The Role Of Ignorance In Nat Turner, By Kyle Baker

To some minute extent ignorance can be a bliss, but it can also be a tyranny. The simple explanation for stupidity is not willing to learn or ask questions on what we do not understand. On the other hand, ignorance is much more detrimental and can be defined as not having a willingness to learn and educate ourselves on things that are crucial to humans. These crucial things can be as basic as writing and reading. We cannot always attribute ignorance to willingness, but also other external factors like society and time. As it is mentioned in the Nat turner graphic novel by Kyle Baker, slaves were not allowed to read or write any book whatsoever. In the preface of the book, Baker asks and answer a crucial question--- “If slaves were selected and bred for size and strength, slave masters must very quickly have found themselves by their bigger, stronger slave population. How does a weaker minority dominate a physically superior majority?” According to Baker the profound answer he gave was; “This is accomplished by destroying the slaves mind by the simple act of outlawing the teaching of slaves to read or write.” (p.7). …show more content…
at the time of slavery, oppression was the reason why the minds of the slaves was being manipulated. Even in this circumstances, we have seen Nat turner as a defiant and eager to read and learn. In addition, we can also see the case of Fredric Douglas. He was a slave who thought himself how to read and finally break out of slavery and become a statesman and abolitionist. However, in today’s society, what possible explanation can be given as to why black people are getting manipulated and demonized? This short essay will try to answer why black folks are racial disparaged by attributing it to the lack of education. Kyle Baker starts the story by showing the reader a small African town which later gets invaded by slave capturers. We then see as the picture depicts it, all the captured slave are put into a confined space lying down without proper sanitation in a rat infested ship. The writer communicates two main things through this picture. First, it is here in this rat infested confined space, where the manipulation of mind and degrading of the human dignity starts. As the fear intensifies among the slaves, one physiological phenomenon occurs---- sweat. This together with rats and bowl movements leads to foul odors; as a result, the slaves have a higher chances of acquiring a diseases. It is after this that the slaves will be demonized as they are treated below or like an animal and loss their dignity. The second point that can be inferred from this pictures is what was going on in the slaves mind. How does losing their dignity affect their behavior and mind? There is a misconception that respect and dignity are the same. However, there is a major difference. Respect is earned through ones action or behavior, on the other hand dignity is innate where everybody is born with and equate as having some kind of value just for being human being. By taking away this fundamental right, there would be nothing going on the slaves mind, but desolation. Nowadays, we do not have people who put others in a confined rat infested ship to degrade their dignity, but we have a more “civilized” way of demonizing black people. This “civilized” way of demeaning is ignorance which is spread among the black community. One of the main ways of spreading ignorance is through lack of education. In the picture depicted on the left, we see a slave woman who was trying to read/ see a picture from a book and the consequence that she faced for her action. This powerful image indicates that the slave masters did not want any slaves to read because they know for sure that if they do they will get educated, be smart and will find their way out. As a result the woman is beat to death. After this atrocity, not only does they spread a strong message to the slaves, no slave would even try to read any kind of book. Even though this was the rule, there was an exception to it--- Nat