Cora Unashamed

Ma and Cora’s garden symbolizes independence and autonomy for Black individuals. The story’s resolution portrays Cora living with Ma and Pa, managing to get along without income from the Studevants. Instead, they live off Pa’s earnings from collecting junk and the little garden Cora and Ma raise together. While Pa was earning his meager income from the beginning of the story, when Cora believed her survival depended on working for a white family, this is the first mention of the garden. Its introduction represents a rejection of her former beliefs. Cora has escaped the economic trap that was closed so tightly around her for most of her life. The garden itself represents more than the ideas of growth and bounty often associated with gardens, although this is another instance in which Cora finds purpose through nurturing. It’s unlikely the Jenkins family will ever experience a bounteous gain from the garden—they merely “get by”—but the garden allows Cora to take care of her basic needs, thereby giving her power over her own life.

Though white and Black people interact daily in the society Langston Hughes portrays, Cora sees them as occupying two different worlds. In Jessie’s world, she’s unable to find the love and support she needs from her family.