Janie's Nanny

Janie, an African American woman, is the main character of the novel. She is a woman filled with dreams of going somewhere in life. Readers first meet Janie when she is talking with her nanny. Her nanny wants Janie to marry someone, but not just anyone she doesn’t want “no nigger, no breath-and-britches, lak Johnny Taylor usin’ yo’ body to wipe his foots on.” Janie doesn’t want to get married, but her grandma pretty much forces her to get married. From the very beginning of the story, we start to get the hint on how the story will develop. Back in the days, it seems like the African American women did not have a say on whom they wanted to marry. Her grandma was the one telling her who to marry because she wanted someone who could take care of Janie, a person who was old enough to “know” how to treat a woman. The word “know” is in quotations because the women were not always treated respectfully.