Symbolism - with Bryan Fidler and Matt Henderson

1. Janie’s Hair – Janie’s hair is the most beautiful part about her. It symbolizes her power and her will to be different. She wore her hair down, which was not proper for women of the time.
2. Gate – the gate is a symbol of a new beginning, she crosses it to go with Joe Starks.
3. Horizon – the distance to the horizon represents the work it takes to get to your goal. This symbol was mentioned several times in the story and talks about your dreams being on the horizon – some come in with the tide, others are always out of reach.
4. Mule – the mule symbolizes how women, especially black women, were treated back then.
5. Head Rag – the head rag symbolizes the power men had over women. Because Joe was jealous of the other men looking at her and flirting with her, he forced Janie to wear the head rag. This made her less attractive and took away her identity.
6. When Janie returns to her hometown wearing overalls it is a symbol of her strong will, independence, and refusal to conform to conventional standards. The women of the town see the overalls as denoting a flaw in Janie, and use it as a way to belittle her, since they are jealous of her.
7. The pear tree is a symbol of Janie’s longing for physical passion and emotional connection. When the bee pollinates the pear tree flowers it symbolizes to Janie, the pure and perfect natural union that she longs to have with a man. It represents her idea of romantic love.
8. When Logan insists on Janie helping shovel the manure pile, it is a sign of his trying to gain control over her. It is a symbol of what has gone wrong in their marriage. Logan is insisting she come out and do man’s work, dirty her hands, and follow his command.
9. The big white house that Jody builds represents Jody’s desire to be a big white man, better than all of the black people in the town. Jody wants to purchase and control the town, and the big house represents that desire to be the best, and to have the best.
10. Jody uses playing checkers to stand for men’s superior intellect as compared to a woman’s. He tells Janie to fetch the board and pieces, but will not invite her to play the game. Jody believes women are inferior to men, and only capable of physical work, not tackling mental challenges.