The Fires of Jubilee, by Stephen B. Oates, tells an account of Nat Turner’s rebellion. Beginning with Nat’s early life and finally ending with the legacy his execution left the world, Oates paints a historical rending of those fateful days. The Confessions of Nat Turner by Thomas R. Gray and approved by Nat himself is among Oates’ chief sources. Oates is known as a reputable historian through his other works, and has strong credentials however, in the case of The Fires of Jubilee there are some limitations. It is, therefore, worth analyzing Oates’ interpretation for reliability. In doing so one sees that The Fires of Jubilee, because of its weak use of citations, failure to alert the audience of assumed details and the way in which Oates handles the chief source Confessions, quickly begins to shift from a decently steadfast description to an untrustworthy and unreliable account.
Dismissing Oates’ work as a failure is to disregard his strengths. Oates does something here that many struggle to do. He writes, “I wanted to transport readers back to Nat’s time so that they might suffer with him.” Oates crafts Southampton in the minds of his readers; he accomplishes his goal through engaging and descriptive writing. Oates also consults important sources, ranging from The Richmond Enquirer to the Confessions of Nat Turner, to produce this other world. These references are useful as they serve as primary sources. He follows the basic premise of citation rules and in the end creates a complete narrative of Nat’s life and struggle. These successes are significant as they shed light on why this text is a well-known interpretation and an enjoyable read. However, as a historical account, the book is weak in many more ways than...
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...nt of his main and most essential source, The Confessions, The Fires of Jubilee proves an unreliable piece of history. Oates still, is a commendable historian, however, this text is an example of a respectable historian’s weaknesses. Perhaps no one will ever really know what Nat’s childhood felt or looked like. Perhaps the reason behind the rebellion will always be questionable. Yet it is worth the fight to find out the true story. Not a historical survey Oates attempt at reconciling the past and the present will remain a testament to the goal of all historians: to search for truth in the past to teach and enrich the coming future.
Works Cited
Greenberg, Kenneth S. ed., The Confessions of Nat Turner and Related Documents. New York: Bedford Books, 1996.
Oates, Stephen. The Fires of Jubilee: Nat’s Fierce Rebellion. New York: Harper Perennial, 1975.
After careful consideration, I have decided to use the books dedicated to David Walker’s Appeal and The Confessions of Nat Turner and compare their similarities and differences. It is interesting to see how writings which has the same purpose of liberating enslaved Black people can be interpreted so differently, especially in the matter of who was reading them. Akin to how White people reacted to Turner’s Rebellion, which actually had promising results while most would see the immediate backlashes and to which I intend to explain more. As most would put emphasis on the Confession itself, I assume, I decided to focus more on the reactions and related documents regarding the Rebellion.
This is a report on the book Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion, written by Stephen B. Oates. The story is about a slave revolt that happened in 1831 and the person who led it, Nat Turner. It tells of his life, the area and time in which he lived, and of the bloody revolt as well as the bloodier repercussions after it was suppressed.
As a result of Cry Liberty and the daring rebellion from so many brave slaves this book paints a visual art in the minds of those who pick this book up. Not only does Hoffer bring us back to the year 1739, he brought me back in time and I felt as if I was one of the slaves marching down Pon Pon street in hopes to make it to Spanish Florida to be set free. I enjoyed the historical adventure and the significant events that lead to what we know now as The Great Stono River Slave Rebellion.
David Robertson’s Denmark Vesey is sub-titled ‘The Buried History of America’s Largest Slave Rebellion and the Man Who Led It.’ This title is extremely appropriate because of the lack of available information regarding the Denmark Vesey rebellion. No one knows the details of the former-slave’s life such as his background, birthplace [“It is not confirmable whether Vesey was born in Africa or the West Indies.”], place of execution, or physical appearance. Charlestonian officials considered all facts and records of the plans of the revolt to be too dangerous to keep, with the fear of another slave being negatively influenced by them. Nearly all copies of the record of the event, an official report of his trial, and other information were confiscated and burned. The Denmark Vesey revolt is nearly forgotten because of this. Considering the resources that were available to Robertson, Denmark Vesey was well researched, and factual, without his own opinion showing through too much. For these thoughts he added in his own chapter “A Personal Conclusion.”...
The book fires of jubilee is a book by Stephen B. Oates about a man who the name Nat Turner who experienced quite enough freedom when he was a kid and learned valuing it very much. He use...
Narrator: One month after the rebellion. Nat Turner has been on the run ever sense.
The point that I am trying to prove with my historical investigation is: How did Nat Turner’s rebellion lead to the commencement of the Civil War in the United States thirty years after the insurrection took place. In order to answer this, one must comprehend why the Southampton Insurrection occurred, the influence it left on people and the history of the United States, and the reasons as to why the Civil War was fought. After extensive research, two of my most valuable sources I used were Scot French’s historical book The Rebellious Slave Nat Turner in American Memory and the Rebecca Vaughan House’s project on Nat Turner/1831 Southampton Insurrection Trial & restoration of the Rebecca Vaughan House, located on the Museum of Southampton History.
In this final research analysis, I will be doing a comparison between the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass” and the “Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” to show how both Douglass and Rowlandson use a great deal of person strength and faith in God to endure their life and ultimately gain their freedom.
Nat Turner’s rebellion created an atmosphere of fear and paranoia among many Whites and as a result needs recognition as a contributing factor to the outbreak of the Snow Riot in D.C. Although Nat Turner’s revolt happened in 1831, four years on the it’s influence and the atmosphere of paranoia created it by it were still very much present in American and more specifically D.C. This becomes clear when considering the facts of the revolt which began on August 22, 1831, when Nat Turner and some fellow slaves snuck into their master's house and killed him and his family before moving from plantation to plantation doing the same to other White families. While the revolt was put down and the seventy slaves with Turner were either arrested or killed and Turner himself was hung two months after the fact, their revolt caused many White communities to feel great fear and paranoia.
This book was the study of war and how people wrote about it. But also the book makes it apparently clear that this was the start of a new American identity. Throughout the writings, stories, and all of the religious battles that were fought one true thing remained the colonist’s Englishness was gone. This was not New England any more this was something new. This was a “New” New England.
John Demos’s “the Unredeemed Captive” is a story about a man named John Williams, and his five children who were captured by Indians during a war in 1704. John Williams and his children are eventually released, but much to his disappointment, his youngest daughter Eunice remained with her captors, and married an Indian man. This story has a captivating storyline, and makes for a very compelling narrative. In this paper I will attempt to make a critical analysis of John Demos’s work. The major areas I am looking at are the evolution or the piece, from beginning to end, what the major sections of the book are and how they flow together, and how this work is and isn’t a conventional narrative.
Analysis of “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”: Written by Aaron Wright and Nichole Smith
The issue of Slavery in the South was an unresolved issue in the United States during the seventeenth and eighteenth century. During these years, the south kept having slavery, even though most states had slavery abolished. Due to the fact that slaves were treated as inferior, they did not have the same rights and their chances of becoming an educated person were almost impossible. However, some information about slavery, from the slaves’ point of view, has been saved. In this essay, we are comparing two different books that show us what being a slave actually was. This will be seen with the help of two different characters: Linda Brent in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Frederick Douglass in The Narrative of the life of Frederick
Clements, Victoria. Introduction. A New-England Tale. By Catharine Maria Sedgwick. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
Terry, Joseph, ed. The Longman Anthology of British Literature Volume 1C The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century. New York: Longman, 2010.