Magic as a Central Theme in Hurston's Moses, Man of the Mountain
This paper examines magic as a central theme in Zora Neale Hurston's novel Moses: Man of the Mountain, tracing how the supernatural power attributed to Moses functions within the context of African religious history and Judeo-Christian tradition. The paper explores how Hurston reframes biblical events — from Moses's miraculous survival as an infant to the parting of the Red Sea — as expressions of an internal magical force, shaped by figures such as Jethro and symbolized by Moses's rod. Drawing on scholarship about African belief systems and the global persistence of magical thinking, the analysis highlights Hurston's use of Southern vernacular and myth to parallel the Hebrew exodus with the African American experience.
- Introduction: Magic and History: Magic's universal role in human history and religion
- Magic in Africa: African magical belief systems and Judeo-Christian connections
- The Theme of Magic in Hurston's Narrative: Moses's supernatural protection from birth through exile
- Moses's Power and the Rod: The rod, serpent plague, and Moses as magical conduit
- Conclusion: Hurston's Moses as internally magical, allegorically resonant
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What makes this paper effective
- It grounds a literary analysis in a broader cultural and historical context, connecting Hurston's fictional retelling to real African religious traditions and global magical belief systems.
- It moves methodically through the novel's narrative, using specific textual examples — Moses's infancy, the burning bush, the serpent plague — to trace how the theme of magic develops across the story.
- It draws a meaningful parallel between Hurston's treatment of Moses's magic and the African American experience of slavery, showing awareness of the novel's dual allegorical register.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates thematic analysis supported by cross-disciplinary context. Rather than simply identifying magic as a motif, the writer situates it within anthropological scholarship on African belief systems and compares Hurston's framing to both biblical source material and post-colonial African scholarship, giving the literary argument historical depth.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a broad philosophical claim about magic's universality before narrowing to Africa as a cultural context. It then moves into close reading of Hurston's novel, following the arc of Moses's life chronologically. A thematic synthesis section addresses the rod and healing episode before a brief conclusion reflects on what Hurston's retelling reveals about power, providence, and belief. The structure is broadly introduction → context → narrative analysis → conclusion.
Introduction: Magic and History
There has been magic in the world since time began. Even in the scientific world, which has little to do with metaphysics, magic holds a significant place — for how can a scientist explain the tiny bit of matter that became the universe without resorting to something like magic? Throughout history, magic has occupied a significant place in human culture because there are many things about this world that people still cannot explain, and so they reason that some unseen force must lie behind it. Zora Neale Hurston saw this in the biblical story of Moses, as have many others. Moses was able to do wondrous things with the staff he carried — the rod of power (Hurston) — because of its magic. This paper discusses magic as a central theme developed in Hurston's Moses: Man of the Mountain, examining it from the perspective of African history and exploring how that theme has played a part in the history of the continent and its people.
Magic in Africa
The people of Africa have long been thought to be superstitious. Whether or not this characterization is accurate is less important than what the unknown has produced in the culture and beliefs of the peoples who inhabit, and have inhabited, that land. It is worth noting that people around the world hold religious beliefs that are not generally labeled as magical thinking. Yet when similar beliefs appear in the various religions of Africa, they are often given that distinction. Of course, African traditions include beliefs in the dead returning to life, the power of the shaman to cast away evil, and the efficacy of potions and chants to rid people of disease and harm — but that description also sounds like a retelling of certain scenes in the Bible. The source and the people do not ultimately matter. Magic has been a constant since humans first walked the Earth, because there had to be some way to explain events that were beyond rational explanation.
Magic exists throughout the world as a concept, even if it is not an empirical reality, but in Africa it has always been part of everyday life. This is true to such an extent that when some African nations have constructed modern legal codes to govern citizens, lawmakers have had to take the magical thinking of the inhabitants into consideration (Rio). The main thrust of Rio's article concerns how the government of Vanuatu, an island in the South Pacific, has had to contend with magical belief in constructing a modern legal code. But in relation to Africa, he notes that "today, there are reports of widespread witchcraft beliefs and accusations in Africa bound up with situations of great change in relations of production and ideology" (Rio). This is not, then, an issue of one place or one people, but something that occurs around the world. Nevertheless, magic is deeply ingrained in African thought, and its roots, Hurston seems to suggest, lie in events that bring ancient African religion and Judeo-Christian beliefs together.
One researcher writes about a book published by a former slave and missionized Christian from Africa, noting that "Africa remains in need of the colonizing and missionizing efforts of Western Christians with whom he identifies himself, but with a difference. Here Africans are imaged as the center of Christian sacred history, the bearers of God's promises, the recipients of God's favor" (Elrod). This interpretation makes sense because the biblical account does seem to center on Africa, and archaeologists have found substantial evidence that human life began there. It is no surprise, then, that Hurston takes one of the central figures of the Judeo-Christian tradition and explores how he was blessed with magic that could be enhanced by the power of God (Mark).
Works Cited
Elrod, Eileen R. "Moses and the Egyptian: Religious Authority in Olaudah Equiano's Interesting Narrative." African-American Review 35.3 (2001): 409–427. Web.
Hurston, Zora N. Moses: Man of the Mountain. New York: Harper Collins, 2008. Print.
Mark, D. "Moses, Man of the Mountain — Zora Neale Hurston." A Noble Theme, 2011. Web.
Osahon, Naiwu. "The Jews Lied Against Africa to Ascend." Modern Ghana, 2009. Web.
Rio, Knut. "Handling Sorcery in a State System of Law: Magic, Violence and Kastom in Vanuatu." Web.
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