The first sentence of the chapter really set the tone for what is to come. It talks about the dreams of men and how they compare to the dreams of women. It talks about how a man’s wish is “Ships at a distance” and the ability to achieve the wish depends on luck and do not depend on hard work. Some men’s dreams come with the tide while others never come and only bait the man into believe the dream is possible. The meaning of this passage seems to be that men focus more on tangible object or ideals (ships) as dreams. Which in comparison to the wishes of women is very different. It is directly expressed that the for women “The dream is the truth.” Everything that the women do is in order to achieve truth, they can block out specific memories and act and do what they think will find them the truth. This very different compared to the male dream, women actively work to achieve it as compared to just wait for the “tide” to bring it to them. Also women are much more interested in the fundamental understanding of what is happening as compared to men who are only trying to reach a position or objective.
These ideas of dreams are clearly reflected when the mysterious woman walks past the porch. The women who are sitting on the bench begin to critique the woman's appearance. “What she doin’ coming back here in dem overhalls? Can’t she find no dress to put on? In this case the women see the overalls to be an example of lower class and it allows them to raise themselves and feel more important than the women, perhaps to find true in their social standing. On the contrary the men on the porch see the overalls and find a sexual nature in what the women is wearing. “The men noticed her firm buttocks like she had grape fruits in her hip pockets;” the men sexualized the women and made her into a “ship” which they wish would reach their shore. The absolute contrast of what the women pay attention to compared to what the men find important is interesting and telling about the roles of gender, throughout the book. If not for Pheoby, the mysterious women’s friend the people on the porch would continue to “examine” what the mysterious women means to them and how what they see in her can be used to achieve their dreams, either bringing in their ships or helping them find the truth.
