Power Given To The Wrong Hands

               Power, specifically black power, was an issue of great importance to the people of the Harlem Renaissance. Hurston includes many specific characters that contain different propositions to gain power or wealth within a white dominated world. Nanny's idea is that her granddaughter, Janie, should marry a rich man so she doesn’t have to go through the trouble of not gaining enough financial support. Joe Starks gains power in the same way that whites traditionally did, by gaining a position of leadership and using it to dominate others. However, Joe portrays himself as a tyrant who tends to “bully” his own people, including Janie. He somehow has a way of forcing people to do things for him, like digging ditches around the streets by his store.  Power — control of people, property, and even money — rules Jody Starks.

                A leader should not be feared by his own people, but respected. “They bowed down to him rather, because he was all of these things, and then again he was all of these things because the town bowed down.” (Hurston 50). Once Joe successfully opens a new store for the town, the power and wealth get to his head. Instead of respecting those who provide him that wealth, he treats them as if they were peasants. Leaders such as Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Mao Zedong, etc. all connect to Jody Starks. Although Jody is not as extreme as these tyrants, they all have the same mindset of gaining control over others. They are all hungry for control and their main priority is to retain that power. The people who were ruled under these tyrants were afraid of the position that those leaders had over them. Power given to the wrong hands will only lead to the downfall of a society.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anxo1ypcC-c

During this episode of SpongeBob, Patrick Star is crowned king. Realizing the power he now contains, he uses it to benefit himself. Patrick represents Jody in a sense that since he has all this power, he can request for anything he wants without being questioned.