Mary Helen Washington's essay negates Hurston's efforts to create a liberated female character in Their Eyes Were Watching God. Washington believes that Janie is in reality excluded “from power, particularly from the power of speech”. Janie plays the role of an object that men can look at and talk about. The consequence of this oppression is shown after Jody's death, rather than declaring her freedom, Janie appreciates her own hair by looking in the mirror, just like the other men in town. She is forbidden from participating in the conversation on the porch, so she hides her voice. Even when she speaks, her voice leads not to power, action, or contentment, but to self-division. Washington disagrees with BarbaraJohnson's view that Janie's self-division leads to the discovery of her own voice. When it seems Janie can finally speak her mind while living with Tea Cake, Tea Cake becomes the center of both her speech and her inner thoughts. Actually. His voice is always dominated by that of the male. More surprisingly, she hires Hezikiah to manage the store with her because he “wa...