Jody and Tea Cake are alike because they were men who cherished power and wanted to be the head of the relationship. They both used Janie as an object to assure their authority. In the novel, few years after getting married to Jody, Janie began to realize Jody’s possessiveness towards her and encountered an abusive relationship. Jody abused Janie in front of the townspeople for making simple mistakes while working. The narrator says, “So he struck Janie with all his might and drove her from the store” (80). When Janie sliced tobacco wrong she was insulted by Jody and decided to speak up for herself and give Jody a piece of her mind. In doing so, Jody felt powerless and debilitated, which according to him, no man desires to feel. Therefore,
