Tea Cake Chapter Summary

In chapter 17, Tea Cake ends up beating Janie to show his control over her. Then there is a fight between Tea Cake and two drunk men, Dick and Coode, at Mrs. Turner's restaurant. A mess is created, and Mrs. Turner gets hurt. In chapter 18, Janie is curious and asks why some Native Americans were leaving. They tell her that a hurricane is coming. Everyone then starts to worry and some even leave also. Tea Cake still stays. The storm grows, and they decide to wait it out. Janie then reassures that she does not care what happens, as long as the two are together. Then a flood begins, and they finally decide to leave. They head east, along with a man named Motor Boat. They stay and nap at an abandoned house on a hill. Janie wakes up to find that

Two men force Tea Cake to help with burying the bodies. The white corpses are placed in coffins, while the black corpses are dumped in a ditch. Janie and Tea Cake decide to leave due to the racism. They find out that Motor Boat has survived. One day, Tea Cake comes home from work with a severe headache. He is not able to eat, and he even chokes when he tries to drink water. Janie calls for Dr. Simmons, and Janie is told that the dog that bit Tea Cake probably had rabies. They prepare for the worst. Tea Cake gets worse and he gets delusional and paranoid. Janie has not told him what the doctor said. She goes off to get his medicine, and Tea Cake assumes that she is going to see Mrs. Turner's brother. She then finds a pistol under the pillow loaded with three bullets. She sets it to where the pistol will run through the empty chambers first so that she has time to act if Tea Cake does end up trying to shoot her. Tea Cake gets thoughts that Janie is treating him unjustly. He basically goes crazy and tries to shoot Janie. She grabs the rifle and shoots him before he is able to attempt to shoot her for the fourth time. She gets put on trial, and she tells the court about the love that she had with Tea Cake. Dr. Simmons also defends her. The white jury finds her innocent. They bury Tea Cake in a respectful