The Gilded Six-Bits

Missie May and Joe have a weekly ritual that involves him throwing silver dollars in their doorway for his wife to stack by her plate at dinner. How does that compare to Missie May sleeping with Otis D. Slemmons on the promise that he will give her some of his gold? What is the relationship between sex and money in the story?

On several occasions Otis D. Slemmons is compared to a rich white man or given a superlative in comparison to others of his race: “He got de finest clothes Ah ever seen on a colored man’s back” (89). Consider how the representation of wealth in “The Gilded Six-Bits” intersects with or is complicated by race.

Zora Neale Hurston was a noted anthropologist and folklorist who would have been inspired by the folk tales she collected in Florida. Research some of these folk tales and compare and contrast “The Gilded Six-Bits” to one of your choosing.