The Gilded Six-Bits

“The Gilded Six-Bits” combines elements of a folk tale with specific geographical and historical contexts to explore how Joe and Missie May’s marriage can overcome hardship. Themes of The Function and Morality of Money, Sex, Physical Desire, and Marriage, and Appearance Versus Reality further illuminate this short story.

Unlike folk tales, which are often generic in their locations, the specific location of “The Gilded Six-Bits” is established in the first paragraph as Eatonville, Florida: both Hurston’s hometown and a historically Black community. The “Black justice”—a folk element related to Black Americans’ historical struggles to secure justice via the legal system—that Joe carries out by sending Slemmons packing is perhaps more possible in Eatonville than other Southern communities. However, as in many folk tales, the plot of the story is relatively simple. Most folk tales have a moral, and the consequences of Missie May’s infidelity are deeply felt during the weeks and months in which she and Joe live as virtual strangers. Furthermore, while Joe and Missie May are rounder characters than many folk heroes, Otis D. Slemmons is fairly flat, serving mainly as a

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