Final answer:
Zora Neale Hurston uses a metaphor in chapter 6 of 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' to liken the front porch of Jody’s store to a stage, illustrating the performative social interactions in the novel.
Step-by-step explanation:
The literary device used by Zora Neale Hurston in the excerpt from chapter 6 of "Their Eyes Were Watching God" to visualize the setting as a stage is metaphor.
Hurston likens the front porch of Jody’s store to a theatrical stage where the characters perform their roles, with the porch serving as the central place for the community's social interactions, almost as if it were a stage for a play. This metaphorical usage not only helps visualize the physical setting but also emphasizes the performative nature of social interactions in the novel's cultural context.