Their Eyes Were Watching God Power Quotes

Elisa Ewing 4/17/24 Ms. Babb Rhet 2 How Was Joe Stark After Power? Joe Starks, who is often referred to as Jody, is Janie Woods's second husband in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. Many times throughout the novel, you can see Joe’s search for power through others is stronger than everybody else in the novel. We can see how Joe seeks to gain power and control over Janie consistently throughout the novel. One example of this is when Joe tries to dominate his power and control over Janie when he tells her to wrap up her hair because he is jealous. Another example of Joe trying to flex his control and power over Janie is whenever she tries to participate in town activities and talk, he always shuts her down and/or belittles her. However,

Joe then interjects and stops Janie, saying that she doesn’t know how to make speeches. In the text Joe says, “ “ (Hurston __). In this quote, you can see a classic example of subtle control. While Janie doesn’t notice it at first, it is clear that Joe is starting his way into taking control of Janie’s entire life. Another example of Joe Starks seeking control over Janie when she tries to participate in town activities and talk is when the porch gossipers outside of Joe’s store start talking about Matt Bonner's mule and Joe stops Janie from adding to the conversation. He says that she is above them and forbids her from talking to them. Here, you can see where Joe says, “ “ (Hurston __). This quote makes it painstakingly clear that Joe seeks power over Janies life and will prevent her from doing the things she wants to to show that power off. The last example of Joe Starks seeking power is the way he was introduced. In the novel, Janie sees him walking around town “Acting like a white person” (Hurston __). When Janie and Joe start talking, he mentions his goal is to become mayor. “ “ (Hurston