When having a unity with someone you plan on spending the rest of your life loving and adoring your significant other. This was the relationship Joe and Missie May had until Missies’ love for Joe was tested. In “The Gilded Six Bits” author, Zora Neale Hurston utilizes the themes of marriage, poverty, and forgiveness to depict a modern day love story. Although this love story between these two people takes a miniature turn for the worst, there is still a deeper meaning within the text that justifies why Missie executed the plan for her husband. Marriage is a joint commitment that individuals embark on when they are destined to be together. Missie makes Joe her top priority before he comes back from work. For instance, “"Humph! Ah 'm way behind …show more content…
Otis Slemmons came along. Joe and Missie May have enough for them to be satisfied, until Mr. Slemmons appears into their household and Joe begins to admire the things he has. Joe begins talking to Missie about how “[Slemmons] is up-to-date. He got de finest clothes Ah ever seen on a colored man 's back."77 Joe admires the materialistic things Otis has because he is a black man with the finest clothes. Joe feels like the clothes on his back makes him who he is, however materialistic things do not signify wealth or happiness and Joes comes to realize that later on in the story. But until that point Joe continues to esteem everything about the rich man. Joe tells his wife that "He ain 't puzzlegutted, honey. He jes ' got a corperation. Dat make 'm look lak a rich white man. All rich mens is got some belly on 'em "(Hurston, 77). Joe is trying to reveal to his wife that because Otis has a belly that portrays his wealth to others. This proposes that a slimmer stature was not relevant back then, as it is in the modern day. A belly depicts that you are able to spend a good chunk of money for you to acquire a belly. Otis seemed to be very rich and can provide for Missie and her husband. The way Joe talked about Otis, made Missie cultivate an idea to go sleep with Otis for his gold piece. Missie did just that, however “She took it into her hands with trembling and saw first thing that it was no gold piece. It was a gilded …show more content…
Throughout the story we see the love Joe has for his wife and how eager he was to show her off to the world. Joe says to Missie “You don 't know de feelings of dat yet, Missie May” (Hurston, 81). Her cheating was something he was not sure if he could forgive her for because she gave herself to another man for her own pleasure, so he thinks. This goes deeper because of the stature this man claimed to have and him aspiring to be like Otis one day. Missie was blessed with a baby boy, but Joe was skeptical of the child being his own because of what Missie had did, until his mom tells him that “You oughter be mighty proud cause he sho is de spittin ' image of yuh, son (Hurston,
The next husband that Janie comes into her life in Joe Starks. Joe starts was a very rich man and had lots and lots of money. Janie seen him coming down the road one day and this is how Joe and Janie meet. Joe affected Janie spiritual growth. For example, When Joe starts to belittle her and try to make himself boss. Joe said, “I am the boss missy and you are going to do what I say”(Hurston.41). This shows how abusive and mean Joe can be. Joe also affects Janie emotional growth. For example, When joe starts to abuse her Janie gets very upset and starts to cry and wants to leave. This shows you how much pain emotionally Joe is making Janie. joe also affects Janie spiritually. For example, When Joe starts to argue with Janie. Janie say, “I am
Joe Sparks, Janie’s First husband in Their Eyes Were Watching God was an ambitious, confident man who became quite successful in achieving his dreams. He became mayor of the town and worked hard to build the town and bring development to it. However, as a husband Joe was controlling and saw Janie as just one more of his
Janie and her second husband Joe Starks did not always see eye to eye some things he did for her were really sweet and compassionate. Joe knew exactly what to say to get Janie with him “De day you puts yo’ hand in mine, Ah wouldn’t let de sun go down on us single. Ah’m uh man wid principles. You ain’t never knowed what it was to be treated lak a lady and Ah wants to be de one tuh show you” (Hurston 35). Joe says that and right then Janie has fell for him he was the one she wanted now. Joe and Janie’s relationship in the movie was very different from the book Janie had a lot to say in the movie she never kept her mouth shut. Janie had more power over Joe in the movie seemed like then Joe had over Janie. Joe was not always the best husband to Janie
Janie does so by choosing her new found love with Joe of the security that Logan provides. Hurston demonstrates Janie's new found ‘independence’ by the immediate marriage of Joe and Janie. Janie mistakenly chooses the pursuit of love over her pursuit of happiness and by doing so gave her independence to Joe, a man who believes a woman is a mere object; a doll. By choosing love over her own happiness Janie silences her voice. The realization of Janie's new reality is first realized when Joe states, “...nah wife don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no speech-makin’. Ah never married her for nothin’ lak dat. She’s uh woman and her place is in de home()" Joe is undermining Janie, cutting short any chance for Janie to make herself heard. Joe continues to hide Janie away from society keeping her dependent and voiceless. As Janie matures, she continues to be submissive to her husband, “He wanted her submission and he’d keep on fighting until he felt he had it. So gradually, she pressed her teeth together and learned to hush (71).” Though Janie ‘learned to hush’, and suppress herself, Janie still urges for her voice. When the opportunity came for Janie to reclaim her voice, "But Ah ain’t goin’ outa here and Ah ain’t gointuh hush. Naw, you gointuh listen tuh me one time befo’ you die. Have yo’ way all yo’ life, trample and mash down and then die ruther than tuh let yo’self heah ‘bout
In the end, readers are unsure whether to laugh or cry at the union of Carol and Howard, two people most undoubtedly not in love. Detailed character developments of the confused young adults combined with the brisk, businesslike tone used to describe this disastrous marriage effectively highlight the gap between marrying for love and marrying for ?reason.? As a piece written in the 1950s, when women still belonged to their husbands? households and marriages remained arranged for class and money?s sake, Gallant?s short story excerpt successfully utilizes fictional characters to point out a bigger picture: no human being ought to repress his or her own desires for love in exchange for just an adequate home and a tolerable spouse. May everyone find their own wild passions instead of merely settling for the security and banality of that ?Other Paris.?
While conversing with the naive Janie, Nanny declares, “Tain’t Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have, baby, it’s protection” (15). By referring to Janie as “baby,” Hurston utilizes a childish connotation to exaggerate Janie’s ignorance of marriage. Preparing for the potentially disastrous future, Nanny impregnates security as a top priority for Janie instilling that a prudent marriage will lead to love. Accommodating to her grandmother’s desires, Janie marries Logan. Through this union, Janie assumes an emotional attraction will coincide; however, Janie’s perception of love depreciates as Nanny equates affection to material wealth explaining how Logan “got a house bought and paid for and sixty acres uh land right on de big road... Dis
Sometimes the things that Joe does are traditional white behavior. When Joe dies his meanness left him friendless, with only Janie by his side. After Joe Starks dies, Janie realizes that her grandmother had "taken the biggest thing God ever made, the horizon…and pinched it in to such a little bit of a thing that she could tie it about her granddaughter's neck tight enough to choke her. She hated the old woman who had twisted her so in the name of love" (85).
Janie seemed to appreciate small gestures from Joe and admire his every move, was this because he saved her from Logan or because she really loved him? Maybe the two put together was enough for Janie to at least feel loved, as she knew how terrible it was to be with Logan. She has a hard time excepting Joe’s flamboyant and jealousy. Janie has to wear a head rag to cover her hair for all the town people admired it. Joe was demanding, Janie didn’t have to work any longer but she had to be obedient to Joe. She tried to speak her opinion many times, but was shot down. Joe felt that giving Janie money and status was everything, “I built a whole town for us. But that ain 't good enough for you” Janie knowing not better, just yet, had agreed with him. The transformation of Janie in this relationship comes as Joe strikes her for preparing his dinner incorrectly and as he lays on his death bed she finally voices her thoughts freely “even now, you got to die with me being obedient, instead of just letting me love you”, Janie is finally realizing that loving someone cannot change who they are, she never had to accept that just because he was a provider for them. Joe’s definition of love grew so different from Janie’s , Janie comes to a conclusion that she wants acceptance and love, not money and the title
When Janie first met her second husband, Joe, he was very caring and reassuring - an ideal husband. Joe was an ambitious young man with many goals set out for him. And like Janie, he was raised around a white background. Joe strived to be and have the best at everything. However, once Joe got Janie as his wife, he became a jealous and demanding man, just as Logan had been. Joe saw himself as a god, his sentences began with " I god..." ...
The characters are put into situations that compromise their beliefs towards love, and in addition, they engage in socially unacceptable relationships. The unpredictable nature of love can also be observed as one character resists the urge to be swept into the arms of love whereas the other is vigorously searching for it. Zora Hurston's character, Janie, already has two husbands. After being widowed by Joe, her second husband, Janie is content to be alone and says, “This freedom feeling is fine. These men didn't represent something she wanted to know about.
Zora Neale Hurston, author of the Gilded Six Bits, has a very unique writing style. The artistry in her story makes it a pleasant, easy read for any audience. The title suggests the story is based around money; but rather if one were to dig deeper the reality of the story is being told around the playfulness of money. Character disposition, an idealistic dialect, and the ability to work past an issue all work together to prove that Joe and Missie May’s lives are not strictly revolved around money.
Love is something not easily or even completely understood, it is an always too hard to but it 's only to look but not touch. But how far can temptation go before it turns into desire? In Zora Neale Hurston’s short story “The Gilded Six-Bits”, marriage and betrayal are something that is wired in the heart of many people. Marriage creates a bond within the institution of any relationship that can make it more emotionally connected to the spouse. Betrayal can tear the most delicate flower into dust; it violates any type of trust in the relationship. Hurston gives an example of three stages in a relationship which consist of Love, Admiration, Betrayal and Forgiveness in this story. The character Joe Banks love his wife Missie May, but her infidelity
The Gilded Six-Bits tells the story of a black family dealing with social restrictions and expectations during the 1930s. The story begins with a picturesque snapshot of a newlywed couple in Eatonsville, the first black integrated community in the United States. Zora Hurston in The Gilded Six Bits demonstrates gender stereotypes through a newlywed couple’s dialogue in the early 1900s. The quintessential women in American society was still the bosomy beautiful homemaker with a penchant for cooking and cleaning. The husband was usually placed on a pedestal as the breadwinner and had the more power in the household and in their marriage. The typical woman during the 1930s was expected to cook, clean, and take care of the household chores.
Her husband Joe’s search for identity was different from his wife’s. He started of the play with a strong will towards certain perspectives. We eventually learned that Joe was struggling to find his inner self. He was torn between a marriage with Harper and a secret relationship with Louis. His d...
The debate on whether to get married or stay single has been raging for a long while, with both sides of the coin having their own pros and cons regarding the matter. Many proponents of either marriage or single life have strong individual convictions, and it is difficult to reach a definitive, objective conclusion. Is the married individual happier than his/her single counterpart, or is getting married just a comfort seeking ritual that people believe they have to fulfill at some point in their lives? It is necessary to dissect this issue in the light of four factors: health and other medical factors, the economic and financial factors, mental and emotional wellbeing and lastly, the social factors. According to Webster’s dictionary, the definition of Married is “the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law”.