The mule scene in Their Eyes Were Watching God is rather well-known. We have begun to discuss what we think mules symbolize in class but in your writing tonight, I want you to examine in depth the scene from Chapter 6. How does Hurston personify the mule? Why does she do this? Why is this scene significant? What is Hurston trying to achieve with this scene? Write a brief response and use evidence to support your thinking.
The mule represents Jannie and how they are both trapped. The mule is not independent and has someone take care of it just like Jody takes care of Janie. Hurston does this in order to show the relationship of Jody and Janie. Instead of saying that Janie is controlled by Jody she does this by depicting the mule.
ReplyDeleteSo far in Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie has struggled with love and has struggled with figuring out who she is as a person. As she is in her second marriage during Chapter 6, she is starting to realize that Jody is no better than Logan was. He controls her extensively and has a great amount of power due to his wealth. Hurston personifies the mule because it symbolizes Janie’s relationship with Jody. Matt Bonner never feeds his mule and he always makes it work so therefore he has cruel control over the mule just like Jody has over Janie. This scene is important because when people are making fun of Matt and teasing him, Janie wants to join the conversation as well but Jody does not allow her to. This is when she realizes that he bosses her around along with the fact that he makes her tie her long hair up so other men do not get distracted by her.
ReplyDeleteHurston personifies the mule by using it as a symbol for how Logan and Jody both control Janie. Logan wants Janie to work for him just like the mule and Jody just controls Janie, not letting her be independent. Hurston does this to show how the men are superior to women in this time period and in the story.The scene with the mule is significant because it shows how Jody easily just bought the mule so it can live in peace and he can control it, just like what he did to Janie after marrying her.
ReplyDeleteI think the mule scene is used in two ways. The first is the that Hurston personifies the mule's struggle in order to represent the slavery that Nanny and many other blacks went through before the civil war. When they were slaves they were not independent as they were controlled by their owners. I also think the mule is personified to show how Janie feels like she is inferior to the men in her life and as a result is controlled by them. Logan wanted her to do the hard work in the fields and with Jody, she is given no rights or independence and she can't speak for herself and when she does like on the last page of chapter 6, he tells her to shut up.
ReplyDeleteIn her story, Janie always had problems about her life, about her love life, she doesn't have control over her life. In chapter 6, she is married to Joe Starks because he is much more nicer than Logan but then he turns out to be just like Logan. Mules symbolize Janie's relationship with the men.
ReplyDeleteThe mule is symbolic of Janie and how she is being treated by Jody. He doesn't give her independence or allow her to speak her mind. He is treating Janie as though she is there just to please him (like a trophy wife). Although mules aren't "trophy wife" material, they are still not independent and don't have a choice but to do what they are told, similar to Janie. This scene is important because it truly outlines how Janie has been treated by her husbands in the book so far. I think Hurston is trying to tell the reader that what is happening to Janie is wrong and that men and women should be treated equally.
ReplyDeleteThe mule is a symbol for Janie in the story, because she began with an abusive "owner" that over worked her in the fields. So in this comparison, Logan would be represented by Matt; and the hard work that he pushed Janie through would be the reason that she did not mind leaving him for what seemed like a better husband. When Joe bought the mule, he set it free and fed it until it was fat; in the same way that he began to excessively spoil Janie. She learnt that she didn't want to be told what to do, because she wanted to follow her own mind. Just like Matt claimed the mule was in page 55: "Aw dat mule is plenty strong, Jus' evil and don't want tuh be led." Eventually the amounts of food and spoiling killed the mule, which may be a foreshadow for what Janie will do when she gets tired of the spoilt life that Joe is giving her.
ReplyDeleteThe mule symbolizes Janie and how she is being treated by Jody. During her second marriage she is starting to realize that Jody is no better than Logan was. He controls her life and doesn't allow her to speak her mind. Matt Bonner never feeds his mule and he always makes it work. This symbolizes their relationship as Janie is always put to work and is never rewarded. This scene is important because everyone was talking together and Janie wanted to join the conversation but Jody wouldn't allow her. This is when Janie realizes that she is truly being treated like a "mule". Her husband won't even let her wear her hair down as he doesn't want her distracting other men
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ReplyDeleteWhen Jody buys the mule in page 58, Janie praises Jody's action by describing it as Abraham Lincoln's emancipation of slaves. Other people in the town, such as Hambo, agree with her and call Janie a "born orator." However, in page 59, the mule is found dead "under the big tree on his rawbony back with all four feet up in the air." This description is definitely portraying the lynching of freed African Americans in the South after the Reconstruction Era. Although slavery officially ended in 1869, when the Civil War ended, African Americans did not achieve their rights until the 1960s. After all, Jody bought the mule to pretend as if he actually cared about it, to impress his wife and to be looked upon by the townspeople as an honorable mayor. Ultimately, by personifying the mule as a former slave, Zora Neale Hurston points out the questionable objectives of the Republicans who advocated the emancipation of slaves and, therefore debunks Jody's love for Janie.
ReplyDeleteThe mule represents how Janie is treated in the story by both the men that she marries. In both marriages Janie is forced to work and not given any freedom to do what she wants. This is directly related to how the mule is treated the mule can't make his own decisions and is forced to work. In the end even after the mule is bought by Jody and spoiled and pampered it dies. This symbolizes that if even if you are spoiled and get everything you want eventually you will die and what you had will mean nothing compared to what you did.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 6, when Jody brought the mule to stop people teasing the mule for fun, his behavior is considered to be similar to the emancipation of slaves. Instead of representing slaves, who were all freed after Civil war, mules actually indicate women, the “new slave” in the community. Like the mule, Jody treats Janie like she is his property. He does not allow her to interact with other people whom he considers as trashy. He also restrains her from showing off her hair and forces her to wear head rag. Janie has no freedom just like the mule or a former slave. She has to listen to what her husband says and is controlled by her husband. By describing mule, Hurston indicates the status of woman in the community.
ReplyDeleteThe mule represents Janie's life in the story. She is constantly working hard but she is not being treated the way she would like to be treated. Similarly to a mule, Janie is treated like property and she does not have a say for herself. She lets her husbands control her life and tell her what to do and she is not rewarded or acknowledged for what she does.
ReplyDeleteA mule is looked at in todays society as a useful work tool and obviously as a an animal which gives it less of the title that a human. In this passage Jody is essentially being looked at as inhuman and both men have shown major signs of being sexist. Mules have never been looked at as an animal with that is cherished and respected. The mule represents her past and present of ho hard she has worked and how much her work has been overlooked.
ReplyDeleteThe mule represents something Janie does not want to be. She is constantly being forced to work like a mule. Logan wants Janie to become another one of his mules like most african women were at the time, and Jody also like logan wants to use her for his benefit kinda like a mule. She is never rewarded for her work making her feel like a mule.
ReplyDeleteThe mule and Janie play very similar roles in their lives. They are both constantly put to work and are both considered property. The mule is harassed and tortured and is too weak to defend itself, while Janie is constantly ignored and is not allowed to talk in public. Not only is Jody not allowed to talk, but she is not even allowed to show her hair. Due to their limitations, the mule and Janie have no choice but to watch as the world unfolds around her. Despite being weak, the mule eventually builds up the courage to run away, which could be an indication of Janie leaving Jody
ReplyDeleteThe mule and Janie have the same role in the story now. The both are now own by Jody. He doesn't appreciate what Janie does. Jody turns into Logan he controls what Janie is doing and what she can do. The mule show how Jody will buy whatever to make others happy or what he thinks people will be happy.
ReplyDeleteI think Hurston tries to tell a story of African American through the story of the mule. She symbolizes the hard-working animal’s life to the life of African American.
ReplyDeleteThe mule is well-known among townspeople as she describes, “everybody indulged in the mule talk” (53). After the mule is found, townspeople tease him and make him show his temper. Hurston makes the point that the mule, same as African American, is seen as a clown which everyone makes fun of.
Janie gets pity on the mule and tells townspeople to stop teasing. Jody, who is always on her side to gain her love, responses what townspeople do to the mule that “Dese tan shoes sets mah feet on fire” (57). Then, he buys the mule in order to please her.
After the mule is purchased, townspeople mock that “they made coffee for his breakfast. … He stuck his head in the window” (59). Hurston tries to compare this scenario to what happen to the African American. That is to say although the slaves were set free (metaphor of the mule being purchased), they were still treated unequally in many forms like being look down, racist, discriminated, and mocked.
Hurston describes that the mule died “on his rawbony back with four feet up in the air” (59) and this is not natural. It could be inferred that when African American die, they are still not rest in peace.
The mock ceremony held for the dead mule is just because townspeople feel guilt. It seems like some kind of responsibility to compensate to the bad things they had done to him.