Anyone who looked more white folkish than herself was better than she was in her criteria, therefore it was right that they should be cruel to her at times, just as she was cruel to those more negroid than herself in direct ratio to their negroness.
Mrs. Turner has a deep sense of internalized racism and a sense of hierarchy based on skin color.
to friend with
This violates standard English conventions in the narration rather than in dialogue, which is unusual for the book.
She looked him over and got little thrills from every one of his good points.
Notice here that unlike with the other men, Janie seems to enjoy the presence of Tea Cake.
Vergible Woods
His actual name is "Veritable Woods", though it's written differently here due to use of eye dialect.
Joe Starks didn’t know the words for all this, but he knew the feeling. So he struck Janie with all his might and drove her from the store.
Joe Starks, despite his obsession with control, ironically loses control of his own emotions.
Janie had robbed him of his illusion of irresistible maleness that all men cherish, which was terrible.
Joe is a control freak due to his anxieties and insecurities. Now, he sees Janie's defiance of him, and the townspeople's ridicule, as an existential threat to his control. This brings his deep-seated fear of losing control back up to the forefront of his mind.
“You come heah wid yo’ mouf full uh foolishness on uh busy day. Heah you got uh prop tuh lean on all yo’ bawn days, and big protection, and everybody got tuh tip dey hat tuh you and call you Mis’ Killicks, and you come worryin’ me ’bout love.” “But Nanny, Ah wants to want him sometimes. Ah don’t want him to do all de wantin’.”
Notice the contrasting views of Nanny and Janie.
Nanny has had a rougher early life compared with Janie, being a former slave, and as a result, she doesn't even care about love. Having someone like Logan as a husband would be unimaginably good to Nanny when she was Janie's age.
Janie never faced slavery, and takes personal safety for granted, so she wants personal fulfillment as well.
Husbands and wives always loved each other, and that was what marriage meant. It was just so.
Janie's current view on romance—marriage comes before love.
Mah fust wife never bothered me ’bout choppin’ no wood nohow. She’d grab dat ax and sling chips lak uh man. You done been spoilt rotten.
Janie wants her relationships to be fulfilling, rather than just having her do work for her husband, but Logan wants Janie to work—their views of a good marriage conflict.
saw her life like a great tree in leaf
Trees are a recurring piece of symbolism.
That is the life of men.
referencing the dynamic between men and women, possibly the idea of simping