The Gilded six bits.
Hurston’s short story, “The Gilded Six-Bits, uses dramatic imagery to outline the healing of Joe and Missie May’s connection through a symbolic gold coin. Hurston, “spares no expense when gracing the pages with her tremendously vivid imagery and animating the most static objects (Lenil 1). A simple coin traces the process of a marriage as well as enlightens the reader with the idea that money, or the idea of an urban life, does not always mean happiness
Joe and Missie May’s original innocent happiness begins to detoriate when they become fascinated with Ottis D. Slemmon. Slemmon, a stranger in town, represents a new world of wealth and urbanity. Living on money given to him by white women in Chicago, Slemmon has eradicated the southern way of life in exchange for an urban class, which fascinates Joe. Slemmon covered in gold, as Joe describes, “He’s got a five-dollar gold piece for a stickpin and he got a ten ten-dollar gold piece on his watch chain and his mouf is jes’ crammed full of gold teeth”(Hurston 254), is no longer is a man, but rather a symbol. Through Joe’s idolization of Slemmon, it is apparent that he wants to become part of this “wealthy new world. Although Missie May is first unimpr
Joe and Missie May’s original innocent happiness begins to detoriate when they become fascinated with Ottis D. Slemmon. Slemmon, a stranger in town, represents a new world of wealth and urbanity. Living on money given to him by white women in Chicago, Slemmon has eradicated the southern way of life in exchange for an urban class, which fascinates Joe. Slemmon covered in gold, as Joe describes, “He’s got a five-dollar gold piece for a stickpin and he got a ten ten-dollar gold piece on his watch chain and his mouf is jes’ crammed full of gold teeth”(Hurston 254), is no longer is a man, but rather a symbol. Through Joe’s idolization of Slemmon, it is apparent that he wants to become part of this “wealthy new world. Although Missie May is first unimpr
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Although Missie May put the coin back in Joe’s pocket, he refuses to spend it. The refusal to spend the money symbolizes his refusal to let go of his anger and lost pride. With out spending the money, Joe is also not sexually, spending time with his wife. When Missie May confides to Joe that she is pregnant, Joe feels for the coin in his pocket, reminding himself of his past hurt and disbelief that she may be pregnant with his child.
Some topics in this essay:
Gold, Joe, Money, Precious Metal, Coin, Gold Standard, Chinn, Hurston, Dunn, Chicago,
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