Their Eyes Were Watching God Last Response

Throughout the entire book Janie has always been quick to talk, but during the trial, she almost refuses to talk. The Reason why I believe that is because she killed Tea Cake, and that is eating her up inside. She just can't believe that there was almost nothing that she could do about saving him, and it was her fault that Tea Cake got rabies at all. So her atonement, if you will, is her lack of speaking.