Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered

155/260women in town, how come dey don’t break dey neck after dem? ’Causedey ain’t got nothin’, dat’s why.”“Folks seen you out in colors and dey thinks you ain’t payin’ deright amount uh respect tuh yo’ dead husband.”“Ah ain’t grievin’ so why do Ah hafta mourn? Tea Cake love me inblue, so Ah wears it. Jody ain’t never in his life picked out no color forme. De world picked out black and white for mournin’, Joe didn’t. SoAh wasn’t wearin’ it for him. Ah was wearin’ it for de rest of y’all.”“But anyhow, watch yo’self, Janie, and don’t be took advantage of.You know how dese young men is wid older women. Most of de timedey’s after whut dey kin git, then dey’s gone lak uh turkey through decorn.”“Tea Cake don’t talk dat way. He’s aimin’ tuh make hisself permanentwid me. We done made up our mind tuh marry.”“Janie, you’se yo’ own woman, and Ah hope you know whut youdoin’. Ah sho hope you ain’t lak uh possum—de older you gits, de lesssense yuh got. Ah’d feel uh whole heap better ’bout yuh if you wuzmarryin’ dat man up dere in Sanford. He got somethin’ tuh put longside uh whut you got and dat make it more better. He’s endurable.”“Still and all Ah’d ruther be wid Tea Cake.”“Well, if yo’ mind is already made up, ’tain’t nothin’ nobody kin do.But you’se takin’ uh awful chance.”“No mo’ than Ah took befo’ and no mo’ than anybody else takeswhen dey gits married. It always changes folks, and sometimes itbrings out dirt and meanness dat even de person didn’t know they had