Breaking down the barrier: Yellow passage close read

This passage is situated in the story right after Janie voiced her opinions against Joe on his death bed. The literal events happening are Janie is finally free from Joe holding her down physically and emotionally. She lets her hair down as a symbol of her newly found freedom and takes a long look at her new self in the mirror to show she has matured from a young girl to a mature woman. There is also a Juxtaposition shown in the comparison between Janie as a woman and as a girl, as a girl, she was forced to live the life her Nanny wanted for her but her woman self is now free to live life the way she wants to. The passage sheds light on the fact that she was once tangled in the life Nanny created for her but now she is able to escape to woman hood even if it has come late. The passage uses a very relieved yet pitying tone to convey her escape as well as feeling bad for the rough life Joe lived. There was a underlying sense of pity but it was mainly focused around her personal emotions. At the end of the passage, it uses a very ironic tone as she calls out for people to come to Joe's deathbed because she doesn't feel sad for him passing away, only pity. She also puts up a facade in regards to how she presented herself to the people by looking the way they wanted to see her. Overall, the main idea of this passage is to show how Janie is becoming a woman in relation to Joe's death. Through his death and the passages tone, she was able to get out of her girl state of mind and into a more mature part of her life, as well as convey her pitying relief and new sense of freedom. In relation to the big picture, this passage uses Janie to represent the black people and slavery as they were tied down by the southern white people but were eventually able to break the hold and be free.

 Donovan Ridley
Sydney Bates