Ethical Issues In Fires Of Jubilee

The ethical stance one has as an adult is more often than not the result of the cultural conditioning that one received as a child; however, as one grows to adulthood it is necessary for one to examine one’s ethics. A way that people can be made to re-examine their values is by reading thought provoking texts such as Steven B. Oats’ “Fires of Jubilee.”The book reviews the accounts of the life of Nate Turner, who lead a rebellion against the slave owners of South Hampton County Virginia. Fires of Jubilee strike one with the philosophical question of when if ever does one have the right to take another person’s life, while at the same time reemphasizes that it is man’s most essential nature to try and escape from any place or thing that would

Although religion may assist some in these way, an individual may find themselves blinded to reality if they are not cautious. As a young child, Nates family and owners were impressed with the youths ability to read at such an early age and amazed by his ability to recall events that happened before his birth. One can imagine that the high praise and admiration helped to form Nate's high expectations of his life. However, At twelve the reality of his bondage was made all to real when he was assigned to work in the field, a job that Nate felt was too common for someone as important as him. One can assume that the sudden knowledge that he would be a field worker for the rest of his life was traumatic to the self-exalted youth. One might even go so far as to say that until he was forced to work Nate was not acutely aware of his enslavement. To help cope with the devastation, Nate turned to God for answers and found solace in his prayers fasting, and religious education. Nate discovered, the path for the restoration of his position of grandeur in the slave community's church, and quickly become the most influential black preacher in the area. Nate was further traumatized when after the death of his master Nate was sold to a different plantation than his wife and children. One can only imagine the torment Nate felt, the husband and father

To adequately address such questions of ethics One must attempt to understand the dehumanizing nature of slavery and analyze the actual value, One places on human life. Although One may be able to speculate on the severity of the trauma that Nate, and inevitably all slaves went through during their lives in bondage, due to the historical records such as " Fires of Jubilee." It is hard to comprehend the pain of knowing One is the possession of another, to be bought and sold like cattle. If one concluded that slavery was not sufficient reason to commit murder, then in what case would it be? What about the opportunity to change the world for the better? Would those same innocent children not grow to become slave owners one day and would the women not produce more future slave owners if left to live? What cost would one be willing to pay to attempt a chance to end not only one's bondage but the lives of future generations from the same fate? Could any person claim the life of a child for the crimes they may or may not commit as adults? The American Revolution was the voice of the common people denying the ruling classes their ability to mandate how they people would live. Was Nate's cause any different from that of the Founding