Joe Starks is quite an unusual and very dynamic character in the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. He begins the novel by stopping by Janine's house when Logan Killicks is off getting a mule. At first sight Joe seems like a caring man, someone Janie longs for in her life. She quickly develops a crush on Joe, and eventually Janie leaves her husband to run off with him. Joe has decided to move to an all black town, which is later known as Eatonville, so that he can have a voice in the town, something he was unable to do when he lived in white settlements. "But when he heard all about 'em makin' a town all outa colored folks, he knowed dat was de place he wanted to be. He had always wanted to be a big voice, but de white folks had all de sayso where he come from and everywhere else, exceptin' dis place dat colored folks was buildin' theirselves (28)" When Joe gets to Eatonville he buys much land to build the town on and gains respect from everyone in the village. He is made the mayor and he takes the job happily and is proud to finally be a big voice. He takes Janie along for the ride and makes her the number one woman in the village, but while doing this he never really thinks about what she wants, and he suppresses her thoughts and makes her do what he wants. At this point in the book we realize a change in Joe. Joe takes his power and manipulates it so he is the big shot, and with all the extra ego build-up he thinks he can do whatever he wants, and in the end it causes Janie to wish she never met him. When Joe is dying Janie tells him how she really feels about him and Joe realizes she is right and just wants her to leave him in peace while he is dying. Joe Starks shows many dynamic qualities in the novel, and he also helps to greatly shape Janin's view on men.
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