Leadership and freedom: Zora Neale Hurston's 'Moses, Man of the Mountain'

Zora Neale Hurston's novel, Moses, Man of the Mountain, retells the story of the Exodus within the framework of African-American folktale. As Robert Hemenway has noted in Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography, the book was "received with caution" at the time of its first publication, and has been ever since. Many recent critics, as well, have overlooked many important elements within the novel. This thesis argues that the novel is a powerful critique of the roles that choice, chance circumstance, and the influence of others play in shaping "destiny." The reader is invited to imagine the life of Moses as a man, and his relationship with the Hebrews. Hurston also explores the extreme restriction of freedom that occurs when all are not allowed to speak equally. In doing so, the novel invites us to question whether or not self-responsibility can be separated from freedom.