Response to Adam's Post

Thanks Adam, for pointing out that we should re-read the first chapter. I remember that when I first read the first chapter, it had little meaning to me because I was not familiar with the characters. I did not know Janie very well and I had no idea who Tea Cake was. When I went back and read the first chapter again at your suggestion, it made a lot more sense to me. I knew that Janie was back in Eatonville after returning from the Muck. I knew that Tea Cake was a loving husband who did not leave Janie for a younger woman, as was suggested by the porch sitters. I was able to recognize the porch sitters as the gossips of Eatonville, who had known Janie when she was Mrs. Mayor of Eatonville. I completely agree with Adam, that reading the first chapter again was like reading a whole new chapter to the book. It is interesting how Zora Neale Hurston wrote the end of the book as the first chapter and the rest of the book as a flashback. I got so lost in the story, that I forgot that Janie was recounting her adventures outside of Eatonville to Phoeby. In re-reading the first chapter, it summed up the entire book, and provided a conclusion that chapter 20 did not. Good job Adam, for discovering the key to the end of the novel.