Jean Toomer’s Cane

1. Jean Toomer’s Cane “Becky” and “Blood Burning Moon” a look at women’s treatment in different societies through Becky and Louisa

2. Toomer’s Life and Influences • Toomer’s race was composed of both European and African bloodlines • He believed himself to be living “above the boundaries of race”; he lived in both black and white communities when growing up • After graduating from high school, he renounced racial classifications and sought to live as an American, not a member of any race • He later moved to Georgia, where he was inspired to write Cane • After writing Cane, he was proclaimed by black writers as the most promising black writer of the time • A black critic, William Stanley Braithewaite, had this to say of Cane: "Jean Toomer, ...artist of the race, ...can write about the Negro without the surrender or the compromise of the artist's vision.... He would write just as well ... about the peasants of Russia or ... Ireland, had experience given him the knowledge of their existence. Cane is a book of gold...and Jean Toomer is a bright morning star of a new day of the race in literature” (Williams par 18).

3. “Becky” • Centers on Becky, a white woman who has two black sons • She is forced to leave town and live on the outskirts because interracial relationships are unacceptable to others • As a female, Becky is unable to deny maternity of the two boys, but the man who impregnated her has no ties to the children and could deny paternity of the two boys • Becky avoids criticism from the townspeople by living in her house “ground islandized between the road and the railroad track” (Toomer par 3) • She has no contact with the townspeople, but some of those who ostracized her bring her food and leave it outside of her house, anonymously • Main point: people discriminate against her because she is a unwed female, who had two sons, and the sons were black; she is unlike the “normal” population

4. “Blood Burning Moon” • Louisa is a black female who is loved by two men, one white male and one black male • She works for a white family, who’s youngest son is Bob Stone. He is in love with Louisa because of her beauty and charisma. As a man, he feels he has the right to be with, in a sexual manner, any black female he wants. However, he fears he will be ridiculed by his family and friends. So, he hides his love when he is around others. • The white male, Tom Burwell also longs for her love but cannot find the words to tell Louisa. He hates Bob Stone for buying her gifts.

5. “Blood Burning Moon” cont’d • Louisa struggles between the two men, “Separately, there was no unusual significance to either one. But for some reason, they jumbled when her eyes gazed vacantly at the rising moon” (Toomer par 3). • Bob and Tom fight over Louisa. Tom kills Bob; the townspeople then track Tom down, bind him, and burn him at the stake, without a trial or chance to defend his actions. • Louisa waits for Tom to return, but he never will. • Main point: she is seen as “abnormal” because her gender and her race exclude her from the other townspeople; she has no real rights to personal life

6. Female Inferiority Becky The father of her sons is not blamed or forced to leave town because he impregnated a woman and he did not have to take care of her and their children; she does not have the same rights as the father Becky takes full responsibility The townspeople never respect her because of her actions Louisa Tom and Bob dominate; she is never able to go against them; she does not have the same rights as the men Louisa does not refuse Bob’s gifts Louisa is at the bottom of the hierarchy at this time right after the end of slavery; therefore, she is not respected

7. Overall • Becky and Louisa are in similar situations, because they are both considered the lowest people in the hierarchy of society. Beneath males and therefore subservient to them and dependent on their desires. • Becky is unlike the other population because she is white with two black sons; as a female, she is unable to blame a male (the father) for her situation. • Louisa is unlike the majority because she is a black female, who has less control than men do. • These women were never allowed to show their true selves because they were automatically disregarded; therefore, they could never show their true personalities and desires in life.

8. Works Cited • Jones, Robert B. Jean Toomer’s Life and Career. 10 Apr. 2003. http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/s_z/toomer/life.htm • Jean Toomer. 10 Apr. 2003. http://www.unc.edu/courses/eng81br1/toomer.html • Williams, Scott. A Jean Toomer Biography. 10 Apr. 2003. http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/toomer/toomerbio.html • Toomer, Jean. Cane. Ed. Darwin T. Turner. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998. • By 0714