2026 Reading Challenge
The Confessions of Nat Turner

Questions About The Confessions of Nat Turner

by Nat Turner

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What was the difference in Nats behavior and the whites who had slaves? Is it possible that the behaviors displayed were learned from seeing how whites were violently treating black slaves? Is one behavior more justified simply because the law said so?
DM Starting from the middle, I do not think that it was learned behaviour, but these behaviours would not have manifested without him witnessing and expe…moreStarting from the middle, I do not think that it was learned behaviour, but these behaviours would not have manifested without him witnessing and experiencing the brutal treatment of Africans and African Americans by white people. Swinging a hatchet is not something one has to learn per se.

What is the difference between Nat's behaviour and slave owners'? Positions of power. White people and slave owners were in a position of power over black people, and they acted violently because they were socialized to do so--it was considered normal or necessary to enforce cultural power. Nat's violence comes from the lower end of the power relationship, because no other form of action was effective for demonstrating one's rights. If a white man told a black man to do something, the black man would be culturally bound to do it at the risk of punishment. If a black man told a white man to do something, the white man is culturally bound /not/ to do it, and to punish. Words or any other persuasive technique were not effective for slaves to exert their rights, so violence was the only option to turn to. White people turned to violence because they could.

Is one behaviour more justified? Which behaviours are you asking about? Slave-owning versus killing someone who you are bound by? Or do you mean killing slaves versus killing the person who binds you? When you say "the law says so", do you mean the law that says murder is wrong or the law that says slave-owning is legal? My interpretation of this question is, "Is slave-owning and brutalizing more justified than murder simply because the law defends it?" I would answer no, slave-owning is not justified by anything ever, to the extremity that even something as ghastly as murder pales in front of it. However, I don't know if this is the question you were asking, because I can't tell whether these are simply discussion questions or hinting at a certain perspective.(less)
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