The role of silence in the book is powerful, silence is something that says a lot. In this book silence is used as a punishment. At this time women are expected to stay silent, not to enter conversations. Just sit there and look pretty. This was used against Janie during her marriage with Joe, she was the mayor’s wife, she had to be perfect. She couldn’t be seen having conversations with the neighbors and laughing. The way the role changes throughout the novel is that Janie learns to not stay silent, she uses her voice. You see this when she stands up for herself when she has her last conversation with Joe just before he dies. Silence is a mechanism that can be used to make a person feel more powerful since no one could contradict them with
