Their Eyes Were Watching God: Chapters 6-8

 Chapter 6 starts off with Janie in the store listening to some of the townsmen tease a man named Matt Bonner about an underfed, overworked, mis-tempered mule. Everyone in Eatonville pokes fun at the mule, just like they talk about the women in the town. They are a source of laughter and entertainment for the men, but it comes at the emotional and sometimes physical cost of the women and the mule. As much as Janie enjoys listening to the men, Jody does not let her sit outside which bothers Janie, but not as much as his persistence on her wearing a head rag out in public. The mule ends up running away and some of the townsmen find it outside the store. They mess around with it which upsets Janie and leads to Jody buying the mule so that it can rest until its death. It becomes a symbol of pride in the town. Eventually, the mule dies, and they town holds a mock funeral for it, but again, Jody prohibits Janie from engaging in town activities. As the chapters go on, the men on the porch continue to tell stories that catch Janie’s attention, but Joe consistently reals her back and picks fights with her to prevent her from engaging. Jody has built a “high chair” for her to sit on, and he thinks she should be grateful, but she wants to run free, feel emotions, and be a part of the rich community in Eatonville. He is constantly restricting her feelings to keep up this perfect persona that he imagines for her, and as the years go on, it wears Janie down. The years age Janie, but they age Jody even more. He starts to become insecure in his own skin and takes it out on Janie by ridiculing her appearance, until she finally snaps back which leads to his physical decline. His reputation plummets alongside his self-esteem and power. After a big fight in the store, Janie and Jody live in separate rooms in the house and Jody’s health deteriorates. He consults with alternative doctors which tell him lies, until we finally learn that his kidneys are failing, and he is going to die. Janie decides to talk with him one last time, and she tells him that he does not even really know who she truly is because he was always trying to change her. In the end of Chapter 8, Jody takes his last breath and Janie lets her hair down, frees herself from Joe’s grasp, then puts it back up to put on a mask of grief for the townsfolk.

Chapter 6-8 center around death with both the mule and Jody passing. When the mule died, the vultures stalked the funeral until it was finally their time, and with Jody, the “wingless bird” clouded the town, foreshadowing his death. Both the mule and Jody were a sense of pride for the town at one point, but with their death, Eatonville can move own to new, hopeful, and freeing endeavors.

What is next for Janie?