The Confessions of Nat Turner: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Confessions of Nat Turner: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the complex figures that populate the narrative surrounding Nat Turner, a black slave and preacher who led a significant rebellion against the institution of slavery in 1831. Central to the story is Nat Turner himself, a deeply educated and introspective figure whose experiences of both benevolence and brutality shape his worldview and drive him to rebellion. The narrative explores his relationships with various characters, including T. R. Gray, Nat’s condescending lawyer, and Samuel Turner, his initial owner, who demonstrates a more humane approach to slavery but ultimately fails to secure Nat's freedom.
Other important figures include Lou Ann, Nat's supportive mother, and Mr. Trezevant, the prosecutor, who represents the oppressive legal system. Characters like Hark and Nelson form Nat’s inner circle, actively participating in the rebellion, while figures like Margaret Whitehead embody the tragic disconnect between black and white experiences. The document sheds light on the tensions and relationships within a system of oppression, highlighting the psychological and moral dilemmas faced by those involved. This analysis invites readers to reflect on the intricacies of power, identity, and rebellion within the historical context of slavery in America.
The Confessions of Nat Turner: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: William Styron
First published: 1967
Genre: Novel
Locale: Southeastern Virginia
Plot: Psychological realism
Time: The early 1800's to November, 1831
Nat Turner, the narrator and protagonist, a black slave and preacher who is slightly more than thirty years old at the time of narration. Born a slave to the somewhat socially enlightened Turner family, the precocious Nat is educated by the Turners after they discover his attempt to read a book that he stole from the family's library. This and other acts of benevolence during his youth raise Nat's expectations without altering his prospects, thus creating a bind from which Nat never escapes. After his dreams of the freedom promised him by the Turners fail to materialize, Nat endures a series of degrading hardships at the hands of the various white people to whom he is sold. These experiences bond Nat with his own race, although he consistently expresses contempt for their subservient actions and mannerisms. The educated slave becomes a pariah, a lonely man belonging neither to the blacks nor to the whites. Bolstered by the early assurances of his mother and by a later mystic vision that he has been preordained to accomplish great things, Nat becomes a preacher, a comforter of those—black and white—who suffer the oppression of the closed Southern society. His observations of and personal experiences with the slave system lead him to understand the depth of the blacks' hatred of the whites. Nat also intuits that despite white people's power over black people, fear of the slaves pervades even the strongest bastions of the white community. This understanding of the dynamics of the society in which he lives, coupled with his mystic vision of his role in life, leads Nat to form an elaborate plan of “annihilation and escape” designed to free blacks from white domination. This plot results in a slave rebellion that ends in the deaths of fifty-five whites and approximately two hundred blacks. The insurrection fails because Nat's “soldiers” are more intent on avenging themselves against the whites than on escaping their subservience. Nat evades the Virginia authorities for nearly two months but eventually is captured, tried, and hanged for his crimes. Nat's confession reveals a highly complex character who attempts to live in both the black and white worlds and who undergoes a radical transformation from educated preacher to slave champion to murderer as a result of the irresolvable tension between those worlds.
T. R. Gray, the court-appointed lawyer who records Nat's confession. In attempting to understand Nat's motives, Gray asks the central question of the novel: How could the slave have been so cruel to those who were as kind to him as the system allowed? The attorney treats Nat in a condescending manner, especially when explaining the court system and expressing his opinion that Nat's fellow insurrectionists have made him the scapegoat for their own crimes. Nevertheless, Gray does demonstrate concern for Nat, bringing him a Bible, having his chains loosened, and requesting warm clothing for the prisoner. In admitting to Nat that his trial is a sham, Gray interprets society's final insult for Nat, that is, that other rebel slaves have been tried and released solely to protect rights of property. Gray thus becomes the chief spokesman for the society that confounds Nat Turner.
Mr. Trezevant, the commonwealth's attorney who prosecutes Nat.
Judge Jeremiah Cobb, the man who passes the death sentence on Nat yet demonstrates an understanding of the cruelty of slavery. Nat had come to respect the judge during their conversation before Nat's rebellion.
Lou Ann, Nat's mother, a slave in the Turner household who was reared in the Turner home and who in turn rears her son there. In her position as family cook, she enjoys a favored status accorded by both whites and blacks. She is convinced that her son is intended for greatness and encourages him in this notion. She dies when Nat is fifteen years old.
McBride, Turner's cruel overseer, who rapes Lou Ann while young Nat watches.
Samuel Turner, the slave owner who rears Nat. A truly benevolent man, Turner plans to have Nat educated and freed once he is assured that the precocious slave could make his own way in the world. Turner is deeply troubled by the effects of slavery, such as the separation of families and the cruelty inflicted on adults and children alike. Financial troubles, however, prohibit Turner from carrying out his grand scheme of liberation for Nat. He entrusts his plans for Nat to others who fail to adhere to them. In this respect, he proves to be a very poor judge of character.
Nell Turner, Samuel's wife. Mrs. Turner is impressed with Nat's intellect and teaches him to read, treating him almost as a pet in her home.
Louisa Turner, the daughter of Samuel and Nell. Louisa befriends Nat and assists with his education.
The Reverend Eppes, a Baptist preacher, Nat's second owner, who promises Samuel Turner that he will arrange for Nat's continued education and eventual emancipation. In reality, Eppes uses Nat as his sexual pawn and contributes much to Nat's growing hatred of whites.
Tom Moore, Nat's third master, who buys the young slave from Eppes.
Sara Moore, the wife of Tom and, after his death, the wife of Joseph Travis. Sara is kind to Nat, and although he is fond of her, she is the first victim of the rebellion.
Joseph Travis, Nat's last owner. The Travis family is destroyedinNat'sinsurrection.
Willis, a slave of the Turner family and an early friend of Nat. The two boys experience together many of adolescence's rites of passage. Turner's selling of Willis and Nat's unwitting complicity in the business deal fuel Nat's steadily increasing disillusionment with white people.
Hark, born Hercules, a later friend of Nat who participates in the rebellion. Hark's harsh treatment by the Travis family and their overseer poignantly establishes the cruelty of slavery.
Nelson, Henry, and Sam, slaves who with Hark form the inner circle of Nat's strike force in planning and executing the rebellion.
Isan, a rebellious slave whose anger and rage, along with the effects these emotions have on Tom Moore, plant the idea of an uprising in Nat's mind.
Ethelred T. Brantley, a fifty-year-old white former plantation overseer in trouble with the law. Brantley hears Nat preach and, because he has been rejected by the white Christian community, turns to the black preacher for salvation. Nat baptizes himself and Brantley in front of his own followers and a crowd of forty to fifty whites who pelt the two with rocks. This episode further solidifies plans for rebellion against white oppression.
Margaret Whitehead, a young white girl who befriends Nat. Margaret, with her fine education and profound unawareness of the true plight of Nat and his people, epitomizes the gap between blacks and whites. She is the one person who could have kept Nat from fulfilling his “mission.” He kills her when the rebellion breaks out as a means of maintaining his leadership of the rebel slaves. Margaret regards Nat as asexual, but his feelings for her are clearly human and physical. She, more than any other character, represents promised but unfulfilled dreams.