Dec 24, 2009

Cane | Introduction

Cane is a haunting, lyrical book, one of the most influential works ever written by an African-American artist. Critics wrote of the book, when it was published in 1923, that it would endure for generations, that it heralded the advent of a new class of artist, the black intellectual. The book is in fact considered to be a leading influence on the Harlem Renaissance a period of time in the 1920s and 1930s when there was a flourishing of creativity in the black community and white society became interested in the artistry produced by writers, painters, and musicians associated with the Harlem area of New York. The book's experiments with form brought respect from people around the world for its characters, including rural Negroes who acted from habit and superstition; women who were treated as objects in a culture that itself was struggling with its history of having been slaves; and intellectuals who sought to reconcile their love of their own race with the degradation in which they were forced to live.

One of the most fascinating aspects about Cane is what it failed to accomplish. Despite the glowing praise and anticipation of reviewers, the book only ended up selling two thousand copies. Jean Toomer, who was of mixed blood, decided to stop writing about the black experience, and he had a difficult time publishing works on other subjects. By 1930 he was no longer the promising new literary star, but a literary has-been, only occasionally publishing poems and reviews. He lived for almost forty more years in obscurity. It was not until a new edition of Cane came out during the 1960s that the world realized what a stunning achievement the book represents, and it has been in print since then.

Cane Summary

First Section
Cane is not organized like most novels are. It is an impressionistic piece, with many character sketches, stories, and poems that are similar in theme, leaving readers with an overall impression rather than an experience of having followed a unified narrative. Though the smaller parts of Cane do not follow a continuing plot, and only a few minor characters are carried over from one chapter to the next, the book still falls into three distinct sections, which Toomer envisioned as leading readers in a circular progression.

The first section takes place in rural Georgia, and concerns itself with the lives of poor blacks, especially focusing on women who live in this environment. It starts with the brief, poetic story of Karintha, a black woman who is noticeably beautiful from childhood on. The men all work hard for money to give to her, implying that their ignorance of who she really is and her naïveté work together to repress them all.

"Karintha" is followed by a poem, "Reapers," about a reaping machine with sharp blades being drawn through a field by black horses and cutting a field rat in half. The following poem, "November Cotton Flower," is about one winter, a time of drought, when cotton unexpectedly bloomed, giving hope that led to love.

The book then picks up with the story of Becky, a white woman who has two black children. Nobody in this small town knows who the father or fathers of these boys might be, and both blacks and whites ostracize Becky, although some charitable people try to help her out, donating land, lumber, and food that no one else wants. The boys grow up to be town bullies, ferocious to both blacks and whites. One day Becky's house is found collapsed, with her under the wreckage, unable to survive social disapproval like the rat mowed down by the reaper.

Two more poems follow: "Face," which gives a portrait of a sturdy old woman, and "Cotton Song," which provides a Biblical-sounding chant that might be sung by workers in the field.

The next story, "Carma," concerns a woman whose husband hears that his wife has been unfaithful, and he goes to confront her about it. After the ensuing argument, Carma runs out of the house and into the cane field. Hearing a gunshot, he gathers a group of neighbors to look for her, and when she turns out to be fine, he feels fooled, and, frustrated, slashes the nearest man with a knife. He ends up in prison, in what the story describes twice as "the crudest melodrama."

"Song of the Son" is a poem that presents the sun and earth, with Negro slaves, who sang, identified with nature. "Georgia Dusk" contrasts the previous poem by focusing on the people and machinery that have taken over the land in the decades since slavery. These lead into the story of "Fern," a girl of black and Jewish roots who is presented as almost totally a product of her environment. The story is lushly told, with little action: the... » Complete Cane Summary