# Paul Johnson — Cane character guide

> Paul Johnson in Cane by Jean Toomer.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Paul

**First appearance:** 0038-part-ii-bona-and-paul

## Snapshot

A black college student who dances with a white woman in a segregated garden and returns to tell the doorman that the world is purple at dusk.

## Who they are

Paul moves between the university's gymnasium and the dance floor of the Gardens, where he and Bona sway together while pink-faced people watch and the black doorman understands everything. He feels passion and contempt in the same breath, and when the night air hits him he runs back inside to shake the doorman's hand and announce that white faces are petals of roses and dark faces are petals of dusk. His vision is beautiful and impossible, and it costs him the girl before he even finishes speaking.

## Relationships

### [Bona](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/characters/bona)

_romantic_

Bona and Paul Johnson share a passionate but complicated interracial romance marked by desire and misunderstanding.

### [Dorris](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/characters/dorris)

_romantic_

Dorris is a flirtatious white woman who pursues Paul Johnson, creating racial and social tension.

### [Art](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/characters/art)

_friendship_

Art is a friend and fellow student of Paul Johnson, often involved in social outings and casual banter.

### [Helen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/characters/helen)

_social_

Helen is a white acquaintance of Paul Johnson, part of the social circle that highlights racial boundaries.

### [Bona](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/characters/bona)

_romantic_

Bona and Paul Johnson share a passionate but complicated interracial romance marked by desire and misunderstanding.

### [Art](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/characters/art)

_friendship_

Art is a friend and fellow student of Paul Johnson, often involved in social outings and casual banter.

### [Helen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/characters/helen)

_social_

Helen is a white acquaintance of Paul Johnson, part of the social circle that highlights racial boundaries.

### [Helen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/characters/helen)

_social_

Helen is a white acquaintance of Paul Johnson, part of the social circle that highlights racial boundaries.

## In the story

### [Bona and Paul](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-ii-bona-and-paul)

A Black student grappling with racial identity and desire for Bona, ultimately confronting the barriers between them.

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

Paul is the object of Bona's intense gaze and desire during the drill and basketball game. He plays with her but accidentally strikes her jaw, leading to a charged physical encounter.

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

Paul is lost in thought at his window, following the sun from Chicago to a Georgia hilltop, before being roused by Art for a date with Bona.

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

Detached and contemplative, Paul observes Art's effervescence and feels a sense of racial and emotional distance. He struggles to express love to Bona.

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

Experiences a moment of clarity about his racial identity and difference; dances with Bona; confronts the black doorman.

## Links

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