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Nat Turner

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Nat Turner was a very intelligent man based upon his confession. He claimed to have been born with a special ability given to him by the Lord to know of events from before his birth. He also believed that he was being used by the Lord for a greater purpose in his life. When he could have escaped, he felt compelled by the Spirit to return to his master and continue his work there. Upon reading the first couple of pages in his confession, Nat Turner seemed like a very respectful and innocent man. What was surprising was the lack of remorse or fear in his confession about the things he had witnessed and participated in. It felt as though he was telling a made up horror story of men, women and children getting brutally murdered in their sleep. His report of killing his master and the family is told very nonchalantly but with great detail. In the beginning of the confession when he was explaining the meeting he had to come up with the plan, he had claimed that he had no real complaint against how his master treated him. He also said his master was kind and placed great trust (confidence) in him. Despite his seemingly positive feelings towards his master, he still plotted and carried out the murder of him and his entire family. Nat gave his master a blow to the head that was not strong enough to kill so Will killed him after he woke up from the violent blow. The master’s wife was then killed in the same bed. It was disturbing reading how they had forgotten the infant that was sleeping in a cradle and went back to the house to slaughter him. As Nat Turner continued on his blood trail he continued to gain other followers. It was like a snowball effect the farther along he went. It amazed me how so many of his people were killed or captured yet Nat always seemed to escape. Even in his doomed state, his confession lacked any indication of fear. That surprises me since he seemed to believe that the Spirit was leading him for a greater purpose in life. I wonder if he felt his death was his reward (in bringing him to Heaven) or if he felt he had failed to carry out the Spirit’s plan. Nat Turner was a brave and intelligent man who wanted to do right by his people. Whether or not people agree on his actions being justified, it can be agreed that he was courageous in his efforts.

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