Janie ends her childhood with her marriage to Logan Killicks, who, by Nanny’s standards, is a good provider for Janie solely because of his material wealth. However, even when Janie escapes this unsuccessful marriage in hopes of finding freedom and happiness, she ends up b

When Janie finally returns to Eatonville, she is characterized by a new resolve. She does not care what people have to say about her. She acknowledges that, “Dey’s parched up from not knowin’ things” (285). What is it that Janie knows? She knows that attempting to live up to Nanny’s goals is useless, because her goals are unattainable. She knows the richness of the black muck in the Everglades. She knows the likes of Hicks and Mrs. Turner, whose racism is counterproductive and irrational. She knows that material wealth is not the key to happiness. And most of all, Janie knows what Zora Neale Hurston knows – until blacks are able to pride themselves on their own identity, they will forever perpetrate their own inferiority to anything else they aspire to.

The townspeople of Eatonville idolize whiteness. When Daisy Blunt walks through town, she comes “walking down the street in the moonlight” (105). It is hard not to notice the repetitive white images in this passage. Essentially, Daisy is not beautiful because she is black. She is beautiful because of the white moonlight she walks under, her “white clothes,” the “shiny white” in her eyes, her Negro hair that has a “white flavor,” and her “big white hat” (106). These images are used to show how the townspeople, or at least the black men in this case, are consumed with the idea that anything white is beautiful. The idea that the blacks equate whiteness with wealth is also shown, as the shiny white in Daisy’s eyes “makes them shine like brand new money.” Like their inability to see past Daisy’s white features, the black men’s inability to disassociate whiteness with wealth and power perpetrates their own racial inferiority.

When Jody dies, Janie is officially free to abandon her high chair and escape with Tea Cake. While muted by Jody’s idealistic view for her, Janie is now able to use her voice. She is no longer fettered by the misconstrued idealism that consumed Jody. When Janie leaves with Tea Cake, her “soul crawls out from its hiding place” (192), implying that she is now free and proud. She no longer needs to suppress herself to fit to a white-bred standard. This positive imagery continues as Tea Cake and Janie make their way down to the Everglades. Janie admires the “ground so rich that everything went wild… dirt roads so rich and black” (193). For the first time, richness is not associated with being

Some topics in this essay:
Janie Jody, Everglades Janie, Tea Cake’s, Essentially Daisy, Jody Janie, , Killicks Nanny’s, Tea Cake, God Janie, Daisy Blunt, white women, tea cake, black people, white people, black community, zora neale, physical image, “silent rebellions”, wealth janie, white counterparts,