Jody does not want Janie to participate in the storytelling, ribbing, and general conversation that takes place at the store. He even hints that the mayor's wife is better than the people in Eatonville, and that Janie shouldn't associate with such "trash

Joe gains power in the same way that whites traditionally did, by gaining a position of leadership (the mayorship) and using it to dominate others. However, Janie finds that the type of power that she prefers in a man is personal, rather than constructed. Jody derives his power from contol over others including Janie. Janie feels isolated and lost having no social interaction except with her husband. This isolation makes others perceive her as an outsider or untouchable because she is merely a reflection of Jody: not her own person.