What Is The Effect Of Hypocrisy In The Mayor's Wife

Joe’s first instance of controlling behavior is met with radio-silence by Janie, indicating that she favors Joe’s company more than she desires to voice her own opinions. She fails to express her displeasure regarding Joe’s comments, and instead strives to maintain appearances, “[making] her face laugh” even though it “[isn’t] too easy” as the citizens of Eatonville watch her (Hurston 43). While Janie appears blasé to appease the crowd, she is upset that Joe prevents her from speaking, he also takes the choice from her. With Joe, Janie is “nothing more or less

When Joe “Jody” Starks appears out of nowhere, Janie feels like her dreams have finally come true. But after a while, the marriage turns out to be little more than the stint with Killicks. Starks, like Killicks, treats her as property and not as someone he actually loves. One example is how Jody makes Janie put her hair up in a wrap while working in the store, rather than leave it down. Another is when he publicly criticizes her appearance, saying she is starting to show her age, when he is clearly at least ten years older: “’ You ain’t no young courtin’ gal. You’se uh old woman, nearly fourty’” (Hurston 79). Joe feels the need to tear down Janie, in order to make himself feel more important, which was an important part of being a man during this time.

Joe is power hungry and seeks to dominate Janie, who cannot be held back and craves the freedom to manage her own life. With such caustic tension, it seems odd that Janie would stay with Joe until his death. Clearly, she was not afraid to walk out on a husband, so why did she choose to stay? Though Joe was frequently an oppressive dictatorial husband, he still offered more love to her than the cold, quasi-emotionless Logan Killicks. Only after finding love with Tea Cake, however, would Janie realize one of the major themes of the novel: in order to gain true happiness, you cannot sacrifice one desire for another, in her case freedom from oppression for love.

Therefore, both Joe and Janie are looked up to by the townspeople. To some extent, this could be considered a form of equality. Unfortunately, this is about where the equality stops. While Joe gains prominence through his own actions and words, Janie gains some prominence by doing what she is told to do. She is not permitted to voice her own opinions or join in the lighthearted gossiping which occurs outside of their store. Janie is expected to be the dutiful wife. If she makes a mistake, then she should have known better and therefore should accept her punishment quietly. Joe holds the obvious upper hand in the relationship until his death whereupon Janie inherits a large amount of money and learns to enjoy the freedom of living as her own person.

He does not allow Janie to speak in front of crowds. Janie “don’t know nothin’ bout no speech-makin’... She’s uh woman and her place is in de home” (Hurston, Pg 75.) Though she is offended by her husband’s belief that she is incapable of speaking without making a fool of herself, she “pressed her teeth together and learned to hush” (Hurston, Pg 71.) This shows Janie’s pleasing nature. She might not agree with Joe’s rules, but she does what he wants because she loves him. However, as time progresses, she begins to grow tired of Joe’s rule’s. She believes she is smart enough to join in conversations and provide her input. Janie decides to stand up to Joe, and do “what she has never done before, that is, thrust herself into the conversation” (Hurston, Pg 75.) This is the first sign of Janie rebelling against

As the story proceeds, Joe begins to control the economy of the city, self-proclaimed mayor, purchase more land, and hires neighbors to build a store. These changes that brings to his personality begins to distance Janie from him, feeling that she has become a "trophy". On the other hand, he forces her to wear a kerchief when she is working in the store. Janie’s hair is so attractive to men that Joe makes her hide it, thus limiting her femininity and repressing her identity. As T. Johnson and T. Bankhead stated,

Janie) in a sexual manner. It also shows how jealous Joe was of Janie and her youthfulness, as Jody was 10 years her senior. The head rag “irked her endlessly” (55), however she submits to Jody’s control. With Joe Janie must hide her real self, being what her husband wishes her to be, presenting a façade to the outside world of whom they think she should be, not who she really wants to be.

Janie's attraction to Joe Starks' charisma quickly diminishes when his overdose of ambition and controlling personality get the best of him. Although he is a big voice in the town, Janie only sees him as a big voice. All his money and power have no effect on her when all he does is ridicule and control her. He makes it clear where Janie belongs: "Ah never married her for nothin' lak dat. She's uh woman and her place is in de home" (Hurston 43). This is ironic because when she is with Logan, she wants to be in the house doing her own thing, but Joe is making it sound like confinement. It's as if she has no choice in the matter and Joe intends to make his power over her known. People have different desires and sometimes when we get caught up in our success, we can end up hurting others. Joe's reply to Janie is a great example of the insensitivity that can form from the pride we can possibly inherit when we achieve success: "Ah told you in de first beginnin' dat Ah aimed tuh be uh big voice.

In hopes for a better relationship, Janie moves away with a person who was encompassed with a more idealistic marriage. Joe encountered Janie, telling her that he was on his way to success, a higher social status. These words sparked Janie, and reasured her that she did want a more “peach tree” like marriage. A marriage that was perfect, that was full of love. Consequently, Janie and Joe cultivated a love for each other, yet this was not exactly what she imagined. Janie was glued to Joe, she was treated as if she was an object. A key attribute of Joe’s is jealousy, he is persistently perturbed that other men are glancing at Janie. Joe makes this clear as he informs,” “Naw, Jody, it wasn’t because Ah didn’t have no sympathy. Ah had uh lavish

Janie initially sees Joe Starks as an enticing option to better her life; however, his frequent use of the phrase "I god" emphasizes his commitment to living under the white hierarchy (Hurston 34). Joe's dialect reveals that he sees himself as a god-like figure, but never able to fully able to achieve the power of a white man, shown by the lack of capitalization of "god." However, this pursuit leads him to dominate Janie's life, most notably her appearance in public. Contrasting with the relative physical inactivity of Joe Starks, the sight of another man touching Janie's hair spurs him to "[feel] like rushing forth with the meat knife and chopping off the offending hand" (Hurston 55). Hurston's dialect here, not in the typical spoken dialogue, but the biblical allusion of cutting off an offending body part to maintain the safety of the whole suggests that Joe considers Janie's beauty a foil to his greatness. Julie Newman argues, "He clearly represents an aggressive, white-identified capitalism, consuming Janie" (821). In ridding himself of his African American heritage and dialect in favor of white culture, Joe elevates himself above the other citizens of Eatonville, including Janie. After nearly twenty years of oppression, Janie rebukes Joe's control on her life: "When you pull down yo' britches, you look lak de change uh life" (Hurston 79). Hurston's use of "you" amidst other more familiar dialect suggests Janie noticed Joe's infatuation with white hierarchy, yet still used traditional African American speech to break publicly with Joe's rule. However, Janie already criticized a male representative of the white culture, Logan Killicks. While in bed, representative of the most intimate part of marriage, Janie wonders

She felt far away from things and lonely. Janie soon began to feel the impact of awe and envy against her sensibilities. The wife ofthe mayor was not just another woman as she supposed. She slept with authority and so she was part of it in the town mind." A skillfull change in narration which combines the black dialect and the conventional narration occurs in the following quotation as the narrator shows how the towns people feel about a spittoon which Joe Starks bought for his wife:

';(pg. 40-41). Joe publicly humiliates Janie constantly saying she is as low as mules. Joe feels that his marriage is a part of his image, a part of his job. He does not marry her for love.

Joe Starks is a “quick-thinking, fast-talking, ambitious man, headed for a newly founded all black community, where he plans to make a fortune” (Rosenblatt 30). Jody offers up a new start to Janie and she leaps at the opportunity of marrying him, “committing bigamy” (Rosenblatt 30). Jody becomes the mayor of Eatonville and provides Janie with a middle-class furnished house that does not provide her “with the felicity and self-fulfillment that she needs” (Ha 33). Janie is treated no more or less than that of the mayor’s wife.

Janie leaves Logan to be with Joe Starks who was waiting for her. On the train ride to town, the narrator says, “he bought her the best things the butcher had” (Hurston 35). Joe is more concerned about money and power. Janie feels that he’s giving her gifts, but it’s more that he’s showing off his money. Janie is the wife of the mayor and it

Another example, where Janie struggles to find her voice is with her second husband Jody Starts, a man who starves for power and the mayor of Eatonville. Jody rarely allows Janie to speak her mind, participate in social