On the day of their first meeting, what two things does Tea Cake with Janie that help her to like hum immediately?

An important difference from Joe Starks is that Tea Cake wants Janie to be a part of her community, to be like everyone else. Joe Starks always wanted Janie to stand out, to stand above everyone else. Tea Cake tells Janie that she should be at the game enjoying the sports with her neighbors. He tells Janie that she should learn to play checkers like the others, something that Joe would never allow her to do. Tea Cake tells Janie that she should learn to walk instead of relying on trains and cars.

There are many subtle allusions to their future relationship in this chapter. When Tea Cake walks in and asks for a light for his cigarette, he asks Janie, "got a lil piece of fire over dere, lady?" Literally, of course, this means that he needs to light his cigarette. Metaphorically, he seems to recognize the "fire" that Janie has inside her. This symbol links back to chapter nine, where the narrator compares the people of the world to mud balls with a spark inside them. The narrator comments that Janie struggles to make her spark shine.