“You may blame Spoon River for what it is, But whom do you blame for the will in you that feeds itself and makes you dock-weed,”(94).

The plants are not grown under ideal condition, but the beautiful plants are still able to be grow. Campbell says that people often say they are at a disadvantage and do nothing about the situation. She believes will power is what makes people succeed or fade away, and up bringing is not an excuse for a miserable life. The flaw with the metaphor is that plants have a certain genus and cannot develop into something else.

“Great scratches were made on the mirror, letting the outside world come in, and letting my inner self look out.” (52).

A mirror with scratches no longer reflects an image and it allows people look inside of it. The cracked mirror could mean that Ernest became vulnerable or more easily influenced. He mentions the sorrow and virtue attributed to a cracked mirror, the positive is that you know understand the world and the negative is that truth silences you. An interesting connection that is drawn, is the one between the young boy and a functional mirror and an adult and a broken mirror.

Fiddler Jones somehow obtains forty acres and decides to enjoy the land and life. He pities Cooney Potter and his ambition.

“To Cooney Potter a pillar of dust or whirling leaves meant ruinous drouth; they looked to me like Red-Head Sammy stepping it off, to ‘Toor-a-Loor,’” (28).

Jones lives a laid back and happy lifestyle. He constantly plays music and does not allow poor situations to discourage him. He does not work particularly hard or live a luxurious life, but he is satisfied. These two men are given the same opportunity, and interestingly the ambitious character lives has a less fulfilled life.

“My wife hated me, my son went to the dogs. And I turned to the people and poured out my love to them,”(15.)

I guess that Doc Hill felt that he should not waste his care on people who treat him poorly. I am not sure whether Doc Hill is a genuine person or not. He willingly helps the sick, but also gives up on his family. One of the last lines of Doc Hill’s piece mentions Em Stanton. I assume she is a woman that he had feelings for and probably had an affair with. If Doc Hill’s words are all truthful I am sympathetic, but the mention of Em Stanton probably suggests that he was unfaithful to his wife. Even though only side was told, you can see what the other argument would be.

Over the course of the novel, since Janie was first married off to Logan, she has been on a quest to find her voice. As she endures more and finds love that is both natural and mutual she is able to express and explore herself. It is implied throughout the story that Janie or humans need a relationship to be content, but by the end of the novel she is on her own. The opening scene in Eatonville portrayed Janie as being miserable. After hearing her discussion his Pheoby, we can see that Janie is secure in her independence. 

“He looked like the love thoughts of women. He could be a bee to a blossom––a pear blossom in the spring. He seemed to be crushing scent out of the world with his footsteps,”(101.)

Janie begins to see Tea Cake in mystical terms and had developed a sense that he is the partner that she needs in order to be happy. The next chapters two chapters show Janie’s development  as a character. She has a clear idea of what she wants and is able to express complex emotions. In previous chapters she bluntly states that she unhappy with the state of her marriage and that she hates Nanny. In the more recent chapters Janie justifies her grandmother’s action given the life that she had lived. As Janie becomes closer to discovering happiness, she is more capable of expressing herself. 

“The young girl was gone, but a handsome woman had taken place. She tore off the kerchief from her head and let down her plentiful hair. The weight, the length, the glory was there,”(83.)”

Janie’s first action after Jody’s death is to free her hair from the kerchief. She then looks in the mirror and is able to see what Jody had been trying to suppress. In a way, Jodie’s hair represents her power and independence, and by covering it Jody is restricting his wife from being stronger than he is. Most interesting part of this scene is when Jonie ties her hair back up into the way that Jody had demanded. She reproves Jody until his death, unties her hair, frees herself, and after all of this goes back to doing exactly what angered her originally.

“It’s so easy to make yo’self out God Almighty when you ain’t got nothin’ tuh strain agaisnt but women and chickens,”(71.)

After building up emotions inside for extended periods of time, Janie has these outbursts that criticize men like Jody Starks. Janie tries hard to keep the marriage alive by doing what she is told and keeping her thoughts to herself, but his eventually results in a disaster. The self-contained Jonie and the insecure Jody clash and realize their grave mistake.