Delia's wish for a peaceful home and garden and the only way she can maintain that is with the help of others. The men on Joe Clarke's porch, including Jim Merchant, Joe Lindsay, Walter Thomas, Elijah Moseley and Old Man Anderson. These men specifically state that “there should be a law concerning Sykes” (Hurston 179). Thus, these men can see Sykes' ultimate evil and the damage he has inflicted on Delia, "the bravest woman in town" (Hurston 179). A suggestion arises that something should be done. As a result, “a grunt of approval sounded around the porch but the heat melted their civic virtue” (Hurston 179). Although capable of acting, these men in power do not do so. For this reason, they only give passing credit to Delia's situation. No help from the law will come, so when the man's legal practices fail, Delia must act according to her own instruction. To do this, she must internalize a certain degree of male influence since power, until now, only concerns men. According to Powers, "Hurston determines the validity of God or gods not through the refinements of theological insight or the consolations of meditative reflection but through the exercise of material power as represented in a particular form of masculinity” (Powers 235). To this God or these gods, Délia must finally respond. Thus, Delia takes her final stand against Sykes. She