How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #1
At that moment, Sykes and Bertha arrived. A determined silence fell on the porch and the melon was put away again. (46)
It's pretty striking that after talking so much smack about Sykes, not one guy says a word to his face about flaunting his mistress around. Their silence says a whole bunch about society and, more generally, the frustrating (in)actions of men.
Quote #2
The men returned soon after they left, and held their watermelon feast. (52)
Huh? Why do Joe Clarke's customers scatter when Sykes arrives and reappear right after? We think Hurston is saying something pretty critical about society in this scene—people sure know how to talk the talk, but few can walk the walk.
Quote #3
The village soon heard that Sykes had the snake, and came to see and ask questions. (69)
Hold on just a minute…are they coming to ask questions about the snake or about why he'd bring it home in the first place when his wife has a phobia? All of their questions are about the snake, where Sykes caught it, and what they'd do with it. They ask absolutely no questions about Delia, which shows the lack of real support in the community.
Quote #4
The village men on Joe Clarke's porch even chewed cane listlessly. They did not hurl the cane-knots as usual. (30)
Okay, so it's Saturday and maybe these guys don't work, but Delia does. We get the sneaking suspicion that these men are unemployed. Again, Hurston is making a broader comment on small-town life and society at large. Are the men unemployed by choice or are there just no jobs out there for an African-American male?
Quote #5
There's plenty men dat takes a wife lak dey do a joint uh sugar-cane. It's round, juicy an' sweet when dey gits it. But dey squeeze an' grind, squeeze an' grind an' wring tell dey wring every drop uh pleasure dat's in 'em out. (40)
Joe Clarke preaches to the men on his porch about the vermin sometimes found amongst men. At the same time, he's also preaching to us (by way of Hurston), telling all men to behave and all women to watch out. Okay, maybe these guys aren't entirely full of it—this is some pretty wise advice.
Quote #6
A grunt of approval went around the porch. But the heat was melting their civic virtue, and Elijah Moseley began to bait Joe Clarke. (42)
We all know the feeling: when it's so hot outside you just can't bring yourself to do anything. But what if that happened to you every day? We're sure it'd be hard to get much of anything done. The fact that the heat drives the men into laziness tells us something—and we're not sure it's a good thing. What might Hurston be trying to say here about 'civic virtue'?
Quote #7
She avoided the villagers and meeting places in her efforts to be blind and deaf. (59)
Ah, the old ignorance is bliss trick. Delia tries super hard to not get mixed up in the Sykes-Bertha affair, but it's impossible not to, especially when Bertha comes calling at the front door. Talk about no class.
Quote #8
Ah'm goin' tuh de white folks bout you, mah young man, de very nex' time you lay yo' han's on me. (82)
In the 1920s, threatening to turn your African American husband over to the white police was a dangerous claim. In some places, it might even carry some clout today.
Quote #9
Perhaps her threat to go to the white folks had frightened Sykes! Perhaps he was sorry! Fifteen years of misery and suppression had brought Delia to the place where she would hope anything that looked towards a way over or through her wall of inhibitions. (86)
This quote shows us just how segregated life was back in the time this story takes place—going to the white folks is literally one of Delia's last resorts. It might be hard to imagine for some of us, but the rampant and implicit segregation reflected in this story demonstrates just how much things have changed in the last 90 years.
Quote #10
Orlando with its doctors was too far. (108)
We think this short line is noteworthy because it reveals just how isolated this small town in Florida was. Life wasn't easy, nor was it convenient. A simple need like going to the hospital is not so simple if you live in a rural place with no car. And if a snake bites you, well, you're pretty much a goner.