Their Eyes Were Watching God

  • Chapter 6 Pg 60

    "How come Ah can't go long wid you tuh de draggin'- out?... Why Jaine! You wouldn't be seen at uh draggin'- out, wouldja? Wid any and everybody in uh passle pushin' and shovin' wid they no- manners selves? Naw, naw!" In this, Joe is being overprotective and taking his anger out on her. He is not letting Janie have a voice.
  • Chapter 6 Pg 62

    "He ought to box her jaws! But he didn't feel like fighting today, so he made an attack upon her position backhand." The diction of "feel" used in this text made it seem as if he was doing Janie a favor by just slapping, when he was capable of doing worse.
  • Chapter 7 Pg 80

    "Joe Starks didn't know the words for all this, but he knew the feeling. So he struck Janie with all his might and drove her from the store." This quote shows Joe abuses Janie just because he can't find the words to describe how he is feelings.
  • Chapter 5 Pg 43

    "Thank yuh fuh yo' compliments, but mah 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." In this scene, Joe and Jaine are at the opening of Joe's store, which is when Joe first silences Jaine's voice and sets her out to be someone worth less than him. The symbol in this scene is the lamp post, which symbolises a Beautiful thing Joe wants Jaine to see and love.
  • Chapter 6 Pg 55

    "Her hair was NOT going to show in the store. It didn't seem sensible at all. That was because Joe never told Janie how Jealous he was" Her hair was not going to show in the store because Joe never told Janie how jealous he was. He was jealous because he saw the way men looked at her in the store and would fight over her. He wanted to make sure he would be the only one to see her most beautiful attribute.
  • Chapter 8 Pg 82

    "Janie, Ah though maybe de thing would die down and you never would know nothin' 'bout it, but it's been singin' round here ever since de big fuss in de store dat Joe was 'fixed' and you wuz de one dat did it."
    Janie gets blamed for the one thing she says that is wrong but Joe doesn't have to take any responsibility for all his mistakes he has made during their entire marriage. Janie only said what she said as a form of defence.