Notes+from+Cane+(Feb.+17)

By Christine Walley**
 * Notes on Cane--2/15/10

When asked what our first thoughts on //Cane// were, a discussion of themes and motifs ensued. One of these motifs was pine…these leaves have a pleasant and sensual scent that can be universally identified. They are not soft and the needles will hurt you if they are touched the wrong way. They are strong, resilient and long living. The use of this motif in //Cane// may be a symbolic metaphor for slavery, or southern life in general. Southerners are often regarded as being strong, tough people who have long suffered through war and slavery.

A motif can be defined as a recurring pattern of symbols or images. Other motifs mentioned in class were cotton, cane, children, corn, sawdust, the moon, dusk and eyes (as noted by Professor Nicosia, who pointed out that in Sherwood Anderson’s //Winesburg, Ohio//, the bodily theme was hands—in //Cane//, it is the eyes). Cotton, corn and cane are agricultural crops of the south. This is another reflection of slavery, in that slaves were used to plant and tend these crops. Sugar cane is very hard, but also very sweet. You cannot suck on it too long without choking or being unable to finish it. One of our classmates suggested this may be a metaphor for how we view people. We often see people as one thing, but upon getting to know them, you discover the “good stuff.” Another classmate suggested that it may be a metaphor for a specific type of person—in this case, a slave. You are “sucking out” the good stuff until they are no longer useful. The last suggestion was that the cane acts as a metaphor for the females in //Cane//…the draining of innocence and purity, as seen in the story of Karintha.

The females/women in //Cane// are all either the cause, catalyst or solution—the stories revolve around them and their exploitation. The example discussed in class was the story of Fern. Men see a sweet girl, find a way to “get” the sweetness, but do not know where to go with it once they have it. She looks different than the other women. Her nose resembles that of a beak, a feature that is not particularly attractive. Nonetheless, men are drawn to her. Although author Jean Toomer gives her appearance a poetic description, she possesses a sensual beauty that cannot be explained. One of the points that came up about Fern is the questions of what it means to “become a virgin.” This was not meant to be taken literally. Rather, she is portrayed as being virgin-like, leading to the revitalization of what it means to be “sacred.” Toomer is experimenting with the portrayal of African American women by introducing a new concept—something can be both sacred and exotic.

Another theme we discussed about //Cane// was the concept of women taking on the roles of men. Fern provides an accurate example of this. Men are captivated by her and actively pursue her. This depicts a role reversal in that women are stereotypically the ones falling in love with and pursuing men who do not notice them.

// Cane // has notoriety in dealing with controversial issues. An example of this is the story of Karintha, whose character echoes the character of Tandy in //Winesburg, Ohio//. Both girls attract the interest of older men and become “victims of the gaze too soon.” I asked the question of why all men, not just one or two, in //Karintha// are depicted in such this unrealistically lecherous way. There is no answer to this question, though it is recommended that we keep this question in mind as we continue our reading throughout the semester. “Pampilsest” was a word introduced to the class. It is defined as a manuscript that has been scraped off and used again. This is a metaphor for stories that echo one another. As we know, Anderson and Toomer worked closely together and particularly in //Winesburg, Ohio// and //Cane// we see stories, themes and characters that echo one another.

As our discussion about //Karintha// continued, another concept was introduced to the class. When talking about the rumors that surround Karintha because of her beauty, one of our classmates noted that this type of behavior that stems from bitterness and cruelty has a psychological term called “relational aggression.”

Our discussion about Karintha further ensued when parallels were drawn between her, Tandy (from //Winesburg, Ohio//), Fern and Edna (from //The Awakening//). These females were pinned with an identity by others before they even knew who they were. Karintha has no self possession whatsoever and was solely defined as a beautiful woman. This relates to Tandy who was told by a stranger at the age of eleven that she was meant to be his wife—the only thing that defined her identity. This is where the connection to Edna can be made…as the novel opens, she does not know who she is or who she wants to be.

As we moved on to making connections between the poems/songs and the stories, it was the consensus that this is a difficult task. The shift between poems and stories can be described as a changing of gears and the awareness of the “author as author.” Toomer is consciously jarring us along as we read, making us wonder where the connections lie. There is there concept of textual bricolage, or a pastiche, that exists in literature, which is putting together a collection of unlikely things in order to achieve a specific tone and a response from the reader. In other words, it is like small pictures that are put together to create a larger picture.

The last thing discussed in class was the poem “Black Reapers” on page 3. Someone pointed out how the swooshing sounds of the “S” in the poem sound like the slashing and or sharpening of reapers. This is a poetic device called “Onomatopoeia,” where saying a word sounds like what it is (“meow,” for example).