Cane

PART 1: CHAPTERS 1-5

Reading Check

1. The cotton flower (Chapter 3)

2. Becky dies when the chimney collapses on her. (Chapter 4)

3. Death/the end of her life (“nearly ripe for worms”) (Chapter 5)

Short Answer

1. Karintha’s beauty is remarkable in her town, and even as a child she gains the attention of younger and older men. After she loses her virginity, the older men in town stop paying attention to her, but as she grows older, she still receives the attention of many men. (Chapter 1)

2. “Reapers” centers on Black reapers who are sharpening their scythes as they move. Despite the death of the mouse, they continue their movement, without stopping. This poem suggests parallels between the grim reaper and those who reap crops in the field. (Chapter 3)

3. Becky, a white woman who gives birth to two children whose father is Black, is ostracized by the white and Black communities alike. She lives in a “narrow strip” of land between the railroad and the road, signifying her liminal state between the two communities of color. The community’s preoccupation with her condition begins after she gives birth to her children, and she becomes the source of rumors while she is a recluse in her home. Eventually the preoccupation moves some to action, as the men who rush into her house are more interested in whether or not she was actually dead, as opposed to saving her life. (Chapter 4)

PART 1: CHAPTERS 6-10

Reading Check

1. A man’s strength (Chapter 7)

2. ABBAA (Chapter 8)

3. “The sky, lazily disdaining to pursue / The setting sun, too indolent to hold” (Chapter 9)

Short Answer

1. As the longest poem in the novel, “Cotton Song” blends religious themes from Christianity with the structure of a song sung by enslaved communities. Furthermore, the theme of the song supports the Protestant work ethic of not waiting for God and continuing on with work. (Chapter 6)

2. The narrator notes that Carma, a strong woman, is unfaithful to her husband. One day, when the couple argues, she pretends to shoot herself, and when Bane discovers this, he goes into a violent rage that results in his imprisonment and forced hard labor. The narrator takes Bane’s side, saying that it was Carma’s fault he was there, although he clarifies that “[n]o one blames her” for being unfaithful. (Chapter 7)

3. Passing through the Dixie Pike, the narrator is taken with Fern, a woman who has stopped engaging in sexual intercourse with men and spends most of her time sitting on the porch and staring out. The narrator speaks to her one night and invites her to a walk; at first, she is hesitant, but then she agrees; eventually they embrace. She suddenly reacts violently to him and falls to the ground. The narrator returns to the north soon after. (Chapter 10)

PART 1: CHAPTERS 11-16

Reading Check

1. “A spray of pine needles” (Chapter 11)

2. Each stanza follows ABBA. (Chapter 12)

3. That she loves him (Chapter 13)

4. The “African Guardian of Souls” and the “white-faced sardonic god” (Chapter 14)

Short Answer

1. Barlo is considered a prophet in the town, where people are used to his sudden religious trances. The narrative begins at the time that Esther is 9 years old, and Barlo has a vision of a Black man rising despite white people’s attempt to keep him chained. On this day, Barlo leaves the town riding a bull. (Chapter 13)

2. Esther’s narrative covers four ages of her life: age 9, age 16, age 22, and age 27. Unlike the other female protagonists in Toomer’s text, Esther is not the object of men’s affections, as she is not traditionally beautiful. Also, unlike the other chapters, she is the one who seeks a man (Barlo), as opposed to being sought after. Similar to the other chapters, Esther must navigate the patriarchal world as a woman who struggles with love, being loved, and finding her place in her small town in the South, where she is a well-known figure. (Chapter 13)

3. Both Tom, a Black man, and Bob, a white man, “love” Louisa, a Black girl who works in a white household. While Tom confesses his feelings to Louisa, Bob regularly meets her outside of work. While Tom’s feelings are genuine, Bob observes that his feelings and actions toward Louisa are racially biased and “as a master should.” The rivalry between Tom and Bob is fueled by the gossip in the town that Louisa has multiple lovers. (Chapter 16)

3. Bob and Tom get involved in an altercation over Louisa, in which Tom cuts Bob in the throat. Black witnesses “slunk into their homes and blew the lamps out,” while members of the white community take Tom and burn him alive in the factory. (Chapter 16)

PART 2: CHAPTERS 17-22

Reading Check

1. Washington, DC (Chapter 17)

2. While the bees are busy moving in and out, the narrator remains on her/his back “lipping honey.” (Chapter 20)

3. Silk stockings (Chapter 22)

Short Answer

1. The narrator describes Rhobert having “a house, like a monstrous diver’s helmet, on his head” with “shakey” legs because he had rickets in his childhood. These ailments lead Rhobert to have an apathetic state of mind; he “does not care” and often dreams of his wife and children drowning. (Chapter 18)

2. After the narrator realizes he is in love with Avey, he tries to woo her; however, he sees that she does not seem to give him any more attention than other men, does not reveal much personal information about herself, and does not reciprocate love in the romantic sense. Years later after he finishes his education, he determines that Avey is lazy; this conclusion is further cemented in the final scene, where she falls asleep next to him in the park. (Chapter 19)

3. Dorris is a stage girl whom John, the stage manager’s brother, takes a liking to. The pair are attracted to one another and begin to dance, but while Dorris is in the present and focused on him, John daydreams about Dorris. Ironically, Dorris assumes that he is not thinking of her while they dance, and she leaves the dance floor distressed. (Chapter 22)

PART 2: CHAPTERS 23-28

Reading Check

1. A whimpering dog that follows her (Chapter 23)

2. The narrator says that “[h]ouses are shy girls” and “[d]ark swaying forms of Negroes are street songs.” (Chapter 24)

3. “[O]paque” (Chapter 25)

Short Answer

1. Dan and Muriel are attracted to each other; however, their socioeconomic differences make their match unsuitable in their community, causing Muriel to reject Dan’s profession of love. This difference is most obvious during the show, as Muriel sits in a box seat with her friend, while Dan is in the seats for less wealthy patrons. Dan is easily agitated, and when he sees one of the performers offer Muriel a rose, he shouts in the audience, almost starting a fight before walking away. (Chapter 24)

2. The narrator is a reaper who has spent the day working in the fields. Using the first-person pronoun, the reaper expresses his tiredness, hunger, and thirst after a day’s labor. (Chapter 27)

3. Bona, a white woman, and Paul, a Black man, become attracted to one another. Paul’s white friend Art sets him up on a date with Bona; however, Paul is concerned about what others think, and feels out of place with her. He particularly feels judged by a Black man in the Crimson Garden and quickly explains his interracial relationship. The chapter ends with Paul realizing that Bona has left him. (Chapter 28)

PART 3: CHAPTERS 29

Reading Check

1. A white man murdered the baby: “jabbed his knife in it an[sic] stuck it t[sic] a tree.” (Chapter 29)

2. Slavery and the past (Chapter 29)

Short Answer

1. Toomer employs stream of consciousness as Kabnis reflects on his feelings of the South, his physical location next to a farmhouse, and his solitary life in Georgia. The tone is self-chastising as well as frustrated with his present life. (Chapter 29)

2. As a Black man from the North, Kabnis is an unwelcome addition to the town; he believes that he receives threats from the other Black members of the community. After leaving his job at the school, he is better accepted by a group of other Black men, where he adopts their speech habits; however, he still struggles with life in the South. Unlike his other narratives, Toomer begins this particular chapter at night, but the final scene takes place at dawn, as “the sun arises from its cradle in the tree-tops of the forest.” (Chapter 29)