The Confessions of Nat Turner

The Confessions of Nat Turner, by William Styron, is a work of historical fiction that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1967. The first-person account of the 1831 Virginia slave revolt begins and ends in the prison where Nat Turner, an African American slave, was held before, during, and following his trial. Turner awaits execution as the leader of the two-day slave rebellion that started in Southampton County and ended with the death of approximately 55 whites—men, women, and children. Styron constructed the novel from the “testimony” recounted to the public by lawyer Thomas Gray, who is a character included within the novel. Jumping in and out of Turner’s memory, the narrative focuses on and complicates Turner’s imagined religious, ideological, and relational conundrums across his life.

In his prison cell, Nat Turner witnesses the world moving outside: horses coming and going, a few black people going about daily tasks. He also hears noises, including a woman’s voice singing one dark night after his trial, “grieving, yet somehow unbending, steadfast, unafraid” (113). These scenes establish Nat’s deep connection to nature, but they also show his deep connection to other black people, however limited by walls and differences.