The reader should, first of all, be aware that this chapter represents a short jump back in time. The events take place on the night and day preceding the death of Joanna Burden. The idea that returns constantly to Joe's mind is the forthcoming act of murder.
Having established that this chapter precedes Joanna's death, we should then notice the elaborate and symbolic rituals preceding the actual murder. These preparations are to emphasize that the murder was not committed in cold blood. Many of Joe's actions in this chapter are comprehensible only in the light of later actions in the novel.
First comes Joe's realization that he has been tricked or fooled by Joanna because he had thought she was pregnant. But then he realizes that she had lied about her age and was actually several years older than she had told him. She becomes then the symbol of all the women in his life who have lied to him or who have tried to destroy his sense of peace and security. Only at a later point in the story do we realize that women have tried to bring elements of disorder into Joe's life and that he has constantly fought against the corrupting influence of women.
Joe's first symbolic act is that of removing his clothes, and by walking naked through tall wet grass, he seems to be undergoing some type of cleansing ritual. Next, we see him revealing his nudity to a passing car. The interplay of light and darkness on his body suggests the conflicting white and Negro blood in his body. Then, he tries to reject all of the emasculating influence of women by going to the barn and sleeping with the animals, thinking that even a female horse is a type of male. This again suggests that Joe is attempting to deny the female world.
