Joe came and helped Lum look but he couldn’t find the new keg either, so he went to the nail over his desk that he used for a file to search for the order. 

    “Janie, where’s dat last bill uh ladin’?”                                                          
    “It’s right dere on de nail, ain’t it?”
    “Naw it ain’t neither.  You ain’t put it where Ah told yuh tuh. 
If you’d git yo’mind out de streets and keep it on yo’ business maybe you could git somethin’ straight sometimes.”
    “Aw, look around dere, Jody.  Dat bill ain’t apt tuh be gone off nowheres.  If it ain’t hangin’ on de nail, it’s on yo’ desk.  You bound tuh find it if you look.”
    “Wid you heah, Ah oughtn’t tuh hafta do all dat lookin’ and searchin’.  Ah done told you time and time agin tuh stick all dem papers on dat nail!.  All you got tuh do is mind me.  How come you can’t do lak Ah tell yuh?”
    “You sho loves to tell me whut to do, but Ah can’t tell you nothin’ Ah see!”
    “Dat’s ‘cause you need tellin’,” he rejoined hotly.  “It would be pitiful if Ah didn’t.  Somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows.  I god, they sho don’t think none theirselves.”
    “Ah knows uh few things, and womenfolks thinks sometimes too!”
    “Ah naw they don’t.  They just think they’s thinkin’.  When Ah see one thing Ah understands ten.  You see ten things and don’t understand one.”

COMMENTARY

Naw it ain't neither.– Joe is already beginning the conversation with a condescending tone.  He immediately talks down to her as if he were such a superior person.  It is talk like this on a daily basis that helps Joe define his gender role for both him and his wife Janie.

If you'd git yo' mind out de streets and keep it on yo'business maybe you could git somethin' straight sometimes."–  In this novel Zora Neale Hurston uses the street as an excellent metaphor.  The street symbolizes Janie's potential route for escape.  In Janie's first marriage to Logan, it is clear that her husband is afraid Janie might leave him.  However Logan never publicly  voices his concern.  In this passage, we see the same concern of Janie leaving, only this time Joe makes a reference to it.  In addition, the street is where the low down talk occurs and where Janie could be more free with both her actions and her speech.  Joe wants Janie to refrain from having her mind in the streets because he does not want her to think about leaving him as she has become an essential icon for his image, and because it tarnishes the image of a high class woman that he would like Janie to maintain.  

Wid you heah, Ah oughtn't tuh hafta do all dat lookin' and searchin'. – Another example of Joe’s hot temper and impatience.  Here his anger begins to build for something that shouldn’t incite such confrontation.  This statement also shows that Joe feels Janie should keep to the menial tasks such as "lookin' and searchin'" for things.  Afterall, this is the role women should undertake according to the mayor.

Back To Passage

All you got tuh do is mind me. – When Janie first met Joe, he said “You ain’t never knowed what it was to be treated lak a lady and Ah wants to be de one tuh show yuh.”  Janie didn't know that she was getting into this sort of marriage when Joe first courted her.

"You sho loves to tell me whut to do, but Ah can't tell you nothin' Ah see!" – Here we see the roles of each gender exemplified.  Women at this time were not taken seriously and had little weight in a relationship.  Joe is, and clearly has been, in control.

Somebody got to think for women and chillun and chicken and cows. – Joe equates women with  children and farm animals because it helps him define his own role as a dominant male.  Also, it should be noted that Joe has a relationship with the town mule that Janie can identify with.  In this chapter Joe decides to purchase an abused and elderly mule merely for the purpose of looking like such a great and merciful man.  He wants the town to perceive him as someone who is so strong and mighty, that he can undertake such activities such as liberating a mule.  Janie can identify with the mule because she too was brought into the town of Eatonville in order to make Joe look like a mighty man.  In a sense the mule is more free than Janie because it gets to graze around town once set free, while Janie can do nothing but tend to the store.  

Joe carefully chooses his words when he chooses to place women in the same category as chicken and cows. Those farm animals  are typically known for being idiotic and not among the most intelligent animals.  This statement is hurtful at face value and significant in portraying the type of man Joe is.  

Back To Passage

I god – Although Joe is saying something to the effect of “My God” he speaks as if he is almost a deity himself.  He has spent his time building a city where he is the focal point and has complete control over his inhabitants.  Ultimately, Joe would like to have godlike power over the town of Eatonville. 

Ah knows a few things and womenfolks think sometimes too!" – Janie finally breaks free from the mold her gender is supposed to conform to.  By talking back to Joe in public, she is outwardly displaying her disregard for the social structure that takes place in this type of community.  Typically if women disagree with their spouses, they will take it up in private quarters.  Here Janie purposely stands up for herself in front of Joe’s peers to show him that she no longer wishes to fulfill the role of Mayor’s wife.

In this chapter Janie notes a division between her inside and her outside.  Typically she does not reveal her "inside" to Joe.  However this statement made by Janie in retaliation to Joe reveals her inside thoughts and concerns that she has as both a wife and a female.  Janie is a deep individual who ponders life.  She is ahead of her time and this becomes a concern for Joe.  By Janie revealing her inside thoughts, Joe confirms his suspicions that he has married an independent woman who wishes to take an active role in societal affairs.

They just think theys thinkin.  When Ah sees one thing, Ah understands ten.– Feelings by Joe and the male community that women are in fact so inferior to men, that they need assistance with such tasks as thinking.  He doesn’t think that Janie can comprehend nearly as many things as he can.  Women are an inferior gender.

Back To Passage

You see ten things and don't understand one. – this hurtful line is one of the last that Janie will put up with.  Joe Starks is the epitome of an unloving husband who will not allow her to participate in any event that is not in accordance with the vision he has for her.  Janie cannot take this lifestyle and ultimately outlives Joe so she can begin living a life that brings her happiness.