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Zora Neale Hurston The Gilded Six Bits Analysis

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Zora Neale Hurston was born on January 7, 1891 in the town of Notasulga, Alabama. At the age of two, Hurston and her family moved even farther south to a small town named Eatonville, Florida. Eatonville is recognized as the first all black town in the United States. Zora’s father was a baptist preacher in Eatonville and Hurston described him as always making life difficult for his wife and eight children. During her lifetime, Hurston studied and graduated from four different colleges that helped her focus and channel her writings into what they are. Her writings are all closely associated with the Harlem Renaissance of the early 1900’s (Baym & Levine, 2013). Zora Neale Hurston was a huge influential writer during the Harlem Renaissance. She …show more content…

Immediately as the main characters, Missie May and Joe Banks, are introduced Hurston begins to develop a picture of their relationship. Missie and Joe are easy going around each other, with playful banter and rough-housing. After a session of playful games initiated by Joe throwing money and hiding candy from his wife, they settle down for dinner and Joe announces his plans to take Missie May out to a new ice cream parlor in town. Joe is starstruck by the owner, Otis Slemmons, claiming he gets all the girls and is loaded with gold. After meeting “Mister Otis D. Slemmons”, Missie admits that he is a wealthy and attractive man (Baym & Levine, 2013). During this part Hurston makes it clear Missie May thinks Joe would look so much better with all of Slemmons added features and higher social standing. Some time later, Joe arrives home early from work to find Slemmons in bed with his wife. After a dramatic scene of threatening Slemmons and Missie crying, Joe collects his composure and climbs into the bed Slemmons was previously occupying only to find a fake gold gilded six bit connected to a watch chain. Weeks pass, Missie walks on eggshells around her husband, waiting for him to leave her, the ever present six bit a reminder of what Missie May had done in hopes of gaining wealth for her husband. As time passes, Missie becomes pregnant. Joe has the looming doubts that the child is not his, which causes an even bigger strain on the couple. After the child is born, Joe is distant from it. Until one day, his mother was helping care for his bedridden wife and infant. His mother, who was not a big fan of Missie May, made the comment that the baby boy was the spitting image of Joe himself. Having come to terms with what his wife had done and realizing he had a family now, Joe went

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In chapter six, the narrator is explaining what Joe had Janie do “That night he ordered Janie to tie up her hair around the store. That was all. She was there in the store for him to look at, not those others” (Hurston 55). I used this quote to explain how men can just boss women around and the women has to take the suffering or lose her social spot in society.

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Hurston was known for her novels, shorty stories and poems. She was most well-known for her novels. Zora Neale Hurston was an African American woman that was phenomenal writer during the Harlem Renaissance. In her literary work she uses symbolism and imagery to express African American culture and feminism. Hurston gained fame much fame during the Harlem Renaissance, she was writer who cherish the literature arts.

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Even though Missie May and Joe enjoy teasing and making fun of one another, readers understand how much the two characters love each other through the tone and style of writing that Hurston uses. However, the tone of the story quickly changes with the mention of Otis Slemmons. The tone and attitude of Joe turns

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608 Words | 3 Pages

In “The Gilded Six-Bits”, the story starts off demonstrating the genuine love that Missy May and Joe have in their marriage. Joe starts bragging about this new ice creams parlor in town that is owned by Otis Slemmons. He goes on and on about how rich he looks with his gold jewelry and about how many women throw themselves at him. Missy May gets under the impression that Joe wants to be just like Slemmons and she ends up sleeping with him for money. Joe is devastated, but ultimately forgives

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790 Words | 4 Pages

In the story, ‘The Gilded Six – Bits’ revolves around the two main characters, Missie May and Joe. They both reside in a predominantly black neighborhood or community. Joe works at G and G Fertilizer. He is the one completes the financial duties.

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Temptation led to forgiveness in aspects of materialistic items. Missie May had an affair with Otis Slemmons, he represents wealth and influence which Missie May does not have the privilege of in her marriage. Zora Neale Hurston emphasizes his wealth in order to

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1490 Words | 6 Pages

(Hurston 55). By using phrases such as “set on it” and capitalizing words such as “not,” Hurston emphasizes the fact that Joe was not going to change his decision or let Janie violate it under any circumstances. Not only does Janie not have the courage to speak up about her discomfort with the head rag, but Joe never gives her the chance to do so either. It is paramount to note that Joe is the person of power in the relationship between himself and Janie because of his role as mayor of the town and his assertion of this role throughout their relationship. Though this shouldn’t matter in terms of their relationship, Joe continually characterizes Janie as being “the mayor’s wife,” giving Janie no opportunity to express the way she feels, in private or public.

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As time progresses, Janie and Joe’s relationship goes from arguably unloving to abusive. After Joe beats Janie for the first time, “She stood there until something fell off the shelf inside her. Then she went inside there to see what it was. It was her image of Jody tumbled down and shattered. But looking at it she knew that it never was the flesh and blood figure of her dreams.

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In 1973, Walker began a search for the author that resulted in an essay, “Looking for Zora,” which brought new and lasting attention to Hurston. Considering that Walker was able to trace the end of Hurston's journey to “an unmarked

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Hurston tells the story of Janie, a black woman who because of her grandmother experiences and beliefs was forced to marry into a loveless marriage with Logan Killicks, a hard-working farmer who had 60 acres of land and could provide for Janie. This marriage ended when Janie ran away with Joe Stark, a man that she fell in love with and thought could give her the love absent between her and Logan. But Janie soon realized that her second marriage wouldn’t turn out better than her first. Joe was just as controlling and degrading as Logan. He hardly expressed his love for Janie and spoke to her like an incompetent child.

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930 Words | 4 Pages

The Gilded Love In “The Gilded Six Bits”, a short story by Zora Neale Hurston, the marriage between Joe and Missie May is greatly affected by materialism. Every Saturday afternoon Joe throws nine silver dollars for Missie May to pile beside her plate at dinner; she then runs out to greet him and they play fight with each other. She digs through his pockets for candy kisses and other goods that he has put in them for her to find. They obviously love each other, but I think that in this Hurston is giving a subtle hint of what role materialistic things play in the relationship between them.

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This all occurred during the twenties and that was the era that rose her to fame. All throughout the twenties Hurston spent her time studying. She took part in the Harlem Renaissance. Her stories and legacy fit right in because it was a period of discover for many African Americans. According to manythings.org, “Hurston became the first black student to attend Barnard College in New York.

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1374 Words | 6 Pages

In Zora Neale Hurston’s short story “The Gilded Six-Bits”, many different aspects can be justified and analyzed. One of the things I found most interesting was that Zora Neale Hurston attempted to objectify many of the characters. Objectifying means to treat someone, a physical being, as an object rather than a human. Zora Neale’s short story “The Gilded Six-Bits” is a great example of displaying female subjectivity in African American women’s narratives. Otis D. Slemmons, is one of the main characters who plays a very crucial role in the development on this story.

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Zora Neale Hurston served an influential role during the Harlem Renaissance, a period of cultural uplifting for African Americans. Hurston’s exhibits the search for identity, love, and cultural freedom through her writing which both reflects and departs from the ideals and goals of the Harlem Renaissance. Born in Alabama in 1891, Hurston moved with her family to Eatonville, Florida. Eatonville, a rural community outside of Orlando, was the first incorporated black township.

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565 Words | 3 Pages

Zora Neale Hurston’s book, “The Gilded Six-Bits” is an important piece of literature due to its impact on the world during the Harlem Renaissance era. It is considered a brilliant piece of modernist literature due to Hurston staying true to her background and roots as a black woman from the south, in which segregation was still a huge issue. The reason why it is considered a piece of modernist literature is because she wasn’t afraid to write in the black vernacular which was considered uneducated as blacks were progressing in arts, literature, and the music was alive. The story is filled with many different themes and issues that people can relate to such as money, deceit, and for people who have a big heart forgiveness and reconciliation.

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