The Gilded Six-Bits Poverty (Class) Quotes

Okay, so we know that we're in a less than luxurious neighborhood in a lower class community (Eatonville); however, the fact that Missie and Joe have a house is significant. While they're not wealthy, they've managed to save money. It's a clean, frugal house, as seen with the "quart bottles" driven into the ground as opposed to wood or some other traditional material. We like to call it "making due with what you've got."

We don't know about you, but we've never used any sort of sack to dry ourselves after a bath. Towels are one of those things we think of as a basic necessity, but then again, if a sack works…why not? Hurston uses these tiny details in the home to show that Missie and Joe are not rich, but still, they're not suffering. 

Who indeed. In a kind of weird but kind of romantic tradition, every Saturday Joe throws silver dollars at the doorway for Missie May. It's a cute payday ritual and also an excuse for him to spoil her with small gifts like sweets, soap and chewing gum. Again, Hurston is a master of details; the story would have been a lot different if Joe bought Missie clothes, diamonds or gold…but who wants that stuff anyways? We'd take candy any day. 

Do the clothes really make the man? Joe sure seems to think so, but when we find out that Slemmons is a fraud and that he doesn't really have as much money as he says he does, we're jolted. All along, Joe has Missie May and they have a good life together. Sure, he doesn't have the clothes or the gold teeth, but by the end of the story, we (along with Joe and Missie) realize that none of those material things matter.

This observation Joe makes about Slemmons is straightforward but full of complexities. What he's saying is the more you eat, the more money you have to spend…which means you're that much closer to being like a 'rich white man.' Not only does Hurston touch on class with this quote but also the complexities of race. In an age of Photoshopped models and "thin is in," it's funny to imagine that not too long ago, being out of shape was more desirable. 

After all the talk about money, Missie gets the idea that Joe is lacking. She thinks that if she finds them some money he might be happier and more satisfied. It's a nice thought, her wanting to make him happy, but the way she goes about getting that money is not the wisest of moves.

Talk about a d'oh moment! Here Missie realizes that Slemmons has been fooling them all along, that his "gold piece" is actually a fake. For all her good intentions, sleeping with Slemmons may have ruined Missie's marriage with Joe, but can we totally blame her? Who, after all, was the person obsessed with the man and the money in the first place? That's right; it was Joe.

Here, Joe is talking with a white clerk in Orlando, explaining how he got the gilded six bits. His tune has changed quite a bit about Slemmons calling him a 'stray n*****' and implying that he always knew he was a fraud. Hindsight is always 20/20. 

When Joe buys candy kisses for Missie at the end of the story, we know the couple will stay together. Sure, Joe's using Slemmons' money to buy the kisses, but there's no point in wasting it, right? Joe's taking control of his life again and shows us that he's got the dough and the woman. 

This is the last phrase of the story and a powerful image. We've come full circle, from starting with a lovey-dovey couple, then a big separation, and ending it all with Joe chucking money at Missie. It shows that they've put all their marital problems behind them and are moving forward with their new family of three. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a financially motivated affair...and then comes a baby in a baby carriage.