Cane · Chapters

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Chapter companions for Cane by Jean Toomer.

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Chapter 1
Dedication
A brief dedication to the author's grandmother.
Chapter 2
Epigraph
A brief, evocative epigraph that sets the tone for the work, using imagery of dusk, fermenting syrup, and deep-rooted cane to suggest a rich, complex, and perhaps painful Southern landscape.
Chapter 3
Karintha
Karintha is a woman of extraordinary beauty, compared to dusk, who from childhood has been desired by men. She is a wild, vivid presence in the Georgia landscape. As she matures, she is exploited by older men and pursued by younger ones, but she remains aloof and contemptuous. She bears a child alone in the forest, and the child dies. The community later sings a spiritual about the smoke from the sawmill. Karintha continues to carry her beauty, but her soul has been ripened too soon by the world's desires.
Chapter 4
Reapers
A brief, vivid poem depicting Black reapers sharpening scythes and silently swinging them, while a mower driven by black horses cuts through weeds, causing a field rat to be injured and bleed. The blade continues its work, unstoppable, cutting both weeds and shade.
Chapter 5
November Cotton Flower
A poem depicting a harsh winter and drought that devastates the cotton crop and landscape, culminating in the miraculous bloom of a cotton flower. The event startles the old folks and is interpreted through superstition as a sign of unexpected beauty and love without fear.

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