Quickly over time Janie became Joe’s prized possession when Joe starts to gain more and more power. For example, when Joe was chosen to become mayor of Eatonville, a townsperson asked Janie to make a speech. When Janie begins to speak, she was quickly interrupted by Joe who said, "mah wife don't know nothin' 'bout no speech-makin'. She's uh woman and her place is in de home." What Joe fails to realize
When Joe instructed Janie to wear the head rag she didn't fight back. This reveals to us that Joe wants to confine Janie to
After hearing her say this about him Joe slaps Janie, which isn’t something a good husband would do. This situation is what causes the marriage to really go downhill, and soonafter Joe gets sick and he dies, while still fighting with Janie and overall being a bad
Next, after Logan she finds a man who she actually is attracted to; his name was Joe Starks. Janie thought he was the one she was looking for but as time went on she realized she could be living better. Janie, over their 20 year marriage began to lose love for him and on chapter 7, pg.77 she says “His prosperous- looking belly that used to thrust out so pugnaciously and intimidate folks, sagged like a load suspended from his loins.” Eventually Joe died from stomach cancer and now she was a widow and had to pretend like she cared in front of the people of her town.
Eventually, Janie decided to leave Logan for another man she met names Joe Starks, and her quest for love continued with her new marriage. Janie was instantly attracted to Joe’s innate power because he gave her hope that she could reach the “horizon” (page 36). Joe took over as mayor of Eatonville and his influence increased dramatically with his improved confidence. He made decisions for Janie, just as her grandmother had, and forbid her from living like every other townsperson. For example, Janie was not allowed to associate with any customers in the store she helped Joe run, she could not wear her hair down in the store, and she had to dress a particular way because of Joe’s raging jealousy.
Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat. She’s uh woman and her place is in de home” (43). His views for Janie are to be a housewife and to limit Janie’s independence. Jody always made decisions for Janie without asking her, and he didn’t value her interests/wants. Jody has a role installed in his mind, which didn’t align with Janie’s
At this point in the plot Janie confronts her challenges that get in her way of finding love. Her hardest challenge was being told to keep quiet whenever she wanted to talk to the other town folks. Janie always tries to indulge in the town discussions and gossip, but Joe always tells her to maintain her distance. He closes her off from the rest of town and denies her what she wants more than love, freedom. She wants to talk and explore the town, but is confined to either the shop or their home.
As time pass Janie grows tired of waiting and being with Joe. Still she stays with him because she has the hope that he will change. Joe Starks in the other hand sees Janie as his ticket to get know by more people, including the porch people, and to recieve more property. He like demanding Janie, “Janie, Ah reekon you better go fetch me dem old black gaiters,”(C.6 P.57) but deep inside he still feels something for Janie. Their respected because Joe is mayor and Janie is Mrs.Mayor Janie.
However, Janie shatters this defense the moment she calls him out on his hypocrisy: “Yeah, Ah’m nearly forty and you’se already fifty. How come you can’t talk about dat sometimes instead of always pointin’ at me ?” (79). Janie confronts Joe’s pride and insecurities directly, therefore “[robbing] him of his illusion of irresistible maleness that all men cherish, which was terrible” (79). Joe feels that what Janie did was a “cruel deceit” and now she and the town were “laughing at him” (80).
It didn’t seem sensible at all. That was because Joe never told Janie how jealous he was.” (Hurston 55). Joe Starks always controlled Janie. In this relationship Janie learned to become emotionally strong, and stand up for herself.
Throughout their marriage Janie learns that Joe doesn’t treat her right, he treats her like an object. Janie begins to hate Joe, and she insults him in front of the whole town. Soon Joe becomes very ill, and Janie doesn’t talk to him for
Joe loved this because not not did it make him feel good about himself , since it made him feel powerful, as men believe they should, but it also forced the townspeople to view him as a strong and masculine leader, an image of himself that he loved. Therefor, when Janie stood up against him and insulted a man’s most prized possession, he was infuriated beyond repair. As for Jamie's third husband, Tea Cake, at first he was characterized to be a nonconforming male that did not need to assert his masculinity in order to feel like a man. However when he became overpowered by jealousy, he returned to the way that society
Before Janie and Logan go to sleep one night, Janie finally releases her feelings about the relationship and says, “S’posin’ Ah wuz to run off and leave yuh sometime”(Hurston 30). Here, Janie bravely declared her liberation and took her first step away from Logan and towards a stronger
After leaving Logan and marrying Joe, she was very happy and seemed to be in love but soon after becomes a “trophy wife” and was just going through the motions of marriage. “No matter what Jody did, she said nothing. She had learned how to talk some and leave some… She got nothing from Jody except what money could buy, and she was giving away what she didn’t value”(Huston, 76). At this point Janie had fully accepted the fact that she wasn’t going to have love in her marriage, and didn’t really care. At this point Janie’s character starts to develope into a more independent woman who cared less about what he husband wanted and more about what she wanted.
Janie’s first husband, Logan Killicks, controlled and verbally abused her. He tells her, “You ain’t got no particular place. It’s wherever Ah need yuh… Don’t change too many words wid me dis mawnin…” (pg 31).
