Recommended: Hurston essay summary
She expected to obey for her husband like others. “He ordered Janie to tie up her hair around the store” reveals that she did everything to his happiness not for her. Even though she is a wife of a mayor, she didn’t get any privilege rather she lost her social relationship with other people. She lived under the dominance of her husband
Janie’s skin color is lighter than most of the people in the book. Her mother was half white and half black and was raped by a caucasian man which created Janie. Janie had light skin, her light skin gave her many advantages such as more opportunities, people treating Janie kindly and also being more respected. Janie was treated differently by most of the people in her life such as Mrs. Turner. Mrs. Turner is a light skinned woman that was married to a dark skinned man.
Janie expresses this by stating, “ Tain’t dat ah worries over Joe’s death, Pheoby. Ah jus’ loves dis freedom” (93). This demonstrates Janie’s current state of freedom, and suggests that she is finally free from the shackles of marriage that Joe established upon her with male dominance, abuse, and inequality. All these discontents in Janie’s marriage are embodied by the head rag because it showcases the mindset of Joe, which was having Janie unwaveringly submit to his commands and not giving her a say in their decisions. Furthermore, Janie showcases her rejection with her man by rejecting clothing that connects her to him, but once she found the man that fulfilled her desires in loving her, Janie
SHe enters and seems depressed and lonely. Everyone is mocking her and talking about her. However Janie does not talk back. She just sulks back to her house. The people on the porch just, “...sat with judgement,”(Hurston 17).
In the end, Joe values material wealth more than Janie. Jody forces Janie to avoid socializing with the locals, putter around the store day in and day out, and hide her beautiful hair. Joe keeps Janie socially and emotionally isolated. Throughout their relationship, Janie was constantly forced to keep
Janie and Micah, long time best friends. Although there’s one catch in their relationship. No one knows about their friendship. When Janie is forced to move away from her home neighboring Micah, it puts a strain on their friendship even more than ever. But when a fire sets Janie’s new house ablaze and Janie goes missing, to Micah at least, all that changes.
When Janie married Jody, she expected everything to be all colorful and exploding with happiness, however she promptly realized this was not the case when it comes to Jody, Jody is stands with pride and intimidation. Overall Janie is suppressed by Jodie, furthermore Janie regretfully submits with her displeasure. In chapter 5 when Janie and Jody arrive at the colored town, they oversaw the rows of dilapidated shacks of the colored folk, Janie was disappointed in the quality of the place she would soon call home. Meanwhile Jody had plans for the town, one of these was building the first store in the town for the people.
Janie shows determination as she persists and struggles to define love on her own terms through her marriages. First, her determination shows when Janie runs away with Jody. She becomes aware that her marriage with Logan does not satisfy her goals and dreams for love, so she takes a chance and marries Jody. Hurston states, “Janie hurried out of the front gate and turned south.
Jurgis and James “I have to believe that when things are bad I can change them.” Jurgis Rukis from the book The Jungle by Upton Sinclar struggled to support himself and his family in Chicago in the early 1900s. James Braddock also took on a struggle in the movie Cinderella Man. James lived in New York, New York in the 1930s. Jurgis and James are alike and different in many ways.
but it didn’t do her any good” as Jody kept on fighting for her “submission” (71). As Jody continues to make Janie submit, less of her individuality is present as she is reduced to the ideal wife in Jody’s eyes. He does this by covering her hair, confining her to the store, and insults her. Again, In one scene,
Janie hated Logan with a passion from deep inside her heart. The marriage between Janie and Logan was the worst out of Janie’s three marriages. On the bright side of this relationship was that Janie had the security
Because Janie wanted to get away from Logan, she quickly decides to run away and marry Jody. At first Jody treats her wonderfully and has big ideas for their future. Soon, however, Janie realizes that Jody worries more about his reputation and ego then he does for her. He wants everything in his life to be perfect, including Janie. When Janie asks Jody if she can go to the dragging out of the mule, Jody promptly denies her because the mayor’s wife “wouldn’t be seen at uh draggin’out” (60).
Jody controlled major aspects of Janie’s life, such as her appearance, when he forces her to keep her hair up. Janie does not like that Jody feels the need to control her: “This business of the head-rag irked her endlessly. But Jody was set on it... that was because Joe never told Janie how jealous he was” (Hurston 55).
Women are confined to single roles and are expected to be submissive and respectful. When Joe married Janie, he forced her into a role of subservience. Hurston indicates that Joe attempted to mold Janie into what white women do on a daily basis which is to “sit on their high stools on the porches of their house and relax.” Doing this, Joe believes he is granting his wife all the wishes she ever wanted while neglecting the fact that Janie takes pleasure in the simple things in life like chatting, laughing, fishing and dancing. “Janie [especially] loved the conversation[s]” that took place on the porch and sometimes “she thought up good stories on the mule, but Joe had forbidden her to indulge” because he didn’t want her to talk after those “trashy people” (Page 104).
Jody wanted Janie to know that women were less than men and that they don’t think for themselves, he almost compares women to animals, “Somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows. I god, they sho don’t think none theirselves” (Hurston 180). Once he passed away, Janie took a more feminist stand in her life, she started doing more of what she wanted to do and how she wanted to do it. Letting her hair down is an important point in the novel because it shows strength, “Before she slept that night she burnt up every one of her head rags and went about the house next morning with her hair in one thick braid swinging below her waist”
