How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)
Quote #7
She took it into her hands with trembling and saw first thing that it was no gold piece. It was a gilded half dollar. (101)
Talk about a d'oh moment! Here Missie realizes that Slemmons has been fooling them all along, that his "gold piece" is actually a fake. For all her good intentions, sleeping with Slemmons may have ruined Missie's marriage with Joe, but can we totally blame her? Who, after all, was the person obsessed with the man and the money in the first place? That's right; it was Joe.
Quote #8
"Offen a stray n***** dat come through Eatonville. He had it on his watch chain for a charm--goin' round making out is gold money." (130).
Here, Joe is talking with a white clerk in Orlando, explaining how he got the gilded six bits. His tune has changed quite a bit about Slemmons calling him a 'stray n*****' and implying that he always knew he was a fraud. Hindsight is always 20/20.
Quote #9
"Gimme fifty cents worth of dem candy kisses." (132)
When Joe buys candy kisses for Missie at the end of the story, we know the couple will stay together. Sure, Joe's using Slemmons' money to buy the kisses, but there's no point in wasting it, right? Joe's taking control of his life again and shows us that he's got the dough and the woman.