Their Eyes Were Watching God

How does Janie break free from Joe's control?

Ch 7

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Eleven years pass and Janie learns to stop fighting. Some days she considers running away from Joe just as she ran away from Logan years ago. But Janie fears that she is too old to run away. Janie realizes that Joe has become very old, and that he has become more abusive to her than ever before. He constantly criticizes her for being old and ugly, hoping that by pointing out her flaws, he can distract others from noticing his own age and frailty.One afternoon, a customer named Steve Mixon wants some chewing tobacco. Janie tries to cut it, but makes a mistake. Joe recuts the tobacoo and then begins to insult Janie terribly. For the first time, Janie retaliates. She tells Joe that he is nothing but a big voice; she tells the people in the store that when he pulls his pants down that there is nothing there. Joe is irrecoverably crushed, his manliness stripped away.

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http://www.gradesaver.com/their-eyes-were-watching-god/study-guide/section2/