Ch. 8-10
It seems like his book is going by pretty fast… Jody is dead, and within two chapters, we meet the infamous Tea Cake. But before that, we see the power being transferred to Janie. With Jody gone, she is able to, in a sense, free herself and express her emotions. We see her talking more with the people who come into the store, which she was not able to do when she was married to Jody. She frees her hair from the rags and burns them, which represents her emancipation.
I think everyone can relate to Janie in this way. Everyone has something that holds them back from pursuing their dreams and once it’s gone, they feel like nothing can stop them. When Jody dies, Janie becomes her own woman and enjoys being single, and not being tied down to a man. She embraces her newfound independence and doesn’t care what the townspeople think anymore.
Then we meet Tea Cake, who is unlike any other man Janie has been with so far. He treats her as an equal, which is shown when he invites her to play a game of chess with him. Janie enjoys his company, and it probably foreshadows their relationship together later on.
