The first life
In contrast to the heinous ideology that underpins American slavery which says that black humans are essentially animals, Hurston offers a narrative that proves Kossula's humanity. She allows him to tell about his life before slavery, before he was ripped away from his original context and life. In that original context, he was a special person in his community. In his community, he was not a "son of Levi," so to speak, but he adopted power in life anyway because the community determined that his character warranted that. He represents a just man.
The chief slave
As a chief symbol of irony, we see this tribal leader reduced to absolute powerlessness. His quality as a leader is seen in his life in slavery, because in that context, his leadership happens only naturally without any formal strictures to enforce his authority. He is removed from enfranchisement in all power structures, but because of this he becomes a pillar in the community without structures. In an organic way, he is a symbol for true authority because although powerless, his ideas and words have the power to help people in their lives.
Religion as motif
Through motif, Kossula explains that he is a deeply spiritual man. In his original religious setting, it was a kind of shamanic insight that his community treasured about him. Although in slavery, there is no analog for that so to speak, and there are language barriers between him and others, he eventually gains his freedom in the outcome of the Civil War, and therefore finds himself in a new religious environment. Instead of blindly rejecting this new spiritual domain, he accepts a role in the community and offers his communal expertise within the domain of religion once again; the motif shows his willingness to adapt and it shows his religious character.
Story as heritage
The author's voice and point of view come through so clearly in this book, even though there is almost none of her own self in the story. This is because of the novel's frame, which just means the basic structure within which the plot rests; in this case the frame is that Zora is sharing a story from an important elder in her community. The author's intent is merely to hold the microphone to someone whose voice is naturally important and whose story has the makings of true art because of the resilience of their nature.
Police brutality
On a prophetic note, Kossula is martyred by the systematic issues surrounding police brutality against black people. It would be easy to explain this away, but the truth of the matter is that these American police officers have already implicitly accept violence against slaves by upholding a law that just a few months earlier left African Americans powerless and literally disenfranchised. This is an important remembrance in modern conversations because Kossula's account is clearly an instance of government injustice and a bias against African Americans rooted in racism.
