Book Review Written September 30, 2019
The Confessions of Nat Turner, By William Styron
Kindle Edition (434 Pages)
This historical fiction novel, by William Styron, reimagines the life of Nat Turner, an enslaved African American mystical preacher who led a slave revolt in Virginia.The Nat Turner's Rebellion of 1831 (also known as the Southampton Insurrection) is the only sustained slave insurrection recorded in the history of the United States. Beginning on Sunday evening, August 21,1831, Nat Turner and a small group of his rebel slaves followers first murdered Turner's master and his family members, in Southampton County, Virginia. They than preceded to neighboring farms and plantations killing all white men, women, and children they encountered, while gathering weapons and additional followers. The rebels killed an estimated 55 people, at least 51 of who were white, before the rebellion was suppressed less than two day latter. During the suppression at the Belmont Plantation, on the morning of August 23, 1831, Turner escaped capture and hid in the woods. In the aftermath of the short battle at Belmont Plantation, the state tried the slaves accused of being part of Turner's rebellion in a special court: 18 were executed (hanged), 14 were transported to various plantations in the lower South, and a few were acquitted. Turner continued to evade pursuers until October 30, when he was discovered by farmer Benjamin Phipps while hiding in a hole covered with fence rails. Awaiting trial, Turner is alleged to have confessed his knowledge of the rebellion to attorney Thomas Ruffin Gray, who compiled what he claimed was Turner's confession. Turner was tried on November 5, 1831 for "conspiring to rebel and making insurrection", convicted, and sentenced to death. On November 11, Turner was hanged in Jerusalem, Virginia. His body was flayed and beheaded as an example to frighten other would-be rebels. Turner received no formal burial; his headless remains were reportedly buried in an unmarked grave.
“The Confessions of Nat Turner,” published in Richmond early 1832 by attorney Grey represents all that is known about Nat and his motivations and much of this is incorporated into Styron's narrative, along with factual history regarding the the attitudes, conditions, techniques and practices associated with the institution of slavery, as they existed in the South in the late 18th and early 19th Century. Styron imagines Nat from his childhood as a house slave on a large plantation, owned by an "enlightened" slaveholder, and follows Nat's life from his comparatively privileged (for a slave) beginnings, through his gradual awakening to his true existence as a slave, and finally to his development into a 31 year old, radicalized, messianic preacher and leader of a bloody insurrection. The end result a realistic portrayal of a intelligent, thinking, human being in revolt against a cruel, dehumanizing, and demeaning oppression. This book, in my opinion, stands as literature's most scathing and eloquent indictments of slavery in America. This is a historical novel, by definition a work of fiction, which allows the author a great amount of freedom in imagining characters innermost thoughts, motivations, and nature, while operating within the confines of historical facts. Accordingly, I believe the author is less concerned with historical detail, and much more interested in portraying the human costs for all involved in the institution of slavery and its impact on the minds, bodies, souls, and the entire social fabric. Using words and phrases like an artist painting a masterpiece, Styron's narrative is compelling and evocative, as it draws the reader into Nat's nightmarish life as a slave. While reading, I kept asking myself how would I have adjusted to the life of a slave (clearly a question the author hoped his readers might ask themselves). The narrative also presents compelling discussion regarding the reasons why people who can profess a belief in freedom and equality were able to rationalize enslaving another group of people who happened to have a different skin color. This is one of most thought provoking and elegantly written novels will ever read.
Note that there is a great deal of controversy surrounding this book. Winner of the 1967 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and quickly becoming a best seller, the novel was released during the height of the Civil Rights movement. It soon came under harsh criticism from African American leaders and intellectuals. They seemed to primarily question the ability of a white southerner author to address the character and motivations of an African American slave. As a white person myself, I cannot question or hope to satisfactorily answer their concerns. What I do know is that this novel presents Nat Turner as a human being, struggling against the oppression of a inhuman institution, in a manner I personally found extremely effective. Perhaps other readers can have the same experience.
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