In setting the short story “The Gilded Six-Bits” in the South, Zora Neale Hurston is able to clearly communicate the unjust social and economic systems in place to marginalize and oppress the African American community, specifically its women. In selecting Missie May to commit the act of adultery, Hurston empowers the African-American women and rejects the traditional mindset of male dominance in the household. Additionally, Hurston addresses the dangerous temptation of greed and the deceptive quality of appearances. In the opening of her short story, Hurston meticulously describes the intimate and welcoming African-American community as “happy…[with] a mess of homey flowers planted without a plan but blooming cheerily” to reinforce that the characters were able to live contently, despite being limited in the comforts of materialism. Once Joe and Missie May started to yearn for something beyond their already happy and comfortable lives, their relationship started to fracture. Yet, their love and dependency upon one another ultimately saved Joe and Missie May from falling victim to the notion that money was their gateway to a better life.
2 thoughts on “Consider the importance of the region, the South, and particularly, an African-American community quite similar to the one in which Hurston was raised in rural Florida, to the characters lives’ and the meaning of the story. Analyze the deceptive quality of money in the short story.”
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I did not consider your point of view, but certainly understand how you viewed money’s role in the story. I thought that Joe’s lack of reaction to Missie May’s actions was because he acquired money from Slemmons. However, your perspective makes me think that Joe was more concerned with maintaining a relationship than acquiring wealth.
I completely agree that setting the story in the South helped to portray the injustices that African Americans face in the nation. I find your observation that Hurston had Missie May commit adultery as an act of empowerment to women to be very interesting. I did not see that myself, but now that you point it out, I can see it. To go further, Joe may have acted in a disagreeable way to Missie May after her affair, but perhaps his actions were of a hurt man who wanted to find a way to forgive, but who also could not help but be angry and show it. Nevertheless, Joe did not take his anger to extremes. He loved his wife and felt wronged by her actions, yet he knew that she was telling the truth that her affair meant nothing, so he worked out his anger in a way that did not hurt Missie May physically. It was his way of punishing her without taking it too far. Perhaps Hurston is saying that toxic masculinity, yelling and screaming, and perhaps physically retaliating, would never have led to a true reconciliation. It was difficult for Joe, but he found a way to forgive and work out his anger, letting go of outdated and sexist thoughts, and this led to him being happy once again.