Having just read chapters 10 and
11, this is a unique opportunity to reflect on the newest addition to the
novel, Tea Cake. This is an important part of the novel, where we do not know
what happened to Tea Cake, only that Janie returns to her town in overalls and
without him. This blog post may be a majority speculation, but I think this is
a good opportunity to dive deeper into Tea Cake the character as well as his
relationship with Janie.
In class today, a major topic of conversation
was simply preliminary thoughts on Tea Cake. The conversation was mostly split
into two different parts: whether or not he was a likable character and whether
or not Janie should trust him. I believe that Hurston definitely tried to make
his character likable, and she seemed to have succeeded because the majority of
the class liked Tea Cake. The attempt to make him likable was evident as soon
as Tea Cake meets Janie. He enters the store saying “Good evenin’ Mrs’ Starks,”
the narrator remarking that he said it with “a sly grin as if they had a good
joke together” (94). For much of the novel thus far, there has been only anger
and abuse, and to have this character start with some laughter and happiness
was no coincidence.
Janie even
laughs at his jokes, a sign that this possible suitor will be different from
the others. The difference does not stop at laughter, as he treats Janie as an
equal. He asks Janie “Why ain’t you at the ball game, too?” (95) and then asks
her to play some checkers. These two questions make Janie feel like an equal to
him, a sensation she has been missing with all the abusive marriages. The way
that Tea Cake speaks to Janie makes the reader and her like him. Then there is
the interaction between the two characters. The portrayal of their laughter and
conversations is primarily through a dialogue which Hurston carefully formed so
that the reader will be fond of this suitor rather than the others that have
come to see Janie.
I feel that
the question of whether we are meant to like Tea Cake was easy to answer when
compared to the other question: whether we should trust him. The second half of
the conversation followed this major topic, and I feel that there was a little
more divide. My opinion is still very divided as to whether he should be
trusted, mainly because of how Janie is walking alone at the beginning of the
novel. Another source of suspicion comes from Janie herself. Despite the fact
that Janie obviously likes Tea Cake, she is cautious and does not open up to
him immediately.
The caution
stems from the possibility that he might only be into her for the money, and
there are some signs that this might be the case. The first example is Tea Cake’s
spending habits. He seems to live day to day, making money and instantly
spending it on his next adventure. He is a very unpredictable character, and
that made me weary of him. Although Hurston makes it obvious that he is a
likable character, only time will tell whether he is trustworthy, but for now I
will stay skeptical.
