Summary
[Nature]’s de strongest thing dat God
ever made, now. Fact is it’s de onliest thing God every made.
(See Important Quotations Explained)
Janie dislikes the business of running the store but loves
that people sit on its porch and talk all day telling colorful,
exaggerated stories. The men love teasing a man named Matt Bonner
about his overworked, underfed, bad-tempered mule. They make jokes
about how sorry the mule looks and needle Matt about how careless
and cruel he is toward the animal. Despite Janie’s interest in these
stories, Jody doesn’t allow her to sit outside, saying that she’s
too good to interact with “trashy people.” But most annoying to
Janie of all, Jody orders her to wear a head-rag because it makes
him jealous to see other men look at her long hair, though he never
reveals his motives to Janie.
One day, Matt Bonner’s mule runs away, and some of the
townsmen find it outside the store. They irritate the mule for fun,
and Janie mutters her disapproval of their cruelty. Unbeknownst
to her, Jody is standing nearby and hears her complaint. He buys
the mule for five dollars so that the poor beast can rest for once
in his life. Everyone considers Jody’s liberation of the mule very
noble, comparing it to Abraham Lincoln’s emancipation of northern
slaves. The animal becomes a source of pride for the town and the
subject of even more tall tales. After it dies, Jody convenes a
mock funeral, which becomes a festive event for the entire town.
But Jody refuses to allow Janie to attend, saying it would be improper
for a woman of her status. After the funeral, vultures descend on
the animal’s carcass.
At the store, Jody and Janie argue. She accuses him of
being no fun and he argues that he is just being responsible. Although
she disagrees, she decides to hold her tongue. On the porch, meanwhile, Sam
Watson (Pheoby’s husband) and Lige Moss hold a humorous philosophical
debate. They argue about whether natural instinct or a learned sense
of caution keeps men away from hot stoves. The good-spirited argument
gets intense and Jody decides to join it, leaving his delivery boy
Hezekiah Potts in charge of the store. The conversation shifts to
a discussion of the Sinclair gas station in town but then becomes
a playful performance of machismo and flirtation as several of the
town’s women parade by. Janie is enjoying the fun when Jody orders
her back in the store to wait on one of the women.
When Janie cannot find any pig’s feet for another customer,
Jody grows angry and accuses her of incompetence. Instead of fighting back,
Janie remains silent. But as time goes on, her resentment builds.
She feels the spark go out of their sex life and the spirit of love leave
their marriage. One day, seven years after they met, Jody slaps her
after a disastrous dinner. Still, Janie doesn’t express her anger; she
decides to maintain an exterior of silent respect while keeping her
dreams and emotions inside.
But later that day, Janie goes to the store. There, she
finds Tony Robbins’s wife begging Jody for a little meat for her
family. Jody gives her a small piece and adds the cost to Tony’s
account. The men on the porch mutter that they would never allow
their wives to embarrass them like that, especially since her husband
had spent so much money on her. Janie finally cannot resist speaking
up, scolding the men and saying that they don’t know as much about
women as they think they do. She points out that it is easy to act
big and tough when women and chickens are the only things around
to subdue. Jody tells her to be quiet and orders her to fetch him
a checkerboard.
Analysis
Chapter 6 serves two chief functions:
it further explores Janie and Jody’s relationship, particularly
his need for control, and it examines the strong sense of community
in Eatonville, particularly the way language nurtures this sense
of community. Both of these issues relate to Janie’s continuing
quest to find herself and a sense of meaning and purpose. Initially
drawn to Jody because of his ambition, and thinking that she would
achieve her dreams through him, Janie learns, in this chapter, that
Jody’s power only restricts her. On the other hand, by experiencing
the richness of life in Eatonville, in particular the rich folk
traditions of conversation, Janie begins to see how she might live
the life that she so desires.
