave rebellion that happened in Virginia during 1831. In the book, it recalls the events of Nat Turner, a talented and gifted black slave who single handedly assembled many indentured servants and slaves into a bloody rebellion against their own masters for their own freedom . Oates deeply analyzes the events that had led to the revolt in the South from the eyes of Turner. Oates also records the life and struggles of Turner, among other slaves, and their deep desire to be free. “The Fires of Jubilee” attempts to demonstrate how the impact of the rebellion in Virginia had increased tensions among slaves contributing to the civil war that occurred three decades later. The book is an attempt to justify the actions that Turner and his fellow slaves that led to what is possibly the bloodiest slave rebellion through all of American History. According to Oates, Turner’s rebellion was the beginning of the freeing of the slaves in the United States. The book highlights the oppression that slaves had to endure through and their struggle for freedom.
“The Fires of Jubilee” recalls the events that occurred nearly fifty years before the civil war. Oates’ says that Turner’s revolt was among the factors that fueled hatred between different races leading to the civil war. Throughout Turner’s life, the conditions that started the civil war and the freeing of the slaves had been building up for some time. The word “Fires” in the title of the book was meant to symbolize the thoughts of servants and slaves to rise up against their masters. Turner’s ideas formed the boundary for the journey to freedom for thousands upon thousands of slaves. The way that Turner executed his rebellion would most definitely be an ignition for the civil war to start. By using Turner as the main character, Oates creates a lot of empathy for the slaves from the hands of their dominating masters.
Being an historically accurate book, Oates’ aimed at changing people’s view toward slavery in the United States by presenting the story from a slave’s perspective. It is an analytical account of historical details that is acceptable for those wanting to dive much deeper into the aspects of slavery in the United States during the time period. “The Fires of Jubilee”captures essentially the difficulties slaves and servants do in their daily lives, their emotions and reactions that they experienced toward their masters. Given that the book is a narrative of a slave’s life, there could be a chance that there is a small bias towards the slaves and the servants in this case. Although Oates doesn’t directly say whether the slaves’ violent rebellion toward their masters was the right choice to make or not. Oates dislikes slavery, this aspect of the story is clear when he claims that servitude was a form of controlling races. Throughout the book, Oates aims at tarnish the slave masters credibility. He tries to draw empathy from the readers by making Turner the main character in the book to show his struggles of being a slave. Oates points out the oppression that Turner endures. The harsh treatment of the slaves from their masters and trying to prove it, the author suggests that it’s okay for the slaves to resolve their issue with a brutal solution because of the problems they faced. Higginson in his article “Nat Turner’s insurrection”, justifies this belief when he claims that Turner pleaded that he was not guilty to these charges (1).
Oates tries to stay away from giving his own views about slavery and events in the narrative. Oates tells the story only be the sources he receives. Oates wrote “Fires of Jubilee” only by the sources say it happened and lets the reader make the final verdict. “The Fires of Jubilee” is identical to Kenneth S. Greenberg’s, “Nat Turner: A Slave Rebellion in History and Memory”(2). Greenberg’s book is about Turner’s life and his main role in the slave uprising. Oates try to make the connection between the events of Southampton county to present-day America. Greenberg says, “Nat Turner and the revolt he initiated have become an important part of American historical memory”. Greenberg tries to establish a link between current views on racism and Nat Turner’s violent revolt in Virginia. Like Oates’ book, Greenberg’s book also attempts to take the readers through the struggles of Nat Turner and the events that lead to his decision to lead a rebellion against the slave masters.