Love Against All Obstacles
Samuel and Isaiah’s love blooms in remarkable circumstances and despite the countless obstacles in their way. Several characters remark on Samuel and Isaiah’s bravery in pursuing a relationship against the wishes of Massa Paul, and their love is so complete that at times it appears like a beacon of light to other characters. However, the same love also inspires jealousy and malice, as characters like Amos and Paul see Samuel and Isaiah’s relationship as an obstacle to their respective goals. Ultimately, it is external forces that pull Samuel and Isaiah apart, and their love remains strong until the end. At the very end of the novel, the prophets assert that “Love” is the last word they said, implying that the two are joined even in death.
Gender
Gender is an important theme in The Prophets. Several prominent female characters are featured in the novel, and Samuel and Isaiah have an argument when Samuel accuses Isaiah of being “too much like a woman”, while Isaiah retorts that none of the women they know are weak. Still, the complex nuances of gendered oppression and violence are thoroughly dissected through characters such as Beulah, who refers to herself as “men’s cookhouse, flophouse, and outhouse.” Puah, a young teenage girl who is just coming into her own body and sexuality, sees similarities between men and toubab (white people), as both are wont to take what they want without asking. Sarah and King Akusa also represent important outlooks on gender, as Sarah mentions that Isaiah has chosen to be “woman” or “free,” while King Akusa is a woman king with male wives. Much of the novel’s main conflict has to do with Essie, another female character whose gender marks her as particularly vulnerable to sexual violence. Her lover Amos is driven to out Samuel and Isaiah in a bid to protect her from further assault. But it is also her motherhood that gives Maggie the power to kill Paul at the end, as she avenges her son Samuel.
Queerness/Sexuality
Samuel and Isaiah’s relationship explores Black queerness in a time when Christianity was just being introduced to the enslaved African people in the United States. This is paralleled by Kosii and Elewa’s relationship in the past, when they are freer to explore and express their love for each other. In the Kosongo village, homosexuality is not discriminated against as it is in the West. Kosii and Elewa’s relationship is celebrated with the same joy as with any other couple's relationship, and Samuel and Isaiah’s relationship is treated with the same acceptance by themselves, if not by others. Despite Amos’s sermons, queer love is not marked out as abnormal, and Timothy, son of Paul and Ruth Halifax, also represents another dimension of homosexuality as he finds himself attracted to men. While their sexuality brings trouble to Samuel and Isaiah’s lives, it is not pinpointed as the source of their problems — rather, their oppressive and brutal circumstances are.
Overall, the novel's rich and diverse depictions of sexuality assert that queerness was and continues to be an integral part of history. Of the queer relationships in his novel, Jones has said, “In many of the communities that lived in precolonial Africa, queerness was just as normal as heterosexuality. It was just a part of the landscape and there was no need to single it out or call it by a different name. It was love. It was sex. And that was just that.”
Twoness
Samuel and Isaiah are commonly referred to as “The Two of Them” by the other slaves on the plantation. At times their separate identities seem to merge, as the other characters treat Samuel and Isaiah as interchangeable and interconnected. From their own perspectives, the difference in their individual identities is clearer, as they clash over their main disagreement: whether it is more dangerous to stay or to leave the plantation. However, their love is so complete and whole that it often appears to other characters that Samuel and Isaiah have blurred into “one blue-black mass”. The intimacy and closeness of their bond seems to suggest that Samuel and Isaiah belong together, but they are still ultimately pulled apart by the Halifaxes. Despite being parted by death, their closeness is such that the novel implies they are joined in spirit.
Community
The community of slaves on Empty slowly begin to turn their back on Isaiah and Samuel, though initially they were neutral or even accepting of their relationship. It is Amos who tells Paul about the nature of Samuel and Isaiah’s relationship, and why they are defying his orders to reproduce with the female slaves. By preaching of the evils of homosexuality, Amos effectively turns the community against Samuel and Isaiah, and this is what allows them to be punished when Ruth accuses them of looking at her. However, the power of a unified community is also what the slave masters are afraid of, as James is tormented by nightmares of the slaves joining together and rebelling against the overseers. This power is made clear when several of the slaves join together and riot against the slave masters at the end, culminating in an explosive rebellion.
Religion
Religion is also a prominent theme throughout the novel. The power of religion can be used for both good and bad—Amos uses it for bad when he preaches homophobia to turn the plantation against Samuel and Isaiah, but he also has an ulterior motive in mind, which is to prevent Paul from raping Essie again. The influence of religion on Paul is also evident as Paul turns to the Bible for guidance, especially when he is conflicted morally. Paul uses the Bible to reassure himself when he is conflicted about the souls of slaves. However, the novel also references other forms of religion; the seven Orishas, spirits with great power in the Yoruba religion, speak periodically to the reader and comment on the story’s happenings. The act of witnessing is a powerful one, according to the spirits, and they both begin and end the novel.
