As chapter four begins, Logan Killicks prepares to travel to Lake City, in order to buy another mule, so that Janie can plow the potatoes herself. While he is gone, Janie meets the incredibly intriguing Joe Starks, who grows passionate about marrying her and becoming a "big voice" that will build up a new town in Florida. After a large fight, where Mr. Killicks threatens Janie if she does not do his work, Janie decides to run away with Joe, freeing herself from the control of Logan Killicks. In chapter five, Janie and Joe arrive in the new town, which is much smaller and less developed than they expected. Joe uses his own money to buy two hundred more acres of land and build a store, which brings ten new families to town in only six weeks. At the opening event for the store, Tony Taylor nominates Joe to be the mayor, to which everyone agrees. However, after the lighting of the first streetlamp in a colored town, this position of authority causes Janie to feel a sense of loneliness and division from the rest of the women.
This feeling of separation is heightened, due to the appearance of the Stark's house compared to the rest of the village, which is similar to that of a plantation house compared to slave's quarters. Joe also begins giving the people different tasks and jobs to fulfill, as well as making Henry Pitts leave town for being caught with ribbon cane, which begins gossip about
Joe's new wealth and speculations about Janie. At the beginning of these chapters, it seems as though Joe will provide a new, happy, carefree life for Janie. However, as the reader learns more about Joe's character it starts to look like this marriage will be just as empty as the one with Killicks. Janie does not receive the respect and opportunity she is promised by Joe and is left in the same situation as before, being unappreciated and overlooked. Joe focuses on himself and his own desires, not taking into consideration the wants and desires of his wife. Their marriage is filled with control, prohibiting Janie to escape from her family's history of slavery and racism. On top of this, Janie is unable to create relationships with others outside of her household, due to the control her husband holds in the town. When looking at Joe's lifestyle, one may perceive it to similar to that of a slave owner because he bosses people in the town around and shows off his money, which to others is very limited. Similarly to how kids talked about Janie in school as a child, the people of the town begin to gossip about her as well, adding one more thing to the list of experiences Janie is unable to escape.
Questions:
How much longer will the town and Janie be able to stand Joe?
Will Janie ever be able to escape the racist and controlling life similar to that of her past?
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