The community as a Symbol

The community is obviously a big part of Janie's life. Wherever Janie is, she is always surrounded by a large community, whether she is in the Mucks or back in Eatonville. In Eatonville, the community is made up of "the people" that sit around the porch of Joe's store. They gossip, tell stories, and have mock debates. In the Mucks, Janie and Tea Cake are also surrounded by crowds of people: "The house [Janie and Tea Cake's house] was full of people every night. That is, all around the doorstep was full. Some were there to hear Tea Cake pick the box; some came to talk and tell stories, but most of them came to get into whatever game was going on or might go on" (133). Sometimes Janie wants to join the community to talk and laugh along with them. At other times, I feel as though Janie looks down upon the community and sees it as a gossipping, pointless entity. This makes "the community" a symbol. Janie's conflicting feelings for the people of her society represents her conflicting feelings for her relationships. Sometimes she yearns for a loving, steady relationship with a man, while at other times she abominates her marriage, and wants to be independent.

When Janie wants to be a part of the community, the community is depicted as a warm, enjoyable, supportive place. In Eatonville, Janie enjoys listening to the townspeople talking: "When the people sat around on the porch and passed around the pictures of their thoughts for the others to see, it was nice. The fact that the thought pictures were always crayon enlargements of life made it even nicer to listen to" (51). She wants to be a part of this good-humored society. Later in the Mucks she is again surrounded by an affable community she loves being a part of. The happy, rowdy workers of the Mucks pull her right along with them. They tell tall tales, dance, and gamble in a comfortable way. Janie's desire to join the community is like her desire to be in a relationship filled with love and respect. When she wants to be in a relationship, the relationships seem fun and rewarding.

However, sometimes Janie realizes that the community is not at all supportive. Sometimes the community turns its back on her, and that is when she scorns the society and does not want to be a part of it. In Eatonville, the community turns against her when she starts dating Tea Cake. At the beginning of chapter twelve, the people gossip viciously about the couple. They disapprove of the relationship, and Janie knows it. Later when she returns to Eatonville from the Mucks, the townspeople again judge her and tears down her image with their gossip. Janie passes by them without more than a brief greeting. She does not wish to be a part of this petty, gossiping community. In the Mucks, the originally warm and embracing society rejects Janie after Tea Cake's death. They misunderstand her, and they blame her for his death: "They were all against her, she could see. So many were there against her that a light slap from each one of them would have beat her to death. She felt them pelting her with dirty thoughts" (185). After the trial and the funeral, she does not want to stay with the community of the Mucks, even after they forgive her. She does not want them judging and silently blaming her, so she leaves for Eatonville. Janie's rejection of the community represents her rejection for relationships at times, and her need for independence.

The community in the book may seem warm and comforting at times. This is like Janie's view of relationships. Relationships may also seem welcoming and exciting to Janie, such as the beginning of her marriage to Jody. However, communities can also turn against Janie and become judgmental and unaccepting. This is like how Janie's relationships may also become stifling. Joe's relationship with Janie quickly becomes stale and oppressing when Janie realizes that Joe wants to control every aspect of her life. Then, Janie is not afraid to reject the community and the relationship. In doing so she is recognizing her need for independence.
So basically Janie's desire and rejection of the community reflects her desire and rejection of relationships.