Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (1973) is a novel which depicts the town of Eatonville in post-slavery America in the early 1900s. Eatonville is based on a real-life town which was one of the first all-black towns in the country (Boyd 5). At its core the novel is a portrayal of a strong black female character, Janie, who struggles through life finding her own voice and identity. While the characters share many similarities in background and experiences working for white slave owners, they try to build a community together in post-slavery America. Many studies have been made about the novel using postcolonial theory, specifically about Janie. However, few of them have focused on one particular side character, namely Jody Starks. Jody, mostly referred to as Joe Stark, is Janie’s second husband. He is on his way past Janie’s house when they first meet and she is immediately drawn to his charisma and ambitions, leaving her first husband to follow him on his way to Eatonville. After arriving in Eatonville Joe is able to gain power and authority seemingly without any opposition within the community. How is he able to do this and how does it affect his relations with the rest of the community? These questions will be answered using postcolonialism as an overarching theoretical framework, with focus on the concept of mimicry. The study will argue that it is due to mimicry, by adopting colonizer behavior, that Joe gains and maintains his power in Eatonville. However, in doing so, he himself is seen as an “other” by the other residents in the community.