Working in the muck

Janie has a lot more fun in the muck than she ever had before. She enjoyed the work and was for the most part very happy. The difference was that Logan and Jody had told her to do the work and had made her to be who she was. She wasn’t allowed to decide things for herself. Logan made Janie work and she hated it because she didn’t like Logan and she didn’t like being told what to do. Then Jody took complete control over Janie and forced her into things. He never let her decide things for herself and always had her on top of a pedestal. When she and Teacake went to the muck she didn’t work at first and it sort of was her decision to start working. Everything with Teacake has been her choice and he hasn’t bossed her around the way that Jody and Logan did. With Teacake he does kind of control what she does but in the end it is mostly her decision. Also Janie is allowed to be more involved in the muck and can actually talk to everyone unlike how it was with Jody where she had to keep her mouth shut.

Janie Chapter 9

In this chapter Janie talks about how her grandmother had made things seem smaller than they were. She made Janie marry someone she didn’t know and just forced her into one direction. Janie was very limited by her options. Then it goes to talk about how man had created God and their parts were cut up and covered in mud. Janie can relate to this because she is covered in mud and she is smothered and not able to show her true self to anyone. Her grandmother smothered her and sent her into a direction, marriage to a man she didn’t know or love, and Jody smothered her by not allowing her to have any say in anything. Jody treated her poorly and like she was property, he covered her up and wouldn’t let her do anything that he didn’t think she should have to talk really ever. Janie is a strong spoken person and she wants to be seen but Jody makes sure that that never happens.

Janie and the mule

The people treat the mule very poorly and that is why Janie feels bad for him. The owner of the mule rarely feeds him and makes him do hard jobs. He treats the mule like he is nothing and so do the townspeople. There is one part in the chapter when the mule had gotten lose and all the men went out and started hitting and trying to grab the mule. They were hurting it and Janie felt terrible for it. Janie can relate to the mule because she is put down and made to do things that she doesn’t want to do. Jody bosses her around all the time and makes her do things and acts a certain way. He will not let her be like a normal person. She must always be at her best and he will not let her have any say in anything. Jody also puts Janie down a lot. She is like the mule, mistreated and doesn’t get a say in things.

Jody in charge

Jody comes into the town and takes charge right away. He takes over and starts having town meetings, buying land and setting up a community. Mostly everyone is really excited about the change and believes that he can do it. They love that he sets up a post office and brings in light and sets up a little store to make it easier to get stuff. The changes that he makes are for the better and the people realize it but he does act like a controller and controls everything and tells everyone what to do. The reason that nobody challenged him was for the most part that they liked the changes he made. Also he had a very commanding appearance and just gave an aura that said that he was boss. He came into town right away taking control and that probably helped with not having people try and complain about him. It stops people from challenging him.

Nature Connection

The sun represents the beginning of a new day and the setting sun is the end of an old day. Janie had just run away with Joe and left her husband who she hated. With her husband she lived a life that she didn’t love and had to work sometimes. Joe showed her and told her that she deserved more. He said that he could provide this for her and told her to run off with him. She would have a completely different life from her husband with Joe. The quote at the end connecting to nature was just talking about how the sun was setting in the same spot and that there was going to be a new day. It was saying that the sun was setting on her old life with her husband and the next day would begin again with a whole new life for her with Joe.

Janie returning home

In the opening chapter when Janie came home from her journey the town people didn’t treat her very nicely because of the way she looked.  She was wearing overalls and they thought she looked goofy.  There was one person who stood up for her though and she told Janie that she was beautiful and to not listen to them.  Janie had grown up with her grandmother and played with white children.  She had never known the difference from her and the white kids until someone showed her a photograph of her.  She then realized that she was different from the little children and that is when they started treating her poorly.  Both of these show a time where Janie was treated poorly because of the color of her skin.  She was judged because of it and when she was a child she had no idea why really but in the town she knew more as to why it was happening.  

Huck Finn Ending

In the last chapter we find out that Tom’s bullet wound is healed and his leg is back to normal.  Huck is able to get away from Miss Watson and Jim is a freed man.  This is everything that they wanted.  The ways that they got to it though probably weren’t the best and not the easiest but they got to where they wanted to be.  This makes for a good ending of the book because Jim is finally freed after everything they had done and Huck was able to go on about his life.  The might have been too risky about how they go things done and did things over the top but they did get to where they wanted.