Chapters 6-7

 In Chapters 6 and 7, Janie starts to realize how much she dislikes working in the store and being bossed around by Joe. She is desperate to be allowed to sit on the porch and listen to the town gossip, but she notes that Joe looked like "he took pleasure in" sending her back inside to work (54). She starts to believe that working in the store is "such a waste of life and time" (54). We get insight into Joe's mind in these chapters as well - we discover that he gets very jealous of men who admire Janie's hair in the store, which is why he forces her to wear it tied back. We realize that he is very insecure about his increasing age as well, and everything Janie does and is seems to make his insecurities more prevalent. Furthermore, there seems to be a lot of competition amongst the men of the town, especially when they sit on the porch and gang up on Matt Bonner. They appear to find joy in making Matt really angry by making fun of his skinny, overworked mule. Joe also refers to the men as "trashy people" to Janie, but Janie notes that he enjoys taking part of the mockery on the porch. The mule becomes the star of the chapter, with Joe buying it from Matt for five dollars, claiming he deserves rest before it gets worked to death. It is a bit ironic because Janie is similar to the mule in the sense that they are angry about being forced to work, yet Joe keeps Janie in the store and gets praised for allowing the mule to rest. She also begins to stand up to Joe, but Joe does not appreciate it and starts to hit her in a couple of scenes. Their marriage deteriorates and Janie begins to question her place and her purpose. We realize that there is a lot of male insecurity and pride within these chapters, and Janie begins to realize she wants something greater out of her life.