Swirvine Close Read

  On page 87 the main idea is that Janie has changed quite a bit.  She thinks, "The young girl was gone..." Jody has turned Janie from the young free spirit she was to a new more conformed girl. She seems to long for the old Janie which is characterized by Janie letting he hair down.  The rag that had her hair tied was a symbol of her oppression via Jody.  The fact that Jody is dead and gone literally starts a new chapter in Janie's life.  The tone of the text is sentimental because throughout the whole passage she is thinking back to a fonder time of her life.  The narrator is the speaker.  She's reliable because she has been the narrator for the whole story.