What is meant by Janie's statement, "So 'tain't no use of me telling you somethin' unless Ah give you de understandin' to go 'long wid it"? (7) By the metaphor of her life as a tree? (8)
In contaxt, Jane is talking to her her friend Pheoby, who is in turn, trying to understand why Janie came back to town. Because Pheoby can't comprehend the reasons for Janie's return, Janie tells her that there isn't any use in explaining something that cannot be understood.... meaning her circumstances, her feelings, and her desire to be somewhere.... anywhere she belongs.
“Yeah, Pheoby, Tea Cake is gone. And dat’s de only reason you see me back here—cause Ah ain’t got nothing to make me happy no more where Ah was at. Down in the Everglades there, down on the muck.”
“It’s hard for me to understand what you mean, de way you tell it. And then again Ah’m hard of understandin’ at times.”
“Naw, ’tain’t nothin’ lak you might think. So ’tain’t no use in me telling you somethin’ unless Ah give you de understandin’ to go ’long wid it. Unless you see de fur, a mink skin ain’t no different from a coon hide.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
