Race can hold a lot power over people and their actions. Although African Americans during the early 1900’s were technically free, they were trapped in a society where whites still held power over them and were mistreated. By looking at Zora Neale Hurston’s use of the symbol of the mule, the motif of race, and parallelism in the novel, we can see that African Americans experience racism from both ends, from white people and within their own race. This is significant because how African Americans react to racism and let it affect them defines the way they act and feel within their relationships. 

First, we can see a reoccurring motif of race throughout the novel, where African Americans are treated as less and white people are seen as the superior race. Being black but having white features, Janie is subject to a lot of criticism. Even though many people find her attractive due to her lighter skin and long, straight hair, she is often described as acting like she is better than others because of it. We see this in the first chapter when Lulu Moss says that Janie “sits high”, indicating that she acts superior to others (Hurston 3). This can be accredited to jealousy or just tensions between her own race. Being white during this time held a certain standard of class. Even though Janie is still considered black, she is often disliked by others because she has privileges that come along with having lighter skin. At the beginning of the novel, Janie recalls how she was teased by other children at school for living with white folks. The other children resented her for having “better’n whut de rest uh de colored chillum had” (Hurston 9), showing that Janie was not accepted because of her ties to a white family. Because of this, Janie constantly struggles with not being fully accepted by either race; black and white. 

Another example of the race motif is when Janie meets Mrs. Turner on the muck and is tempted to be turned against Tea Cake because of his darker skin. Unlike Janie, Mrs. Turner does in fact think she is better than everyone else because of her lighter skin. She is mixed just like Janie; however, she is prejudiced towards darker African Americans saying that “we oughta lighten up de race” (Hurston Ch 16). This creates many issues within Janie and Tea Cake’s relationship, as he feels threatened by her attempted persuasion to leave him. Because of this, Tea Cake’s wariness is not unwarranted. He understands that Mrs. Turner despises Janie being married to a man with such dark skin and that she doesn’t let her forget it. She even goes as far as to say that “dey outa make us uh class tuh ourselves” because she doesn’t want to be associated with them (Hurston 166). However, Tea Cake is finally pushed to the edge when he overhears a conversation of Mrs. Turner trying to arrange a meeting between her brother and Janie to set them up and as a result, he whips Janie to show Mrs. Turner who’s boss. Tea Cake let Mrs. Turner’s racism affect the way he viewed his relationship and Janie was the person who endured the consequences. This is an important moment for Janie because she is forced to confront this issue of race and choose between Tea Cake and Mrs. Turner. However, the choice is not hard for Janie. She doesn’t care about the color of his skin and reassures both Mrs. Turner and Tea Cake that she would never leave him.

The reoccurring symbol of the mule is seen throughout the novel as well, being compared to African Americans, and in this case specifically, African American women. We can see that the mule stands as a symbol of African Americans and their struggle of dealing with racism and control over their lives. At the beginning of the novel, Janie’s grandma tells her that “de nigger women is de mule uh de world”, insinuating that black women are inferior human beings who are used and taken advantage of (Hurston 17). When Janie is married to Logan Killicks, we see the mule again. He is going off to Lake City to buy a second mule, describing it as “all gentled up” so that Janie can handle it and work alongside him (Hurston 32). Logan knows that Janie is not used to manual labor, but intends for her to do it anyway, thus treating her to a mule she can handle. However, Janie feels like she is being treated like an animal by Logan, who is forcing her to do work like plowing the fields, chopping wood, and shoveling manure. In this case, Janie is the mule and struggles to take control of her own life and is instead being pushed around by her husband. Although this applies to Janie earlier on in the novel, she continues to experience growth by leaving him and then leaving Jody when her power is inflicted upon again. 

One of the most prominent examples, however, is the symbol of the mule in the town Eatonville. Matt Bonner owns a mule so abused that it looks like it’s been worked half to death. Jody buys the mule for five dollars only to set it free and let it rest in its final days, affirming that he “didn’t buy ‘im fuh no work” (Hurston 68). Although many people, and even Janie, view this as a noble act, it is simply just another way of Jody exerting power and control. The mule can be compared to African Americans, and Jody to the white man. Jody talks and act like a white man, due to his status and money, and sets free the mule like white men did to slaves. Everyone sympathizes with the mule, failing to realize they are very similar to it. They let Jody boss them around and tell them what to do. They succumb to his power and orders instead of doing what they want and what they think is right. They are basically still enslaved, except to a black man with a white man’s superiority complex. When the mule dies, the town holds a “mock” funeral for it. Jody goes on in his speech to speak of the “joys of mule-heaven” (Hurston 71). This only furthers the idea that African American lives were ridiculed and seen as less, even within their own race. 

On the other hand, the blame of prejudice within the black community cannot be completely bestowed upon Jody. Within the town, there is clear internalized racism within many of the residents. Many people say they want to see African Americans doing great things, but their jealousy gets the best of them. Hurston describes Hicks’ jealousy of Jody and his power by saying “he wasn’t ready to think of colored people in post offices yet” (45). This clearly shows that some African Americans are still stuck in the mindset that blacks are inferior. Not only is this kind of thinking extremely harmful towards others, but it is also harmful towards himself. If he can’t stand the thought of a black person in a post office, he clearly does not expect himself to hold any kind of importance in the community or to move forward with any positions since he is not white. Obviously, this thinking does not affect Jody and what he wants to do. He goes forward to build up the town and become the mayor, not letting anyone or their opinions about race stop him.

Lastly, we can see a parallel throughout the novel between whites and blacks that relates to race. White people and their racism played a pretty insignificant role, rarely being mentioned. Meanwhile, the entire story is mainly focused around African Americans and their experiences. This creates a parallel because in actuality, black people were experiencing high rates of discrimination during this time from white people. In the few instances where white people are mentioned, we see that they have notable power over the actions of African Americans. One occurrence of this is when Tea Cake goes to look for work after the hurricane. He ends up being forced to bury dead bodies by white men, easily submitting to their orders. This is significant because even in this small instance, we see that white people still hold power over blacks. After this, white people are never mentioned again, further showing the parallel between whites and blacks.

It is clear that African Americans experienced large amounts of racism during this the early 1900’s. However, it may seem surprising that they experience racism within their own race. People like Janie, who are in the middle of the spectrum, experience it from both black and white people. We can see through symbols, motifs, and parallels that African Americans have to deal with a variety of racial tensions. However, it does not affect every person the same way. The main point here is that a person can either be weak or strong. They can let this small-minded thinking affect them negatively, never truly growing as their own, or they can live their lives the way they want, not letting something as trivial as race overcome them.
