A Taste Of Honey - Key Quotes: Jo and Jimmie

Jimmie's forgetfulness may hint at his lack of commitment

This morning I couldn't remember what sort of hands you had... I stood there like a damn fool trying to remember what they felt like.

The nature of the items in Jimmie's pockets reminds the reader that neither of them are proper adults, and don't really know what they're doing

Three handkerchiefs, a safety pin, a screw! Elastic bands! Don't little boys carry some trash.

Jo lies about Helen's prejudices, suggesting that she might only be going out with Jimmie to annoy her mother

Whatever else she might be, she isn't prejudiced against colour.

Context point: Who were Othello and Desdemona?

Desdemona, a white noblewoman, elopes with Othello, a black man who is considered an outsider to Venetian society. To start with, they seem tenderly in love, but as time goes on, Othello verbally and physically abuses Desdemona and accuses her of cheating on him. Desdemona never blames Othello for any of this, instead blaming herself for his anger despite doing nothing wrong. At the end of the play, Othello strangles Desdemona. Desdemona's maid comes in, and instead of saying that Othello had killed her, she tells her that she is responsible for her own death.

Jo asks Jimmie whether he finds Helen attractive, showing her jealousy and resentment of Helen

Do you fancy her? Do you think Helen's beautiful?

Jimmie offers Jo some milk and a tablet, showing his tenderness towards her

Fix you a cold cure. Where do you keep the milk?

Jo talks to Geof about Jimmie, and refers to him as a dream

He was only a dream I had. You know, he could sing and he was so tender.

Jimmie jokes around with Jo, hinting at their tender relationship

Honey, you've got to stop eating. No more food, no more make-up, no more fancy clothes; we're saving up to get married.

Jo tells Jimmie that she isn't prejudiced against him, showing her to be more mature than her mother

I don't care.

Jo's lack of understanding of her love reflects her confusion at home

I don't know why I love you but I do.

Jo refuses the milk and accuses him of trying to drug her, showing that she is more prejudiced than she claims and shows her inability to trust

I hate milk. I bet it's an opium pellet. I've heard about men like you.

Jimmie promises to come back, but this is undermined by his failure to do so. Neither Jimmie nor Jo seem to understand what they're promising to one another.

I will come back, I love you. How I say these things I don't know, but whatever it means it's true.

Jimmie asks Jo to marry him and she immediately agrees, showing her lack of forward thinking, especially given her young age

I won't marry you but you've talked me into it.

Jo immediately suggests that Jimmie will not come back, showing her pessimism as well as her world knowledge.

I'll probably never see you again. I know it. Stay with me now, it's enough, it's all I want, and if you do come back I'll still be here.

Jimmie refers to Othello, showing that he is well educated. (this could either be a metaphor of his ultimately neglectful relationship of her, or he could simply be teasing her lack of book-knowledge)

Let me be your Othello and you my Desdemona

Jo lies about her age to Jimmie, perhaps showing that she already doesn't expect anything to last long with him.

Nearly eighteen.

Jo's nickname for Jimmie shows how he was always a dream for her.

Prince Ossini!

Jo lies about how Helen would react to the ring, showing a shame of her and a fear of her mother's nature being shown

She's only laugh.

Jimmie admits to getting the ring from Woolworths, and Jo is still happy about it, showing that neither Jo nor Jimmie have much money so have low hope at fulfilling their plans, but are still able to have a 'taste of honey'

Woolworth's best! I'm not proud. It's the thought that counts.

Jo and Jimmie refer indirectly to sex, showing their relationship to be in early stages, yet their indirect attitude towards it is a contrast to Peter and Helen's vulgar manner

You'd have gone as far as I would have let you and no scruples would have stood in your way