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Spunk Banks
The protagonist of the story, Joe Kanty is nervous, awkward and physically inferior to Spunk Banks, his rival. Joe is publically shamed and humiliated when a group of village folk witness Spunk arm in arm with Lena Kanty, Joe’s wife. The men in the general store, who admire and revere Spunk, continually accuse Joe of weakness. His masculinity is called into question because of his inability to both control his wife and to challenge Spunk. Angered and spurred on by the men’s taunting, Joe follows Spunk and Lena into the woods, armed with nothing but a razor, despite knowing that Spunk carries a gun with him. The altercation that follows leads to Joe’s murder, leaving Spunk free to marry Lena (although Spunk is arrested for the murder, the trial is short, and he is quickly set free). However, the night that Spunk and Lena move in together, Spunk encounters a mysterious bobcat prowling around his property and howling at the top of its lungs, which Spunk believes is the reincarnated spirit of Joe. It remains ambiguous whether the bobcat is actually Joe or just a superstitious figment of Spunk’s imagination. Likewise, when Spunk falls on a saw at the sawmill, he claims with dying breath that it was Joe who pushed him to his death. Once again, it’s unclear if this is actually true, but it seems that Joe’s masculinity is finally redeemed through Spunk’s downfall. Walter Thomas’s posthumous endorsement of Joe says as much, asserting that “Joe wuz a braver man than Spunk” the whole time. After all, Joe was genuinely terrified of Spunk and toted a lousy weapon, and yet he still mustered the courage to stick up to Spunk and fight.
Joe Kanty Quotes in Spunk
The Spunk quotes below are all either spoken by Joe Kanty or refer to Joe Kanty. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Spunk Quotes
A round-shouldered figure in overalls much too large, came nervously in the door and the talking ceased. The men looked at each other and winked.
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In complete contrast to Spunk, who embodies ideal masculinity, Joe Kanty represents timidity, weakness, and passivity. Joe’s physical inferiority is emphasized through the description of his clothes, which are “much too large for him.” If large, strong men like Spunk end up with “small pretty” women like Lena, the description of Joe in his oversized uniform renders him unmanly and almost feminine. Joe is feminized as a way of emasculating him, while Spunk, and his affair with Lena, is legitimized. Joe is nervous to visit the general store because he knows that he will face ridicule from the men, who Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem
“’Tain’t cause Joe’s timid at all […] If Joe was a passel of wile cats Spunk would tackle the job just the same.”
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When the men watch Joe Kanty walk towards the woods in search of Spunk, knowing that Joe has a razor blade with him and that Spunk will be armed with a gun, Walter Thomas warns Elijah that they are sending Joe to his death. Walter also insists that Spunk’s affair is morally wrong and that he only “carries on wid Lena” because Joe is weak and passive, which implies that Spunk is both cowardly and a bully. When Elijah asserts that Spunk would fight a whole “passel of wile cats” in order to win over Lena, he speaks to Spunk’s Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut.
“Call her and see if she'll come. A woman knows her boss an' she answers when he calls.”
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After Joe enters the woods in search of Spunk, Elijah begins telling Walter and the men an anecdote about Spunk, Lena, and Joe from the week before. Elijah reports how Spunk had challenged Joe to take Lena back, asserting both his superiority over Joe and his control over Lena. Lena is stripped entirely of her agency over the situation when she is, once again, dehumanized and reduced to the status of Spunk’s property. She is likened to a house pet when Spunk explains, “A woman knows her boss an’ she answers when he calls.” The pronouns in this sentence reveal Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. N
He could work again, ride the dangerous log-carriage that fed the singing, snarling, biting, circle-saw.
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After Spunk has killed Joe in the palmetto forest, he faces a short trial in which he is found not guilty, on account of pleading self-defense. The third-person narrator recounts how Spunk returns to his ordinary life, enjoying his time with Lena and continuing his work at the sawmill. This quote is perhaps the most lyrical in the whole short story and draws attention to dangers of the “circle-saw” through the evocative description, “singing, snarling, biting.” The imagery presents the circle saw as a threatening wild animal, set to attack the men who use it at any moment. Again, the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti sol
“…a big black bob-cat, black all over, you hear me, black, walked round and round that house and howled like forty, an' when Spunk got his gun […] he says it stood right still an' looked him in the eye, […] He says it was Joe done sneaked back from Hell!”
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When Elijah describes the mysterious bobcat that confronted Spunk outside of his new home with Lena, Elijah emphasizes that it was “black all over, you hear me, black.” The bobcat’s blackness is an important yet ambiguous motif. On the one hand, its blackness signifies a dark omen or warning. However, while for Spunk and Elijah it connotes an angry and powerful spirit from “Hell,” the bobcat’s blackness is also a reference to black folklore and voodoo culture, a central focus in Hurston’s academic research as an anthropologist in Haiti and Jamaica. Through the lens of folk spirituality, the bobcat also Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas.
“Humph!” sniffed Walter, “he oughter be nervous after what he done. Ah reckon Joe come back to dare him to marry Lena, or to come out an' fight […] Joe wuz a braver man than Spunk.”
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After Elijah has described Spunk’s incident with the black bobcat to the men, Walter outspokenly expresses his disapproval of Spunk. According to Walter, Spunk deserves to have been spooked by the presence of the bobcat outside his house; the creature symbolizes justice and rightful revenge. Despite “derision from the group,” Walter continues by expressing that he thinks Joe “was a braver man than Spunk” all along. The fact that Joe was physically inferior to Spunk, and knew that Spunk was a “crack shot” with his gun, yet continued to pursue him anyway, demonstrates his superior courage and bravery. For Walter, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam con
“The fust thing he said wuz, ‘He pushed me, 'Lige—the dirty hound pushed me in the back!”—He was spittin' blood at ev'ry breath.”
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As Walter and Elijah walk towards Lena’s house for Spunk’s funeral wake, Elijah recounts how Spunk died. This line of dialogue is reported by Elijah, who describes how Spunk cursed and shouted in his last moments, accusing Joe of having “pushed me” onto the moving circle saw. One the one hand, Spunk’s final words represent his frantic attempts to blame somebody—anybody—for his accident, rather than risk losing respect from the men at the sawmill. On the other hand, it is possible that Joe’s spirit was actually responsible for fatally pushing Spunk. Either way, Spunk once more accuses Joe of having Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusanti
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Joe Kanty Character Timeline in Spunk
The timeline below shows where the character Joe Kanty appears in Spunk. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Spunk
...of a brown skinned man,” struts through the only street in the village with Lena, Joe Kanty’s wife, on his arm. Spunk’s bold parade elicits admiration from Elijah, who praises Spunk...
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Moments later, Lena’s husband, Joe, arrives and orders a drink. Elijah immediately begins taunting Joe by asking after Lena. Walter...
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Joe is visibly upset and humiliated by Elijah’s cruel teasing—“One could actually see the pain he...
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The men laugh “boisterously” as they watch Joe “shamble woodward” in search of Spunk and Lena. Walter warns Elijah that he and the...
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Elijah ignores Walter’s warning, assuring the men that Joe is calling their “bluff.” He thinks that Spunk would never actually shoot Joe, nor would...
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Elijah then tells a story about how Joe had meekly confronted Lena and Spunk the week before. Elijah denounces Walter’s accusation that Spunk...
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...but when youse inside don’t forgit youse mine.” When Lena and Spunk walked off together, Joe “jus’ stood there,” powerless to stop them.
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The narrator interjects that “Joe Kanty never came back.” The men in the general store hear “the sharp report of...
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While Lena cries, Spunk claims that Joe cowardly tried to attack him from behind, so Spunk was merely acting in self-defense by...
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...from the window, it looked him directly in the eye. Convinced that the creature was Joe, “sneaked back from Hell,” Spunk found himself unable to shoot the bobcat.
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Unsympathetic, Walter declares that Spunk “oughter be nervous after what he done,” and argues that Joe was more courageous than Spunk all along. After all, Joe was terrified and was armed...
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...fell onto the circle saw at work, and how in his last moments, Spunk accused Joe of pushing him onto the deadly machinery. Walter speculates that Joe and Spunk’s spirits must...
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