Why does janie feel sympathy for the mule

The Townspeople turn of joe because they are fed up with his egotistical attitude and of the way he treats the townspeople.

They begin to question Janie and they become envious. When Joe chastises Janie for misplacing a bill, she leaves the porch and goes back into the store, bitter about her enforced silence. Oleh Gopfrich Explainer. What does Janie like and dislike about the store? Janie likes the store when she gets to talk to the townspeople and listen to the general gossip. She dislikes having to run around and complete difficult orders, and she hates the head rags she has to wear. Alegria Brandel Explainer.

Why does Janie feel sympathy for the Mule? Janie feels bad for the mule ; she wants to help it but doesn't want to get in trouble with Joe for speaking out.

Joe hears her muttering words of sorrow under her breath and decides to do a noble thing. He pays five dollars for the ownership of the mule so that he can protect it from any further damage.

Kewin Pahlen Explainer. What does the hurricane symbolize in their eyes? The hurricane symbolizes the all-powerful force of nature, which trumps even the most intense exertions of power by humans, such as Jody's abusive need for control, or Mrs.

Turner's sense of racial hierarchy, or Tea Cake's physical strength. Elio Valeiras Pundit. What does the narrator reveal about Jody Janie doesn't know?

What does the narrator reveal about Jody that Janie does not know? Jody hates her and wants to get back at her. He's more sick than she thinks. Desires to appear normal and strong to Janie. Tewfik De Escalera Pundit.

How does Joe insult Janie? It made Jody feel amateurish by seeing his power and reputation ruined to the point that everyone in the store laughs at him that makes himself lash out in a blind rage by fiercely hitting Janie and driving her from the store. Jody joins in the conversation, and despite her passive position as listener, Janie too finds herself engaging in the lively discussion — that is, until Jody demands her to return indoors to help a customer.

Jody's controlling behavior does not stop, but continues to grow in frequency and intensity: he publicly accuses Janie of incompetence in the store and physically abuses her one evening over dinner. As their relationship worsens, Janie also loses sexual interest in Jody, such that their marriage exists without love or passion. Nonetheless, Janie does not mention any of her grievances to Jody and instead keeps her composure in front of him, though she has realized her desire for something new internally.

The townspeople's conversation about nature versus nurture calls attention to the novel's overarching exploration of the human desire for control over others and over nature.

Janie seeks participation in order to find her own ideas through speaking, and its notable here that the narrator, which often interrupts the characters' speech, here lets them speak without interruption. Janie's decision to remain silent is ultimately a self-defense mechanism, as she realizes that expressing herself will result in physical abuse. That said, her discontent causes her to realize her own needs internally, which nonetheless marks progress from her previous states of being — with Logan and even in the earlier stages of marriage with Jody.

Related Quotes with Explanations. Later one day at the storefront, a poor woman called Mrs. Robbins — wife of a man named Tony Robbins — enters the store and requests a bit of meat from Jody for her starving family. Janie ends up getting the meat for Mrs. Robbins, who remarks that her husband neglects to feed both her and their children. Meanwhile, the men on the porch of the store laugh incredulously at Mrs.

Robbins behavior, saying that they would never allow their wives to behave so absurdly in public. In response, Janie voices her disapproval of their bad attitude, and tells the group of men that despite what they think, they don't know anything about women. The men on the porch are dismissive of Mrs. Robbins' needs in the same way that Jody is dismissive of Janie's needs — in all cases, these men desire power, and particularly power over women.

Recall that Nanny warns Janie in the first chapter that the "nigger woman is de mule uh de world. Although it seems as though Joe cares for the mule because he pays five dollars to protect it, it becomes clear that he is only exploiting the mule for further self-aggrandizement. He literally uses its carcass as a platform for the "great eulogy" that he performs.

Joe prevents Janie from attending the funeral, so no one is there to speak out against the mule's desecration. Nature, in the form of buzzards, is able to articulate Janie's rage, and speak for the mule. The chief buzzard is seems like a religious figure; Hurston refers to him as the Parson. When the Parson asks what killed the mule, the other buzzard's answer "fat.

The connection between the formerly starved mule and women is repeated by the author twice in the chapter. A few pages later, Joe baits Mrs. Robbins as if she were a mule who was starving for food. She screams, "Tony don't fee-eed me. Robbins leaves, the men speak about her disrespectully, as if she were an animal. Although Janie does not speak when Matt Bonner's mule is mistreated, she finally "thrusts into the conversation" when she sees a real woman being treated like a mule.

She explains her faith that God and Nature will watch over women and protect them from misogny. The symbol of the porch becomes fully personified in this chapter. Hurston claims that "the porch laughs", and that "the porch boils [in anger]. They all act with one consciousness, one set of beliefs, and no one is willing to act differently from the rest. After the most shocking moment in the chapter, Hurston uses understatement to underline Joe's violence. When her husband beats Janie after she cooks a bad meal, she expresses no anger, hatred, or disgust.

She stood there until something fell off the shelf inside her The passage where Joe slaps Janie ends on an optimistic note: "She was saving up feelings for some man she had never seen. Eleven years pass and Janie learns to stop fighting. Some days she considers running away from Joe just as she ran away from Logan years ago. But Janie fears that she is too old to run away.

Janie realizes that Joe has become very old, and that he has become more abusive to her than ever before. He constantly criticizes her for being old and ugly, hoping that by pointing out her flaws, he can distract others from noticing his own age and frailty. One afternoon, a customer named Steve Mixon wants some chewing tobacco. Janie tries to cut it, but makes a mistake. Joe recuts the tobacoo and then begins to insult Janie terribly.

For the first time, Janie retaliates. She tells Joe that he is nothing but a big voice; she tells the people in the store that when he pulls his pants down that there is nothing there. Joe is irrecoverably crushed, his manliness stripped away. This chapter marks a turning point in Janie's character development.

She learns how to stand up to Joe and uses her voice to overpower his. There are several biblical references in the chapter which indicate the importance of religion to black culture at this time. Janie is described by Joe as "older than Methusalem. Rather than organized religion, it is nature that fortifies and empowers Janie.

She is able to split her mind and see "the shadow of herself tending store and prostrating itself before Jody" while her true self "sits under a shady tree with the wind blowing through her hair and clothes. Joe's health deteriorates quickly. He begins to spend a lot of time with a root doctor, instead of relying on a real doctor. Janie worries that Joe is not eating enough, but then she finds out that Mrs.

Davis is cooking for him. Janie recognizes that she is a better cook than Mrs. Davis and tries to prepare a soup for Joe. He refuses the soup, indicating that he believes she may be trying poison him or trying to hurt him with Voodoo magic. Jody becomes very ill and takes to a sick bed permanently; he refuses to allow Janie to visit him. This was where everyone in the town would sit around and gossip about other people in the town which is what they did in their free time.

Finally, Joe buys the mule from Bonner because he wants the suffering animal to spend the rest of his life in comfort. His humane act inspires Janie to praise him, "Freein' dat mule makes uh mighty big man outa you. Matt sells his mule for five dollars. What does Phoeby tell her to do? Phoeby tells her to bring it along in secret and never let Tea Cake know she had it. The pear tree symbolizes the passionate and erotic love that Janie experiences when she gets her first kiss as a teenager.

The tree is dishonored by her loveless marriage, but becomes active once again when she meets her third husband, Tea Cake. Janie's hair is a symbol of her independence. The secret money that Janie keeps from Tea Cake is representative of her fears that what people think is true. That she is too old for Tea Cake and he will leave her for another woman.

Although, her true fear is that she is making a mistake. Before being with Tea Cake , Janie was only living her life for other people. The Townspeople turn of joe because they are fed up with his egotistical attitude and of the way he treats the townspeople. They begin to question Janie and they become envious. When Joe chastises Janie for misplacing a bill, she leaves the porch and goes back into the store, bitter about her enforced silence. Symbols stand for, represent , or suggest another thing.

The horizon is a symbol of Janie's lifelong search for happiness.