Scholarly Article - Nanny

The scholarly article I examined was the story Janie told of the mule. Janie tells Phoeby about the day a mule was ridden by a man all the way from West Florida to Eatonville. Janie instantly takes a liking to the poor animal that the men bait, mock, and mistreat. Janie immediately speaks up, "They oughta be shamed uh theyselves! Teasin' dat poor brute beast lak they is! Done been worked tuh death; done had his dispostition ruint wid mistreatment, and now they got tuh finish devilin' 'im tuh death" (Hurston, 56). The mule is treated by the men just as the African American women are. The men see the mule as useless, but Janie can see the similarities in herself with the mule and that is why she stands up for the animal. In Julie Haurykiewicz's article "From mules to muliebrity: speech and silence in Their Eyes Were Watching God", she discusses the symbolism Hurston uses to represent the mule as Janie and the rest of African American women. In the beginning of the novel Nanny calls the African American women "de mule uh de world" (14). Haurykiewicz says, "Nanny's sermon, through its connection between mules and silenced females, raises the question of whether the black woman can ever speak, can ever give voice to her ideas and emotions in a meaningful way." In Janie's relationship with Joe this is all true. He never allows Janie to speak let alone express her thoughts and ideas in a purposeful way due to being unequally treated. The scholarly article matches well with the symbolism of the mule and how it represents the African American woman during this era. The article continues to go in depth with the role of the African American woman continuing to represent “de mule uh de world.” -Taylor