chapter 12

"Jody classed me off. Ah didn’t. Naw, Pheoby, Tea Cake ain’t draggin’ me off nowhere Ah don’t want tuh go. Ah always did want tuh git round uh whole heap, but Jody wouldn’t ‘low me tuh. When Ah wasn’t in de store he wanted me tuh jes sit wid folded hands and sit dere. And Ah’d sit dere wid de walls creepin’ up on me and squeezin’ all de life outa me. Pheoby, dese educated women got uh heap of things to sit down and consider. Somebody done tole ‘em what to set down for. Nobody ain’t told poor me, so sittin’ still worries me. Ah wants tuh utilize mahself all over."

Janie is trying to tell Phoeby that tea cake is not going to make her do a lot of things that she doesn’t want to do ant then take her money away from her. She said that she didn’t get all classy and high standards by herself, she says that Jody did that to her, he is the one that tried to make her look like a championship trophy.