Being pressured to do nothing and just represent by looking pretty was not what Janie wanted, and it is for this lesson that from his death and on, Janie was extremely careful with the choices made in her love life. This is the period where “Tea Cake” her third and final spouse is introduced into her life and eventually becomes the love of her life. Her relationship from t = 0 to infinity is completely juxtaposed and paradoxical to her previous one with Joey. Unlike with Joey, Janie now has a lot of experience and knows what she is getting into with Tea Cake, and regardless she decides to pursue a relationship with him which signifies that she unlike with Logan and Joey she cares for this man, Tea Cake. Janie's relationship with Tea Cake, however, does not take off running, the two initially must reconcile many insecurities and levels of trust with each other.…
Jody’s actions as mayor towards the black community in Eatonville highlight the themes of power and control. When Janie and Jody arrive in this town, Jody purchases 200 acres of land to establish his power and gain his “big voice” (28). Because he shows his affluence to the people in the town, they consider Jody superior to them. Even though Tony Taylor, a townsperson, is the designated assembly leader, Jody usurps his power and “[does] all the talking” since he “[takes] the center of the floor” in the meeting (41, 42), emphasizing his need to exhibit control over others. During the town's meeting, Jody announces his plan to create a post-office and store, continuing to make a name for himself.…
With Jody’s jealousy, comes the physical and verbal abuse towards Janie. He embarrasses her by mentioning her sagging butt and old age in front of several people from the community. In that case, Jody was deflecting his aging appearance by drawing the attention to Janie. Another instance of abuse was when Jody hit Janie because she ruined dinner. These examples show how Jody wants Janie to feel like she is the lesser spouse.…
After catching them wrestling with each other in private, Janie begins to beat Tea Cake and screams that she believes “...you been messin’ round her!” (131). Janie’s radical vocal and physical confrontation of Tea Cake exhibits the full development of her voice. Janie is able to confront the obstacle in her relationship head on and overcome it, due to the development of her voice and the love in their relationship, and she is able to establish her independence. While Janie uses her voice to confront and…
(124). In her previous relationships, this free and dominating side of Janie is never revealed since she is always limited by her partners. Tea Cake’s ability to respect and encourage Janie’s opinions help her to find her voice. However, there are still moments in the presence of others where Janie holds back. For example, while talking with Mrs. Turner about race, Janie does nothing to defend Tea Cake even though she disagrees with Mrs. Turner’s opinions about him.…
After Janie goes through abusive and straining relationships, she finally believes that she had found a relationship that contained true love. When she meets Tea cake she slowly starts to come out of her bubble to experience the love that everyone else told her would be impossible to reach. Towards the middle of her relationship with Tea cake, the author writes “Janie looked down on him and felt a self-crushing love. So her soul crawled out from its hiding place,” (122) which illustrates how Janie's view on love is now coming out of the stereotypes she has been hearing to what she actually believes what love is. Janie feels as if Tea Cake is the person that she can finally be herself around.…
In the story "Ordinary Use," by Alice Walker, the plot is extraordinarily impacted by Maggie and Dee, the two little girls of the storyteller. In spite of the fact that they are sisters and are brought up in a similar situation, Maggie and Dee are altogether different from each other; they think and act unmistakably. In addition, their clashing characters fill in as images to pass on the general subject of the story. From the earliest starting point, the storyteller uncovers the distinctions in the characters of Maggie and Dee. In this way, it is extremely hard to pinpoint likenesses between the two.…
By doing these things, Tea Cake brings Janie into the cultural life of the black community and builds a relationship with her grounded on expression and reciprocity which encourages Janie to “Have de nerve tuh say whut [she] mean '" (165). As a result of all this, Janie has been able…
With their extreme age difference, those around them harshly criticize the relationship between Janie and Tea Cake, which causes them to move to a new city. Although Tea Cake is a charming, happy young man, he also has faults, especially concerning gambling. Even before moving on further with the relationship Tea Cake steals two hundred dollars from Janie, resulting in their first altercation (Hurston 142). Janie without a doubt is disappointed but continues the relationship despite the pivotal moment. From here, the two seem to live happily together having the occasional up and downs until Tea Cake is bit by a ravenous dog during a hurricane.…
Consequently, she lives miserably for years without discovering her true self. Not only is Logan abusive, so is Tea Cake. Hurston proves male superiority when Teacake “just slapped her around a bit to show he was boss” (140). Although Janie is forced to live under this overbearing control, she eventually realizes she can live without men telling her how to live her life. When Joe, her second husband dies Janie is not as sad as expected because she “likes being lonesome for a change.…
She sees Tea Cake as true love and falls deeply in love with him. Tea Cake gives her freedom and equality, he treats Janie well, and everything she has ever wanted including true love. Although Tea Cake does not have much wealth and their age difference is large, Janie…
He did not ever love her for who she is, rather than that he loved her for the status it brought upon himself. After Jody’s untimely death caused by liver-failure, Janie shows no regret, she actually feels free. Later on, she meets a charming young man named Vergible Woods, but he is mainly referred as “Tea Cake”. Tea Cake was in fact like both Logan Killicks and Jody Starks. He is as hard-working and wants Janie to work alongside him as Logan did, but he also complimented and complimented her like Jody did.…
This confinement to the store and forced labor leads to Jody silencing Janie in the community, forcing her to wear a head rag, and abusing her. Janie has no voice in the community because she is a woman, so Janie patiently waits to speak to Joe at times when no one else is talking with him. Her conversations are limited under his control, and her hair is wrapped up and hidden from all. The head wrap shows the authority Joe has over Janie at this time, because he is the only reason she keeps her hair up from the community. After dealing with Joe’s harsh treatment and confinement to the store, “Janie had robbed him of his illusion of irresistible maleness that all men cherish” (Hurston 79), because Janie gains the strength to do what she wants and she decides that she can fight back to her husband.…
This statement leads to a fight which causes Jody to move into the guest room. This scene is pivotal in that it shows Janie her words have enough power to make another person react to them. Her voice and independence are strengthened through her ability to stick to her words and leave Killicks, and the death of Jody. Janie now has her own life, free of being a pawn, she is no longer a farmer’s wife nor is she the submissive wife Jody expected her to…
The use of symbolism in Betty Keller’s play Tea Party is prominently focused on how isolated the characters Hester and Alma feel. The two elderly women in their late seventies do everything they can possibly think of to prepare themselves and their home for the boy who delivers their paper. The poor lonely women decide where it will be best for them and the boy to sit and discuss what topics they wish to converse with the boy. Meanwhile, they are also preparing a tea trolley with snacks and drinks to entice the boy to stay longer.…