Logan Killicks,
the man that once loved Janie unconditionally, becomes an arrogant figure that
tends to “bully” Janie. He treats her as if she were a possession, as if she
was like his mule. Although Logan does care for his wife, he has his own
abusive form of affection. Logan views black woman as if they were from Janie’s
grandmother's time, when a black woman was satisfied to play the lowest role in
society. Logan continues to develop into a monster of a
husband, threating to kill his own wife. “Ah’ll take holt uh dat ax and come in
dere and kill yuh!” (Hurston 31). He
knows Janie is a spoiled girl “You done been spoilt rotten.” (Hurston 26), and
he fails to treat her as a woman of society. It is not long before Janie leaves
Logan for another man, a man of great power and control, Jody Starks.
Jody Starks, the handsome,
caring gentleman comforts Janie with lines such as “A pretty doll-baby lak you
is made to sit on de front porch” (Hurston 29). Janie eventually realizes that
Jody Starks isn’t the man she expected him to be. He is a conceited,
power-hungry politician whose main focus is to dominate his surroundings. As
Jody grows more comfortable with Janie, his true character begins to reveal
itself. Both husbands of Janie portray the typical man of the 1900s. They show
little to no respect for woman by belittling them and treating them as if they
were at the bottom of the social class. The
film “Enough” depicts the idea of a man mistreating a woman. The antagonist
(the husband) in this film consistently attacks his wife. His abusive
characteristics lead her into fleeing their home. This man portrays both Jody
and Logan, maybe not physically abusing Janie, but mentally.
In this part of the film, Slim
(Jennifer Lopez) and her husband are in the middle of an argument. Her husband
reaches a breaking point which leads to him smacking her and punching her in the
face, knocking her to the ground. Her husband portrays both Jody and Logan, in
that they’re abusive and see themselves as a higher power. “I’m a man honey, it’s
no contest.”
It is true that Starks and Killicks are very much alike. Both put on a facade to lure Janie in only to reveal their true character. Unfortunately for Janie she has put herself in a toxic relationship. And unfortunately, for many who are in relationships similar to Janie's, they are dealing with a matter of domestic abuse.
ReplyDeleteBoth Logan Killicks and Jody Starks induce Janie to become their wife, but eventually alter personality and turn into the man Janie would want to avoid as you stated above. The men's actions almost resemble the casting of a spell from one who practices witchcraft. They seduce or trick her into marrying them and then show their true colors. This closely resembles to the play Othello in that Brabantio believed Othello must have casted a spell on Desdemona for her to ever go with him. Desdemona's father concluded that Othello seduced her and he was a truly villain which proves to be very similar to the case of Janie and her husbands.
ReplyDeleteVery valid point Kyle. I agree with you that women during that era in the early 1900s were treated like subhumans. Janie being black even makes it worse because in her black community, it translates to her being seen as the lowest of the low. She is nearly close to "dirt" in metaphorical sense. Jody Starks was admittedly a vast improvement of Logan Killicks because he at least pretended to love Janie and offered her a better wife, but unfortunately they were both the same. The abusive behavior of both of these men in Janie's life and many other women is probably the reason why men have become hated so much in the modern world.
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