It's de Color and de Features

“It’s too many black folks already. We oughta lighten up de race” (140). These are the words of Janie’s friendly neighbor Mrs. Turner. She is a “milky sort of a” (139) color like Janie, which is why Mrs. Turner became so close to her.

In the novel Mrs. Turner is a very interesting character. Throughout chapter 16, Janie talks about how Mrs. Turner would come over all the time to talk about her “disfavorite subject… Negroes” (140). She complains “dey laughs too loud” (141) and always “singin ol’ nigger songs” (141). Mrs. Turner cannot stand black people. This is extremely ironic because Mrs. Turner is black, however she considers herself a different “type” of black.

Mrs. Turner is ashamed of her own race, which is why she thinks her and Janie should be “uh class tuh [themselves]” (141). She does not think her and Janie should be mingling with darker black people. Her philosophy is that “de black ones is holdin’ us back” (141). In Mrs. Turner’s eyes Caucasian characteristics is a gift. The lighter they are the closer they should be to “white folks’” (142). This is similar to the belief of how slaves were organized. The belief was that the lighter the slave is the closer they are to the house. Mrs. Turner, like many others during this era, worship the Caucasian features because they want to be Caucasian. Being suppressed for so long some black people did not like being black. Janie could not understand Mrs. Turner’s point of view. She assumed Caucasians would never accept them because they are too poor. Mrs. Turner replied, “Tain’t de poorness, it’s de color and de features” (141).  They were ashamed of their appearance, and as Tea Cake said "findin' fault wid everything [God] made" (145).