The Everglades was a “big and new” (128) piece of undeveloped land. This place embodied everything that Eatonsville lacked; which attracted people with a different mindset. “There was wild cane… hiding the rest of the world. People were wild too” (129). This new land isn’t stuck in the old ways; everything here is new and refreshing.
The Everglades represents the youth and the change on the horizon. Although Janie wants to be treated as an equal, when the time came, she didn’t stand up for herself. Janie is an older woman stuck in the old way. When Mrs. Turner’s brother came, Tea Cake got very jealous and whipped Janie. In a conversation with other men, they said “Lawd! Ah love tuh whip uh tender women lak Janie! Ah bet she don’t even holler” (147). The other women in town are all younger and no longer allowed their husbands to beat them; they began to fight back with “ninety- nine rows uh jaw teeth” (148). Eatonsville represented a haven for blacks while Everglades represents a haven for women.
Historically speaking, the Women’s Right Movement came to a halt during the Civil War. When Janie was still in Eatonsville, no women dared to fight back when their husband beat them, however in the Everglades, one man said “mah woman spread her lungs all over Palm Beach, let alone knock out mah teeth” (148). The “oppressors” (the husbands) realized the momentum of women’s right and stop beating their wives, “Dat’s de reason Ah done quit beatin’ mah woman” (147). The movement regained attention Post Civil War, and women became more bold with their actions.
This was very different view point of the Everglades. I did not think to compare and contrast Eatonville to it until reading your blog. I also failed to notice how different the women in Eatonville are to the women in the Everglades. It seems as though down in the Everglades, they had more power and knew their worth. Great observation!
ReplyDeleteI liked your relation of the Women's Rights Movement and the impact that the advancement of women had on culture. I feel that Janie's story is, in a sense, a synechdoche of these events. You made a great observation of the Everglades and a great contrast to Eatonville as well.
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