Their Eyes Were Watching God - Chapters 5 and 6

Chapters 5 and 6 of Their Eyes Were Watching God struck me as the most important ones thus far for many reasons, but above all else because Janie comes to the realization that her role as a woman and person is much more than what her husband, Jody Starks, thinks it should be. It becomes very apparent that the power of being the mayor of Eatonville has truly gone to his head, and he takes this out on his fellow neighbors and especially his wife Janie. His flaunting of wealth and power makes the townspeople resent him, but they do not even attempt to challenge his authority, which essentially enables him to continue to alienate them. The beautiful home that he and Janie resides in makes those around it look like servants' quarters, which is one of the many ways that he starts showing the difference between himself and the rest of the town. As Jody starts to build up the town of Eatonville the best that he can, he gains an increasing amount of control over the people and things in it as well.

After Jody Starks buys Matt Bonner's mule for five dollars so that it can rest, the whole town considers his liberation of the mule to be a noble act. This action was even compared to Abraham Lincoln's emancipation of northern slaves. However in my eyes, this seemingly pure act does not overshadow the fact that on the inside he is still a power hunger man who will do anything to assert his dominance and nobility over others.

Janie first begins to notice Jody's controlling nature when he refuses to let her give a simple speech when he is named mayor of the town. By not allowing her to speak and taking her voice away, Jody is facilitating the loss of Janie's identity and self-worth. Another way in which Jody asserts control over Janie is when he makes her put her hair up while working in the store. His reasoning for this is in all ways selfish, as he is jealous of other men getting a glimpse of her beauty. The last straw for Janie is when she is listening to and enjoying a skit about courtship, and her husband makes her stop and do a chore for him. Not only this, but he gets angry with her for "misplacing" something in the town's store, and starts insulting her intelligence and capability to complete simple tasks. These seemingly small instances accumulate over time, and lead Janie to the realization that she is extremely unhappy in this marriage, and that she must stand up for herself unless she wants anymore verbal, emotional, and or physical abuse to come her way.

By the end of this reading, it is evident that Janie has opened her eyes and is embarking on the journey to find herself and her purpose, aside from being "Mrs. Mayor" or Stark's wife. Although she was initially attracted to Jody because of his ambition, she learns that this very characteristic hinders her from having any individuality and stops her from achieving any of her dreams. Janie's outburst at the end of chapter 6 serves as a way for her to start developing her own voice, regardless of what her husband or the town thinks.