The mule is mentioned frequently throughout the novel and is a vessel that represents the carrier of a heavy load or burden, but can also represent stubbornness or resistance. The town mule in Eatondale illustrates the tense relationship between Janie and Joe Starks but the mule also represents black women struggling for independence as Janie did. Janie identified with the mule by being a stubborn, determined, and independent woman which she embodied throughout the entire novel. In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, certain animals have a symbolic weight to them demonstrating the author's message of finding resilience and strength through difficult experiences that one may encounter in their lifetime. Nanny tells …show more content…
One instance of this was when Joe made all of the renovations to Eatonville and made it an official town. Joe had made a speech and the townspeople requested to hear Janie make a speech. Joe proceeded to say “…mah wife don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no speech-makin’. Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat. She’s uh woman and her place is in de home” (43). Joe feels threatened by his wife possessing the same education as he does and he embarrasses her by making her feel inferior. Janie feels trapped and unlike herself at this point and continues to feel like this throughout their marriage. She “…pressed her teeth together and learned to hush” (71). Joe wants Janie to look down on the townspeople like he does but she like being a normal person and playing checkers with them. She keeps quiet about her opinion and denies herself and of her own ideas, making it hard to live this way and still be happy. Janie wants to be free but Joe makes this impossible but she can only be free once Joe dies and when he is on his deathbed, Janie finally speaks her mind and tells Joe what she has wanted to say for years. Janie tells Joe that he “…wouldn’t listen. You done lived wid me for twenty years and you don’t half know me atall. And you could have but you was so busy worshippin’ de works of yo’ own hands, and cuffin’ folks around in their minds till you didn’t see uh whole heap uh things yuh could have” (86). Joe turned her into a dull person even though she is young and Janie looks more aged and stressed than she should because of Joe’s abusive actions. Janie could “tolerate” her relationship with Joe but she realized the only reason he gave her such a hard time about how she looked was because he realized he was old and did not look as young as he did at the start of their marriage. Janie demonstrated her determined and independent attitude and she is now free from