The Allmuseri God in Charles Johnson's Middle Passage

This essay focuses on the encounter of first-person narrator Rutherford Calhoun with the Allmuseri god aboard the slave ship the Republic in Charles Johnson's Middle Passage (1990). While earlier scholarship relegated the significance of the Allmuseri god to a mere subplot, Marc Conner argues that it represents the novel's pivotal moment, signifying Rutherford's spiritual conversion. This essay builds upon Conner's analysis, positing that the encounter serves not as a spiritual awakening but as a catalyst for Rutherford's personal growth, transforming him from cynical to altruistic. Moreover, the essay explores this encounter through "Outpicturing," a divinely induced experience within Allmuseri culture, alongside Victor Turner's concepts of liminality and transitional beings. Ultimately, it concludes that the Almmuseri god compelled Rutherford to embrace his destiny and return to the United States to fulfill his role as an engaged citizen during the presidency of pro-slavery advocate Andrew Jackson.