"He turned and threw his hat at her feet. "If she don't throw it at me, Ah'll take a chance on comin' back," he announced, making gestures to indicate that he was hidden behind a post. She picked up the hat and threw it after him with a laugh. "Even if she had uh brick she couldn't hurt yuh wid it," he said to an invisible companion. "De lady can't throw." He gestured to his companion, stepped out from behind the imaginary lamp post, set his coat and hat and strolled back to where Janie was as if he had just come in the store." (Hurston, pg 98)
- This passage depicts Janie's first meeting Tea Cake, and the playful flirting that ensues shortly afterwards.
- The first thing I noticed about this passage was the tone. Hurston creates a playful feeling in this brief selection, and illustrates a sort of exuberance that readers have not previously seen from Janie. She almost acts girlish compared to the way she behaved before, as even when she was younger she didn't exhibit such thoughtless joy.
- I then suspected that an apostrophe was present here as well. Tea Cake talks to an "invisible companion," which sort of matches the definition presented in class. I'm sort of confused though, because he makes a show of talking to someone who isn't there but it's for Janie's amusement. Nonetheless, it reveals more of Tea Cake's airy personality and his blatant intoxication with life.
- Just when I thought there was no more to this passage, I found signs of a motif. The circular pattern of the novel make an appearance. Hurston says that Tea Cake walked back to Janie, as if he had only just entered the shop, and he pretends they had not yet met. This seems like a section of the story had just looped around, but I am now noticing that this could be explained by chronology as well.
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