Janie
Janie represents what?
violence
What is the mule?
This animal represents how Black women are treated as the ones who carry everyone’s burdens.
What is the pear tree?
A tree in Nanny’s backyard where Janie sits under when she is 16 years old.
What is being symbolized in the following quote, "From barren brown stems to glistening leaf buds; from the leaf buds to snowy virginity of bloom,"?
This quote symbolizes the pear tree about Janie's development as a person.
what does janies hair represent
What is being overworked, silenced, or controlled?
Janie relates to Matt Bonner’s mule because it symbolizes this struggle she faces in her marriage to Jody.
What does the pear tree signify?
Janie’s ideal vision of love, it represents Janie’s personal growth
What does the horizon symbolize to Janie when she is with Tea Cake?
The horizon symbolizes Janie's ability to live free and adventurous with Tea Cake.
what does her relationships symbolize
desire for human connection
What is the cruelty and lack of empathy toward the powerless?
Jody frees the mule, but the townspeople’s joking funeral shows this larger theme about society’s treatment of suffering.
Why does Janie remember the pear tree throughout her life?
It represents her first understanding of what true love should feel like.
How does Janie's hair symbolize gender inequality and social power?
Janie's hair symbolizes that she is able to live freely without anyone trying to take control over her and her actions.
Janie connecting to nature represents what
What is exploitation / being treated as a beast of burden?
The mule symbolizes this broader idea about how society uses certain people until they’re “worn out,” especially women.
How does the Pear tree help define Janie’s personal identity?
Gives Janie a vision of love that is natural, equal and full of harmony.
How does Tea Cake's guitar have double symbolism in it?
Tea Cake's guitar symbolizes freedom and insecurity. It can represent the joy he brings into Janie's life, but can also show how much of an uncertain person he is reflecting on the risk and danger there is when loving someone like Janie.