Who Is Jody Starks In The Great Gatsby By Zora Neale

Not only does she have an unsuccessful marriage with Logan but she has a futile marriage with Jody Starks as well. At first Jody was the guy of Janie’s dreams. He was nice, articulate, intelligent, and said he would treat Janie like a queen and that working on a farm was no place for lady of her caliber. This enchants Janie and convinces her to run away with Jody. However when running away together Janie realizes Jody is not who he seems to be. When he is mayor of Eatonville he exhibits characteristics of a dictator. He is demanding, condescending and controlling. Even though he is critical to all of the people in Eatonville, he is the most harsh on Janie. Jody thinks that Janie and women everywhere are so inferior that "Somebody got to think

They just think they’s thinkin’. When Ah see one thing Ah understands ten. You see ten things and don’t understand one" (71). Jody is comparing the intelligence of women to children and animals. He doesn’t feel empathetic to Janie and becomes more hostile when she tries to defend herself. He maintains the position that women are stupid and inferior to men. Even though her first two relationships are unsuccessful her third one with Tea Cake was her best one by far. Tea Cake was everything Janie could ever want. He was nice, caring, considerate and treated her like she was a queen. Tea Cake would even brush her hair until she woke up because he liked the way her hair was and felt. He even taught Janie how to fish, drive, and shoot a

One of Janie’s main priorities is to find love, however Nanny has a different plan in mind for her. Nanny wants Janie to find a husband who will give her protection, money, and status. This is a recurring problem between Nanny and Janie; the idea of protection and money versus love. Nanny tells Janie “If you don’t want [Logan], you sho oughta. Heah you is wid de onliest organ in town, amongst colored folks, in yo’ parlor. Got a house bought and paid for and sixty acres uh land right on de big road and…Lawd have mussy! Dat’s de very prong all us black women gits hung on. Dis love! Dat’s just whut’s got us uh pullin’ and haulin’ and sweatin’ and doin’ from can’t see in de mornin’ till can’t see at night” (23). Nanny values material objects that show a person’s wealth and status, in this case an organ, over emotional relations. She wants Janie to have this kind of wealth because she thinks material gain will automatically bring happiness. A big reason she wants Janie to be protected is so she doesn't up like her and her mother. Nanny grew up as a slave and was sexually active with her white master which caused problems with the master’s wife. She even was impregnated by her slave master and gave birth to Janie’s mom who was raped at seventeen. Nanny doesn’t want Janie to deal with the struggles she has faced so, without