Cane | The Circular Design of Cane
In the following essay, David Kelly examines the circular design of Cane, comparing the female characters who begin and end the book.
One of the most impressive things about Jean Toomer's Cane is the way it gave fresh characterizations of African Americans at a time when existent literature about them was scant. Another is the complete freedom that Toomer exercised in his use of language, binding himself to neither traditional English nor the (now dated) black dialect that he used from time to time. His most sublime achievement, though, is in the area of structure. A casual reader—one who finishes the book with only a quick, shallow impression—might not see any overall pattern. Its individual parts...
[The entire page is 1819 words long]
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