When the men at the general store arrive at Spunk’s funeral, Hurston uses imagery to capture the scene, as seen in the following passage:
They had arrived at the house. Lena’s lamentations were deep and loud. She had filled the room with magnolia blossoms that gave off a heavy sweet odor. The keepers of the wake tipped about whispering in frightened tones.
The imagery here engages different senses—readers can hear Lena’s “deep and loud” cries and the whispered “frightened tones” of the attendees while also smelling the “heavy sweet odor” of the magnolia blossoms. All of these descriptions bring readers closer into the scene, making for a richer reading experience.
The tension between Lena’s loud “lamentations” and the pleasing odor of her magnolia flowers is particularly notable here. While it’s hard to know exactly what Hurston is communicating with this juxtaposition, it’s possible that she is suggesting that Lena is (over-)performing her role of aggrieved widow while secretly feeling pleased that the controlling Spunk is gone from her life. This comes through via her decision to fill the house with “feminine” flowery energy, reclaiming the space for herself in her home (as well as in her life as a whole).
Spunk’s trial for killing Joe is brief and, afterward, he is free to go back to his everyday life. Hurston captures Spunk’s freedom using imagery, as seen in the following passage:
A clear case of self-defense, the trial was a short one, and Spunk walked out of the court house to freedom again. He could work again, ride the dangerous log-carriage that fed the singing, snarling, biting, circle-saw; he could stroll the soft dark lanes with his guitar. He was free to roam the woods again; he was free to return to Lena.
Hurston’s use of imagery here helps readers to hear and feel the “singing, snarling, biting, circle-saw” that Spunk returns to at work, as well as to visualize the “soft dark lanes” that he walks down playing his guitar. In this way, readers can understand at a visceral level that “freedom” for Spunk—and for the Black men of this community—isn’t necessarily all that free. While Spunk can enjoy his free time playing guitar in the evenings, he must spend his days being threatened by the “snarling” and “biting” circle-saw that has already killed a man (and goes on to kill him as well).
It is still notable that Spunk ends up free in the sense that he doesn’t go to prison for killing a man. While he did act in “self-defense”—Joe attacked him first with a razor blade—his decision to kill Joe with a gun was clearly a disproportionate response. That he is able to wistfully play guitar, roam the woods, and spend time with his girlfriend after killing her husband irks some of the other men in town. Ultimately, justice is only served when Spunk dies at the hands of the circle-saw.
