With all of the emphasis that Tar Baby puts on race, it can be easy to overlook just how significant gender is as a recurring theme. When Jade worries about her status as a black woman, for example, the fact that she is a woman is just as significant as the fact that she is black. More specifically, she fears that sacrificing herself to Son's hometown of Eloe will lead her to become a stay-at-home mom with no opportunities to pursue her individual ambitions. In this case, she elects to go with a white, capitalist lifestyle because she thinks that it will provide her with more opportunities as a woman.
Questions About Gender
- Do you think that gender plays just as big of a role in Tar Baby as race does? Why or why not?
- How might things be different if Jade held Son's views and Son held Jade's views? Would Jade's views be any more convincing if they were endorsed by a man? Why or why not?
- Is it possible to have sympathy for Son as a character after he has raped Jade, or does this action mean that Jade has automatically won the battle for readers' sympathy?
- How has being a seventeen year old bride affected Margaret's Street's life? What consequences has it had and why? Support your answer with direct evidence from the text.
Chew on This
In Tar Baby, Toni Morrison shows us that gender inequality is every bit as significant as racial inequality in the modern age.
Tar Baby suggests that even though Jade turns her back on the black people in her life, she scores a win for women of all races by choosing to pursue her dreams.