“Theme Interpretation Through the Characters in ‘The Gilded
“The Gilded Six-Bits” is a short story on survival of love in a black family living in a rural area. Although Missie May and Joe are somewhat isolated from others, they are indeed happy with their lives. The love between them is all they need to live a happy and wealthy life. One day, though, their love is tested when Joe walks in on Missie May and a “wealthy” black businessman, Otis D. Slemmons. Thus, their love and happiness is tested by the power of different social classes (wealth). Although this is a very tough thing for a close family like this to go through, Missie May and Joe eventually realize that their love for one another is the most important thing that they have going and they overcome the odds to survive the incident. In Zora Neale Hurston’s “The Gilded Six-Bits,” the power of social values is a prominent theme as depicted through Missie May, Joe, and Otis D. Slemmons to prove that every person needs different things in life in order to achieve happiness and that money is not the most important thing in many family relationships. The rural location of Joe and Missie May had a lot to do with their social values and thinking patterns. Joe and Missie May’s individual values were reflected by where they lived.
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Joe Missie, Missie Slemmons, Missie Joe, Otis Slemmons, Joes Joe, Gilded Six-Bits, Joe Hurston, Joe Joe, Six-Bits Hurstons, Missies Slemmons, joe missie, missie joe, otis slemmons, gilded six-bits, missie slemmons, power love, society found missie, joe wife, own values, values society, social values, throwing weeks pay, half dollar pillow, own little world, location missie joe,
Approximate Word count = 1974
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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