Blog Post Ch. 17-18

Chapter 17-18
Discussion Questions: What is the significance behind Tea Cake wanting to impress/please Mrs. Turner?
  1. Why might have Janie assimilated to life with Tea Cake after his abuse? Has she or has she not assimilated to life with him? Why/why not?
  2. If you were Janie, what would be a motivation to stay with an abusive husband?
  3. Why do you think Motor Boat decided to stay and not escape the storm with Tea cake and Janie the second time?
  4. What would you have done if you were in Janie and Tea Cake’s situation? Would you have been afraid?
  5. How do you think they will recover from the storm itself and how do you think the community will recover?
Characters:
Coode & Dick Sterrett: Drunk workers who cause havoc at Mrs. Turner’s business, and end up wrecking it, while causing a fight as well.
Motor Boat: Worker that decides to stay with Tea Cake during the storm, leaves with Tea Cake and Janie once the storm hits, and doesn’t flee afterwards with Tea Cake after the storm hits for the second time.
Illustration:
Summary: It’s the start of the new season. Mrs. Turner brings her brother to the town, and that doesn’t sit well with Tea Cake. He feels that her brother is a threat because he assumes Janie will go with him. He sees Mrs. Turner’s brother as a threat. So, this of course infuriates him, and he beats Janie to show that he is in possession of her, and that she only belongs to him so she should abide by his rules. He then tries to comfort Janie after beating her, and she doesn’t seem to have any hate towards him, or any resentment. It’s as if Janie has assimilated to life with him. And because she obeys him, a lot of men despise Tea Cake, and envy his ways that allow him to control his woman. Then, on a Saturday, both Dick and Coode get drunk and walk around town making noise, and causing disturbance. Because most receive their payments on Saturdays, they use the money for alcoholic beverages. So as they wander around town, they stumble upon Mrs. Turner’s restaurant, and they start a fight. Tea Cake was there, eating with the rest of the crowd, and as the fight begins, he tries to kick the two out. He tries to impress Mrs. Turner and kick the two men out, so that she is in debt with him, but the men ause further disturbance. Mrs, Turner ends up injured, and her business is wrecked. Janie sees Native Americans leaving Everglades for Palm beach, and inquires why they are departing. The reason they are leaving eas because of a hurricane. People in the town begin to become nervous and freak out. They start leaving the town as well, little by little. A lot of the indigenous people leave with their animals, and even the workers leave too. Tea Cake is stubborn, so he decides to reside in the town and not leave, and even throws a small party at his home. A lot of the other workers also gather in his home. The workers leave, and one of them stays behind, Motor Boat. The storm builds up and Lake Okechobee becomes turbulent. As the three notice the storm getting stronger, as they were waiting it out, they decide to leave. They lock arms in the wind, and gather their paperwork heading east to higher ground. They see that the lake is not bursting overflooded, and moving towards them, and they reach an abandoned home on a hill. The storm has destroyed everything in its way. They rest, but Janie realizes that the storm (the lake) is only getting closer and closer. Tea Cake and Janie leave, while Motor boat stays. As they escape, the flooding causes them to swim, and reach appalling conditions (they see dead bodies.) As they are swimming across, Janie gets pulled away by the strong water current. There is a cow with a dog on it, and Janie holds onto it for support, while the dog attacks her. Tea Cake eventually attacks the dog, so that it leave Janie alone, and they soon reach their destination, Palm Beach. There they are able to rest and Janie is grateful with Tea Cake for what he did, because thanks to him she is alive and well.

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