Chapter 6 Summary

The store becomes the center of town, where the men sit on the porch, rib each other and vie for the women's attention. For Janie, it is like watching a play, and it takes the monotony out of the six days a week tending the store. The physical work is not always hard, but the complex calculations are, and she tends to get distracted, which irritates Jody. He also does not like her taking part in the trashy scenes on the porch, though he is not above joining them himself. For instance, one of the favorite jokes revolves around Matt Bonner's yellow mule, an ornery, half-starved creature that runs off as often as he can. Janie starts to feel sorry for the poor thing, and stalks off one day, muttering that they ought to be ashamed of themselves, with how the thing's been...