Thursday, February 5, 2009
Mule and Janie
In chapter six, the author introduces us to a mule. The mule’s owner is a man named Matt Bonner. People are not very nice to the mule and abuse him. Bonner does not feed the mule, so he is very skinny. I think Janie cares about the mule so much because she can relate to him. Both the mule and Janie get made fun of and mistreated and both of them are fed up with it. Bonner does not take care of the mule, does not feed it, and does not respect it. It is the same way for Janie. Jody does not treat Janie very well. He does not even let Janie make a speech in front of the town because he thought that women were not supposed to make speeches and that she did not know how. He thought that all women were good for was taking care of the home. Also, the mule really has no say and what he does because Bonner is his owner and controls what he does. It is the same way for Janie. Jody “controls” her and decides what she can and cannot do.
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I definitely agree with you in that the mule and Janie share the same characteristics. Both are oppressed by their "masters." Just like the mule not being able to live freely and do what it wants, Janie is shut down by Jody whenever she tries to deviate from the "role of women." There is also an interesting quote exemplifying the parallel between the two: they are both helpless creatures. Janie feels sorry for the mule's helplessness, just like she is helpless in her marriage. Lastly, when the mule dies, Janie is no even allowed to attend his funeral. From this, Janie's love for Jody dies, referenced in "Jody's statue falling from Janie's emotional shelf."
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