Comparing The Lion King And Moses Man Of The Mountain

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The taking of cultural narratives and providing a new interpretation for a modern audience has become a common practice in literature, theatre, and other disciplines of art. This concept, known as Reception History, can be exhibited in works ranging from Bernstein’s musical “West Side Story”, to the animated Disney classic film “The Lion King” which were based on Shakespeare’s plays “Romeo & Juliet” and “Hamlet” respectively. One may ask what is the point of retelling these stories in a different context? What makes any different or more significant than their originals? The telling of these tales within a different context allows the author to emphasize certain aspects of the tale that would otherwise be overlooked and use these aspects …show more content…
Exodus, which was written by Moses himself, was written with the intention of continuing the written history of the Hebrews and establishing the basis of Judaic tradition with Moses’ receiving of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. The description of the escape from Egypt as well as God’s intervention with the Plagues serves as reinforcement to prove that God is almighty and that that the Hebrews will prosper under his watch. The intention of the author is different in “Moses Man of The Mountain” as Hurston was writing in an artistic movement centered on the concept of capturing the experience of African Americans, which to that point consisted of the horrors of slavery and the Reconstruction Era. With presence of World War II, the concept of oppression and cruelty was fresh in the minds of the general public due to the injustices committed by the Nazi party in Germany and the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. To help relate these relevant issues to the African American community, Hurston placed the story of Exodus in the times of slavery. Adding in her own characters and filling in the gaps that were left in the original text, Hurston was able to create a version of Exodus that stayed true to the tale of Moses whilst giving a newfound voice to the African American community and a cry for civil rights that had so long been …show more content…
In Exodus, we learn that there is a decree from the Pharaoh that requires all Hebrew baby boys to be killed. After giving birth to him, Moses’ mother puts him in a basket on the Nile to escape death when he is picked up by the Pharaoh’ daughter. The princess asks for a Hebrew woman to raise Moses, and she claims Moses as her own. This information remains constant in Hurston’s version, however she adds in more detail and characters to create a story that exposes the plight of African American parents and their children. For example, the audience is exposed to Moses’ father who struggles to decide whether or not to kill the baby himself rather than letting the Egyptians guards do the same. This can be directly compared to the struggle of an African American father trying to decide whether it is worth allowing his son to live when he will have to endure a lifetime of bondage and mistreatment. Hurston also creates the character of Mentu for the narrative, who has absolutely no indication of existing in the Bible. Mentu serves as a mentor to Moses and he tells him stories that are supposed to represent the roots of Hebrew beliefs. In this action, Hurston demonstrates the way that customs and stories were passed down by oral tradition among African American slaves because

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