# Dan Moore — Cane character guide

> Dan Moore in Cane by Jean Toomer.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** old Dan, Dan, Mr. Moore, Mr. Daniel Moore

**First appearance:** 0003-part-i-karintha

## Snapshot

A working man born in a canefield who walks through town singing to houses that cannot hear him, carrying a healing he cannot deliver.

## Who they are

Dan arrives at Muriel's door with raw knuckles and a vision of himself as someone sent to heal a sick world, but the bolted, metallic house and Mrs. Pribby's gimlet eyes tell him what the town thinks of a black man who comes calling. He hears the girl's name and feels the whole weight of what this place does to her, to him, to whatever they might have been to each other. His rage and tenderness are inseparable, and both are dangerous in a Georgia town that has no room for either.

## Relationships

### [Muriel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/characters/muriel)

_romantic_

Dan Moore is deeply infatuated with Muriel, but their relationship is strained by social expectations and personal insecurities.

### [Mrs. Pribby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/characters/mrs_pribby)

_social_

Mrs. Pribby is Dan Moore's landlady, representing the repressive social norms he chafes against.

### [Muriel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/characters/muriel)

_romantic_

Dan Moore is deeply infatuated with Muriel, but their relationship is strained by social expectations and personal insecurities.

### [Mrs. Pribby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/characters/mrs_pribby)

_social_

Mrs. Pribby is Dan Moore's landlady, representing the repressive social norms he chafes against.

### [Muriel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/characters/muriel)

_romantic_

Dan Moore is deeply infatuated with Muriel, but their relationship is strained by social expectations and personal insecurities.

## In the story

### [Box Seat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-ii-box-seat)

Protagonist who visits Muriel and takes her to a boxing match, experiencing intense emotional and sensory reactions.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-ii-i)

Visits Muriel, expresses frustration with societal constraints and his desire for authentic connection.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-ii-ii)

Follows Muriel to the theater, experiences intense emotions, disrupts the show by shouting, and gets into a physical altercation.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/characters/dan_moore
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/characters