Nat Turner Hero's Journey Essay

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From the perspective of the hero’s journey, education and the gospel were Nat Turners call to adventure. It is inspiring that from a young age Nat Turner was given the opportunity of education. That should be admired because at the time it was perfectly legal for slaves to be able to read and write, but not all slaves were given the opportunity to get an education, because many slave owners would not allow it. Turner took the education he received and turned his attention to the word of God. The word of God would go onto play a significant role in Tuners life. This allowed for him to travel from plantation to plantation preaching the gospel to other slaves from nearby plantations. Leading to the second part of the hero’s journey help from …show more content…

Turner was always seen a leader and a beacon of hope to slaves who saw him. Maybe they believed that one day they could all have the knowledge Turner had, the education Turner had, and lastly the determination. And for the first time maybe Turner felt he let them down and he was ashamed. Maybe that was Nat Turner’s revelation, that he was wrong.
The hero’s journey for Nat Turner was left unfinished, because while in hiding he was discovered by a farmer. After he was found Turner made no hesitation in turning himself in. Following that he was arrested and taken to the town of Jerusalem, Virginia where he stood trail. After the trail Nat Turner was hanged on November 11, 1831.
Transformation is the fifth part in the hero’s journey. Turner never reached that step, and no one can really tell what he would have done and how he would have transformed after the rebellion because he was never given the option to. Not that he should have had the option. What Nat Turner did was unforgiveable. However, the transformation that took place after the rebellion left the slaves in heavier shackles then ever before. Slaves were now faced with a new law of not being allowed to read, making it harder for them to obtain any kind of education. Making it the transformation neither Turner or the slaves …show more content…

Nat Turner can never return to earth; however, his story lives on in classrooms, novels, and cinema. It is easy to analyze what the man did wrong and it is easy to see the things he did right. Which is what makes him such a controversial topic in US history. People can relate to somebody who is constantly trying to do right in the world and finding ways to live with the same rights and liberties as everybody else. The rebellion in Turner’s eyes was his answer, it may have not been the right answer but it made sense to him. Would Turner go on to regret his decision to follow through with the rebellion? Maybe, maybe not. But it is an explanation the world will never get, and it really doesn’t need it. This was a time when literally almost everyone was making mistakes, it felt right to them. They had reasons to do what they did. For slave owners it was a way of life, and it is all they knew, it doesn’t make it right. But it happened. And we live in a time now when past historical figures who once had a sparkling reputation are being torn down because they were slave owners, and to many people those historical figures are no longer viewed as heroes. And neither should Nat

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