Cane: Selection 2

The second selection of short stories and poems from Cane seemed to be more abstract and more difficult to understand. However I noticed a few interesting details among the pieces. Toomer repeats the same words or phrases throughout his short stories to emphasize his ideas. In “Blood-Burning Moon”, he continues to make reference to the “evil face of the full moon” and how it is an “omen.” In “Rhobert”, he repeats that as a child Rhobert had rickets and now “he is way down, down.” Toomer describes “Avey” as a woman who uses men for their money and leaves them when it runs out. As a result the men are “sore.” The following phrase is also repeated, “The moon was brilliant. The air was sweet like clover. And every now and then, a salt tang, a stale drift of sea-weed.” Lastly in “Theater” the author I think foreshadows by continually saying “keep her loveliness and let her go.” It makes sense because at the end of the story, Dorris is embarrassed after she dances her heart out for John, but doesn’t seem to get anything back from him (“keep her loveliness and let her go”).

Toomer continues to look at the lives of African American women in the South. Each short story has a new woman and a different message to go along with it. I think that “Blood-Burning Moon” Toomer used the words “omen” and “evil face of the full moon” to symbolize what was going to happen that night between Tom, Bob, and the angry white mob. I wonder if Toomer used the moon to represent the white race and the racism and cruelty that they behold (evil). I wonder if I’m even interpreting this right. Any thoughts?

Cane: Section 1

I have to say that after reading the introduction to Cane, I am still confused on who Jean Toomer is. It didn’t focus on his childhood much and with that vital piece missing I could not get a good sense of who he was and where he came from. However, the introduction broke Cane down into three sections where each focused on a different topic. The first section as we can tell from reading, looks closely at the lives of various women and how their actions were opposite of what society thought was “right” or “moral.” For those who didn’t read the introduction (because it is three times as long as any other book’s introduction) I recommend taking a glance at it. Especially pages XXI – XXII because many of Toomer’s writings are described here as well as the topics associated with them.

The short stories of "Karintha", "Becky", "Carma", "Esther" all have to do with how society sees and reacts to each of these woman’s behaviors and situations. Although McKay’s poetry was filled with anger and his longing for a place to feel at home, I believe that a similar theme of loneliness, feelings of an outcast, and separation from both races can be detected in Cane. I paid especially close attention to "Becky" and how Toomer uses specific wording to continually reinforce the theme. He writes “her eyes were sunken…her eyes, harsh, vacant, staring” which I think is describing Becky’s initial reaction to her baby and what the town had to say about her (5). It seems as though she was in shock and feelings of emptiness and loneliness began to develop as her town looked down upon her and cast her out. Toomer continues by describing her new home as the “ground islandized between the road and railroad track” (5). Using the word “islandized” emphasizes Becky’s distance from the rest of the town. “Pushed up where a blue-sheen God with listless eyes could look at it” also indicates the lack of interest and enthusiasm that the towns people had for Becky and her children (5). The last thing I want to point out can be found on page seven where I believe Toomer wanted to reference religion and how God judges an individual. I gathered this from where Barlo “threw his Bible on the pile” where they believed Becky to be laying. Much of Toomer’s short stories in the first section have to do with judgement, society’s views of what is right and wrong, and how racism and prejudices come into play.

McKay Poetry Blog #1

In high school I used to HATE interrupting poetry, but I actually enjoyed the McKay poems. The White House on page twenty-nine waved extreme interested to me. The way I read it I thought of it as the African American’s journey through life and how they dealt with racism. In the first few lines, I believe McKay talks about the black race having the “door” of opportunity shut on them by the whites. They keep their composure and courage as they continue to walk down the hard road of life (“The pavement slabs burn loose beneath my feet”). McKay walks down a decent road where a “chafing savage” or an irritating and cruel white person lives. He seems to find strength or “superhuman power” to contain his anger. The last two lines where of most interest to me:

“Oh, I must keep my heart inviolate
Against the potent poison of your hate.”

I think the African Americans want to be undisturbed while they swallow their pride and try to be the bigger person in this situation of racism and oppression. They refuse to give up and even though the white people’s hearts are filled with hate, the blacks will not allow it to affect them.

First REAL Assignment

There are a few parts that I found intriguing throughout this section of the book. The first can be found on page ninety-two where the author talks about the use of the word “nigger.” He sounds very innocent in this passage because he is not used to the new people and new environment. His innocence shows through when he admits that he learned the use of “nigger” is absolutely prohibited to white men. I thought he would have known this considering he lived in Connecticut as a boy.

The second thing that caught my eye was on page 109 where he discusses the white woman and black man that came to the club together. At first I thought it was odd how surprised he seemed at seeing them together and as he states, “I never exactly enjoyed the sight.” After thinking about it I realized that seeing them together could bring back memories of his mother and father because they too were of different color. That could also spark painful memories of his childhood when he realized he was mulatto due to the fact that his mother was black and father was white.

First Assignment

Hey everyone, my name is Ashley. I am a junior at St. Rose, majoring in Early Childhood Education with a concentration in American Studies. I love photography, music, cooking and reading. I also enjoy volunteering and planning events for various causes and organizations, especially Invisible Children.