Hi Ho Hi Ho off to Flordy Joe and Janie go Chapter 5

I really didn't like this chapter. I feel like Janie lost a lot of her independence by leaving Logan, Joe is really controlling towards her as the chapter goes on. Joe almost completely ignores Janie's needs as a wife for the "greater good" of the new town he is the mayor of.



The dynamic of Janie and Joe's marriage reminds me a lot of the "traditional" gender roles in marriages. This is not unheard of at this time to have more traditional roles in marriages. By "traditional" roles I mean the man does all the work and talking and the woman takes care of the house and if she must work she does what her husband tells her to. The traditional marriage roles can be represented in Leave It To Beaver Mrs. Cleaver stays home and takes care of the house and children and Mr. Cleaver works and earns the money for the family. Joe seems to expect Janie to keep the house in order and help out at the store while also keeping her mouth shut at all times.




I know I talk about symbolism a lot but there is some really great symbolism in this novel. I really love the symbolism of how Joe acts about the streetlight. First of all he buys it then asks for the towns approval-I've never ran a town before but I don't think that's how that works. Then after he gains approval he plans this huge party which is all well and good but at the end of the party when the lamp is lit they begin singing a traditional hymn. The singing of the hymn symbolizes the townspeople comparing Joe to God. The light symbolizes God's light in the world then in turn Joe symbolizes the townspeople's God. Hymns are sung in worship and the townspeople singing them shows that they view Joe as God in their little world.