Male Domination

As we know, Jody was often very controlling over Janie. He shows his colors when he says "‘mah wife don't know nothin' ‘bout no speech-makin'. Ah never married her for nothin' lak dat. She's uh woman and her place is in de home.' (Hurston 43). He often degraded Janie but at the same time put her on a pedestal as his wife. Jody also says, "Somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows. I god, they sho don't think none theirselves'"(71). Later on in the story we discover that Tea Cake is also very domineering over Janie. He would often leave her and manipulate her, just like when he stole her money and was gone all day spending it. He says he will get her money back but again is M.I.A. He ends up getting the money and gaining back Janie's trust, all while gaining more opportunity for manipulation. Janie ends up falling deep in love with Tea Cake, which often leads to vulnerability. Tea Cake represents another example of male dominance in Janie's life.
Nunkie represents how men often lie and manipulate women, Tea Cake was fooling around with her but it could be more than that. Janie is so fond of him that she would always believe him. Many men cheat on their wives and their wives have no idea because they are manipulated so much. Janie seems to be attracted to the more controlling men.
The color purple is a perfect example of male dominance; it is about a young African American girl who is forced to live with a man who was called Mister, and was abused all her life and told what to do all the time. This is an excerpt about some characters in the novel:"Sofia, who is Harpo’s wife, is a strong headed and short tempered woman, and for this time period that wasn’t the expected behavior of women. Women were supposed to follow everything that their husbands said and this shows how the genders roles and switched in parts of this novel."
“All your children so clean, she say, would you like to work for me, be my maid?
Sofia say, I say, Hell no.
She say, What you say?
Sofia say, Hell no.
Mayor look at Sofia, push his wife out the way. Stick out his chest. Girl, what you say to Miss Millie?
Sofia say, I say, Hell no.
He slap her.
I stop telling it right there.
Squeak on the edge of her seat. She wait. Look down my throat some more.
No need to say no more, Mr._____ say. You know what happen is somebody slap Sofia.
Squeak go white as a sheet. Naw, she say.
Naw nothing, I say. Sofia knock the man down.
The polices come, start slinging the children off the mayor, bang they heads together. Sofia really start to fight. They drag her to the ground.” (Walker 90-91)