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Lesson 1 (from Introduction)

Objective

The introduction is written from Gray's viewpoint. This is the only item we have, verbatim, from the man who interviewed Nat Turner. It's introduced at the very beginning of the book, coloring everything that comes after. Viewpoints are very important in the book, as the same thing, like slavery, can be interpreted different ways by different characters. The objective of this lesson is to learn about various viewpoints and how they can change our perception of events and things.

Lesson

1. For class discussion: Can you tell what Gray really thinks about Nat Turner from the Introduction? If so, how? What clues do you have? Does Mr. Gray have conflicting opinions during the introduction, or do his views remain the same? Why do you think William Styron placed this letter at the very opening of the book, rather than somewhere within the book or at the end...

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