# Violence and Brutality in Cane

> Theme guide for Cane by Jean Toomer.

Lynching, murder, and physical assault are recurrent motifs, as in the graphic lynching of Tom Burwell and the casual brutality of white mobs, highlighting the constant threat of death that shapes Black existence in the South.

## Where it surfaces

- [Reapers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-i-reapers): The poem centers on the violent, unfeeling action of the scythe and mower blade, which cuts a field rat and continues without pause, highlighting the brutality inherent in the work.
- [Carma](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-i-carma): The narrative centers on domestic violence, a faked suicide, and the brutal consequences of Bane's attack, culminating in his imprisonment in a chain gang.
- [Conversion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-i-conversion): The conversion is depicted as a violent erasure of identity, with the guardian 'yielding' under the influence of rum and foreign words.
- [Portrait in Georgia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-i-portrait-in-georgia): The poem directly equates the woman's physical features with instruments of lynching, such as a rope, fagots, and ash, foregrounding racial terror.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-i-ii): Tom's quick resort to cutting and fighting over gossip underscores the pervasive threat of violence in the community.
- [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-i-iii): The chapter culminates in the brutal lynching of Tom Burwell, illustrating the extreme violence used to maintain racial control.
- [Rhobert](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-ii-rhobert): The imagery of crushing pressure, drowning dreams, and the threat of being 'shredded' reflects the brutal force of existence on the individual.
- [Box Seat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-ii-box-seat): The boxing match serves as a backdrop for raw physical aggression and underlying racial hostility.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-ii-ii): The boxing match and the subsequent physical confrontation between Dan and another man underscore the theme of violence.
- [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-iii-i): Kabnis kills a hen in a fit of rage, and the threat of lynching and racial violence looms in his thoughts, symbolized by the courthouse tower.
- [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-iii-ii): Layman's story of Mame Lamkins's lynching and the murder of her unborn child exemplifies the extreme racial violence in the South.
- [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-iii-iii): The threat of violence is pervasive, from the note thrown at Kabnis to the fear of lynching, and the underlying brutality of the social system.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/themes/violence_and_brutality
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/cane_se/themes