Willy and Charley

While Willy was sitting in the kitchen, talking crazy, Charley walks in to check up on Willy. They start to play a card game, and began talking about random things. Death of a Salesman describes Charley as a “large man, slow of speech, laconic, immovable. In all he says, despite what he says, there is pity, and now trepidation.” (pg. 41)
These two men don’t have a good relationship. Willy and Charley seem to always be going back and forth. Willy takes offense to what Charley says a lot and always responds, “Don’t insult me.” They are always sarcastic with each other and seem to never get along. Plus, they always argue about stupid things, like how to put up a ceiling, vitamins, heartburn, when Charley offered Willy a job, and when Willy suspected Charley of cheating in the car game they were playing.
Earlier, Willy was complaining to Linda about how he is jealous of Charley. Willy tells Linda his insecurities, and how he talks to much. Willy says, “One thing about Charley. He’s a man of few words, and they respect him.” His jealousy is pretty clear, and I think this is why Willy got so insulted when Charley offered him a job. The argument about the ceiling showed that Willy felt superior in a masculine aspect because he said that a man who couldn’t handle tools wasn’t really a man, and Charley was acting like he wouldn’t know how to put up a ceiling. This made Willy feel a little better because of his jealousy of Charley.

Biff and Happy

Biff and Happy are both the sons of Willy and Linda. They are both well built.
Biff is two years older, and has just returned home. He had been previously worked as a farmhand, and before that just picking up odd jobs here and there.
Biff used to be really popular in high school, but now Willy says he is lazy. I’m not quite yet sure if Biff or Happy are reliable characters. It sort of shows Happy as a womanizer, and Biff as a bit dishonest. Biff feels the need to take control, like he does with his executives’ girlfriends. He lures them away and “ruins” them, and then goes to the weddings. I trust Biff a bit more than Happy, but I’m not sure about either of them yet.
Neither Happy nor Biff are happy. Biff talks about being mixed up and how he acts like a boy because he’s not “stuck into something.” Even though Happy has the regular type of job with success and money, he’s still not happy either. “It’s what I’ve always wanted. My own apartment, a car, and plently of women. And still, goddammit, I’m lonely.” (pg. 23) Both Biff and Happy are very confused, and neither are truly content or happy. Neither of the men are in a real relationship, and they want to be.

On Trial

After Tea Cake and Janie ran away from the hurricane, Tea Cake started to get really sick. The doctor told Janie that the rabid dog that bit him caused it. The mad dog had almost attacked Janie, but Tea Cake saved her at the cost of a bite. They did not think anything of it at the time. Tea Cake started to go crazy and think paranoid things about Janie and Mrs. Turner’s brother. Janie knew that his disease was deteriorating him. Janie says, “That big old dawg with the hatred in his eyes had killed her after all. She wished she had slipped off that cow-tail and drowned then and there and been done. But to kill her through Tea Cake was too much to bear. Tea Cake, the song of Evening Sun, had to die for loving her.” (pg 208) She knew that he was going to die. The doctor told her that it was too late for Tea Cake. Janie had found a loaded pistol under the pillow. She grew scared of the mad dog inside of Tea Cake. Janie hides a rifle in the kitchen in case Tea Cake’s mad dog decides to use the pistol. Later, they were arguing and he pulled his gun on her. She grabbed the rifle and shot him right before he shot her. Tea Cake died after biting her arm. Janie sat and held her husband’s head to her chest.
That same day she was put on trial for the murder of Tea Cake. During the whole trial, Zora Neale Hurston never quotes Janie on anything. Janie keeps quiet until she is brought to the stand. All of her old friends had turned on her and thought she had killed him out of malice. The only person speaking in her defense is the doctor.
Janie doesn’t really care if she goes to jail or not, or if the jury finds her guilty or innocent. The only thing she is afraid of is a misunderstanding. She wants them to know how much she loved Tea Cake, and not trying to make up excuses to stay out of jail.
When Tea Cake died, Janie died as well. When she shot Tea Cake, she was protecting herself, but also putting Tea Cake out of his misery. Janie does not speak much at the trial except when she takes the stand and explains to everyone how much she loved him, and how the mad dog inside of him wouldn’t leave without him dying, and he couldn’t live without the mad dog. The jury found her innocent and she was free. Janie had a glorious funeral for her love, and invited all of the people who had turned on her to it. Janie knows that Tea Cake is waiting for her, and she buried him with a guitar so he could play her songs when she got to heaven too.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

In Chapter 16, Janie had tried to de-friend a woman named Mrs. Turner. Mrs. Turner is a light-skinned black woman who practically worships white people. She likes Janie because of her white characteristics and hates Tea Cake because he is dark-skinned. Mrs. Turner wants Janie to marry her light brother. In the book, it says that Mrs. Turner's God is white characteristics. It is all she cares about, and she puts everything into looking white and praising white people. Janie, on the other hand, has put everything into Tea Cake. Tea Cake is Janie's God. She wants to be whatever Tea Cake wants her to be.
"All gods who receive homage are cruel. All gods dispense suffering without reason. Otherwise they would not be worshiped... Real gods require blood." (pg. 170) This quote shows that when you put everything into one altar, there must be some sort of sacrifice for it. This is why it says that real gods require blood. Some sort of blood will have to be spilt.
In Chapter 18, the hurricane comes. Tea Cake and Janie did not leave, despite the rumors of a hurricane. Tea Cake has parties and pretty much decides that there is no danger for him. When the storm hits, Janie, Tea Cake, and Motor Boat are all huddled inside. Tea Cake asks Janie if she would have rather stayed in her big house, and not here with Tea Cake. Janie said she wouldn't be upset, even if she died in this hurricane because Tea Cake is what she has been looking for all her life. She has found this mutual love she had always wanted.
The three of them are seeking refuge in their shanty from the storm outside. "Their eyes straining against crude walls and their souls asking if He meant to measure their puny might against His. They seems to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God." (pg 187) It is the humans against God and nature. Janie and Tea Cake are in love with each other, and this helps them get through the hurricane. Their safety is out of their hands, and they are looking to God to help them, the same God that set this hurricane upon them. This hurricane is the sacrifice they have to face.

Everglades

Before Tea Cake and Janie go to the Everglades, Janie hides 200 dollars from Tea Cake because she wasn't sure if she could trust him yet. About a week later, Tea Cake is gone for most of the day when he said he was just going out for a bit, and Janie finds her 200 dollars gone. When he gets back he admits that he spent the money on his friends from work. He said that he didn't want Janie with these low class people. Janie isn't really mad that he took the money, but that Tea Cake said he didn't want her to be with the people he was with because Janie was better than them. This is when she told him that she wanted to enjoy all of the things that he enjoys and partake in whatever he does. Tea Cake agrees to this, and promises he will reimburse her. He gambles and makes more money than what he owes her. Janie sees that she can trust him, and tells him how much money she has in the bank. Tea Cake tells her that she will never have to touch the money in the bank because he will provide for her. Soon after, they both move to the Everglades so Tea Cake can find some work.
While Tea Cake and Janie are in the Everglades, Tea Cake works out in the muck while Janie stays at home and cooks. Soon, Tea Cake starts cutting work to come home and see Janie. He tells her that he gets lonely without her. So, the very next day Janie went to work with Tea Cake so they could be together all day. Janie likes working alongside Tea Cake. This is different than with Logan and Jody because they made her work. Tea Cake had offered this job to her, and she took it enthusiastically. Janie loved Tea Cake so much that she would work all day in the muck just to be with him.

Angels

This parable tells the story of when God created man. He made man so beautiful that even the angels were jealous, so they broke him up in pieces. But even in pieces, you could still see its beauty and sparkle. So they kept crushing him more, Finally the angels covered them with mud.
Janie's whole life, she did everything that her Nana wanted her to do. This included marrying into security, and not love. She used to think that marriage was all about true love, but now she has realized that it won't be like that for her.
Every marriage that she has been in she has felt like she doesn't have a voice, and she can't be herself. She cannot shine. While the angels were crushing man, the men in Janie's life were keeping her down and keeping her quiet. She didn't stick up for herself, and as the years went on she silently submits to Jody more and more.
He has never been satisfied with who she was and alwasy tried to make her someone else. When Jody dies, Janie figures out that she needs to finally find someone who will let her shine so she doesn't lose her sparkle and voice.

Mule

Janie cares about the mule because she can relate to the mule. The mule is being mistreated by everyone in the town, and when it finally escaped, everyone started hitting it and being mean to it. Janie sympathized with the mule because of the way that she has been treated in the past, and by Jody.
Jody doesn't treat her very well. He always acts like he is the big man, and she is oppressed. Janie wasn't allowed to go to the funeral because Jody said that she is better than the trashy people and that it wasn't appropriate for her to go to the funeral with all the other people. Janie and the mule have no power. Neither of them have voices and neither of them can stick up for themselves.

Jody's True Personality

First of all, Jody has this dream of having a big voice in the town of Eatonville. He also has the money to be able to do it. When he arrives in the town, one of the first things he does is purchase 200 acres to the already 50 acre town.
He starts building stores and a post office, and sells lots to people. After being named mayor of the city because of his contributions, Taylor asks Janie to prepare a speech. Jody says that wives should not give speeches, and even though it angers Janie, she does not do anything about it. Previously Jody said that Logan shouldn't have made Janie work and that she should just sit on the porch, but he still has her working in the store. He even said that she shouldn't give a speech. It seems like he is turning out to be a little like Logan. One time Janie says that she wants to spend time with him now that he has done so much work, but he sort of ignores her and says he has more to do with the town.
Jody is also pretty arrogant. He makes a big show about everything he does for the town. It all started when he purchased more land for the town, but then he wants to install a streetlight. He makes sure everyone knows that he is buying it with his money by making them vote to see if they want to install it too. After putting it on display for a week so everyone knows how great he is, he has a big party for the streetlamp. As time goes on, the townspeople start to feel doubt in Jody, but no one dares to challenge him because of everything that he has done for the town.
Jody likes to flaunt his wealth and he seems a little too masculine, and almost domineering over not just Janie, but the town as well.

Setting Sun

Ever since Janie's Nana caught her kissing the other boy when she was younger, it was decided for her that she would have to marry for security, and not for love. Janie had this ideal thought of love that it would be truly outstanding and amazing, but let go of this dream when she had to marry Logan. Although she thought she would love him after they had married, she simply couldn't.
After Nana died, Janie met a man named Jody. She sees him as a ticket out of her marriage and decides to go away with Jody, even though he is still not her idea of love.
"They sat on the boarding house porch and saw the sun plunge into the same crack in the earth from which the night emerged." This quote foreshadows that this decision will not change for the better, because it says that the sun is setting, not rising. It is in the same crack and sky that the night comes about, so the change will not be bring about a better experience for her. Although it is a new beginning for Janie, it will end the same way.