The Fires of Jubilee; Nat Turner’s Fierce Rebellion by Stephen B. Oates. This book is a US History narrative that focuses on a man named Nat Turner, a gifted black slave who convinced servants into a revolt against their masters. Oates describes these events through Nat Turner’s perspective while also recording his life and struggles. The book is an attempt to make Turner’s and his followers’ actions justifiable and explain that it led to what was probably the bloodiest slave revolt in American History [The Fires of Jubilee page ix]. According to Oates, Turner’s rebellion was the first step of many in the movement to free the United States. Oates book depicts the unjust treatment Serfs had to undergo, their struggle for freedom as well as the events occurring about fifty years prior to the civil war. …show more content…
He tells the narrative according to the information he receives. He also prefers to write down the story and leaves the judgment to the reader. The text is autobiographical however, it allows the reader to have a clearer understanding since it is the result of the combination of many sources of information. Oates book is very similar to Kenneth S. Greenberg’s Nat Turner: A Slave Rebellion in History and Memory. Greenberg’s book is the story of Turner’s life and his role in the slave uprising. Greenberg tries to develop a connection between the events of Southampton County and America today just as Oates does in The Fires of Jubilee. Greenburg says, “Nat Turner and the revolt he initiated have become an important part of American historical memory” [Nat Turner A Slave Rebellion… page xi]. He tries to draw a line between current views on racism and Nat Turner’s violent revolt in