Home to Harlem · Chapter
Jake Makes a Move explained
Jake returns home to find signs of a mysterious visitor, leading to tension with Congo Rose.
What happens
Jake returns home to find signs of a mysterious visitor, leading to tension with Congo Rose. After a violent altercation, Jake decides to leave Rose and packs his belongings, walking out with his suitcase.
Themes in this chapter
Masculinity and Violence
Jake's internal conflict about hitting a woman and Rose's admiration for his physical strength highlight the era's complex gender dynamics.
Love and Exploitation
The transactional nature of Jake and Rose's relationship, where Rose expects brutality and Jake seeks comfort, illustrates the exploitation inherent in their arrangement.
Characters to notice
- Jake Brown
Jake confronts Rose about her visitor, slaps her, and ultimately decides to leave her.
- Congo Rose
Rose lies about her visitor, provokes Jake into violence, and later tries to reconcile with him.
- Zeddy Plummer
Jake meets Zeddy at Uncle Doc's saloon after leaving Rose.
Key passages
“Jake knew that Rose was lying. Her visitor had not been Gertie Blake. It had been a man, a strange man, doubtless a white man.”
Jake sensed Rose was lying about her visitor, suspecting it was a white man.
Jake's intuition about the visitor's identity.
“Rose was disappointed in Jake. She had wanted him to live in the usual sweet way, to be brutal and beat her up a little, and take away her money from her.”
Rose was let down because Jake didn't act brutally or take her money like her previous lovers.
Rose's expectations of a violent relationship.
“He did not love her, had never felt any deep desire for her. He had gone to live with her simply because she had asked him when he was in a fever mood for a steady mate.”
Jake didn't love Rose; he moved in with her out of convenience.
Jake's lack of emotional attachment to Rose.
““You poor black stiff!” Rose cried. And she leaped over at Jake and scratched at his face. Jake gave her two savage slaps full in her face and she dropped moaning at his feet.”
Rose insulted Jake and attacked him, leading to Jake slapping her twice.
The violent confrontation between Jake and Rose.
““Ahm shame o’ you, hands,” he murmured. “Mah mother useter tell me, ‘Nevah hit no woman,’ but that hussy jest made me do it … jest made me.””
Jake felt ashamed for hitting Rose, remembering his mother's advice never to hit a woman.
Jake's guilt and internal conflict.