Mixed Feelings About Paul D

Let's talk about Paul D, shall we?

When Paul D first entered the novel, I was naturally inclined to like him because he seemed to be helping Sethe in getting out of the house more and was giving her some attention. He is also a character that has suffered through slavery and all the horrors that go along with that and so I feel like he deserves sympathy as well as respect and admiration (especially considering his time as a prisoner and his escape.)

At the same time, Paul D irritates me in the manner that he treats Sethe and her children. He doesn't have much care for Denver and Beloved as one of the first fights he has with Sethe is about Denver. He is also so overprotective of Sethe and selfish in the sense that he doesn't want Beloved to get close to her and he just wants Beloved to go away (even though she has the same, if not more, rights to be there in 124.) His want to have Sethe alone is demonstrated when he asks to have a baby with her. His whole plan is that having the baby will get at least Beloved to back off. 

And that brings me to a whole other issue: his affair with Beloved. I couldn't tell if it was a one time thing or if it was reoccurring but either way it was extremely disturbing to read the shed scene, especially after realizing that Beloved was killed in that very shed. That scene makes me so queasy about Paul D and I just can't read about him in the same way. So now I have very mixed feelings about Paul D. On one hand, I want to be thankful that he is there for Sethe for a period of time but on the other hand I sort of strongly dislike him because he is disloyal and just walks away after Sethe tells him how Beloved died. What do y'all think? Where do you stand on the matter of Paul D's character?

Chapter 19: Janie's Indpendence?

Personally, chapter 19 of “Their Eyes Were Watching God” was so hard for my brain to handle. The two main reasons for this was 1) the scene that ends with Janie shooting Tea Cake and 2) that all white-male jury that sides with Janie (?!!!). Janie loved Tea Cake so much that she had willing sacrificed much of her life to be with him (as opposed to being sort of forced to change, like with her first two husbands.) However, when she is confronted with her beloved trying to murder her, Janie is forced to choose between herself and Tea Cake. This is one of the few times in the book where Janie is having to make a decision without a man or a Grandma. Because of her love for her soon-to-be-dead-anyways rabies-infested husband, she chooses herself. The scene baffles me because Janie exercises her independence but at the same time, is still doing it for the love of her husband.

Then there is the all white, all male jury. I kept trying to think about why in the world Hurston would do that. To me, Hurston is trying to highlight race/gender, but it is not clear at all what she is trying to get at. Maybe Hurston did that because she wanted Janie to open up her thoughts and the story to an uninvolved audience (assuming none of the white men knew Tea Cake.) I am honestly so confused by the whole idea so if anybody would like to try to explain that, it would be great.  

Thoughts?