Cane: Analysis of Major Characters
"Cane: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the complexities of racial identity, desire, and emotional struggle through its central figures. The character Fernie May Rosen embodies a poignant mix of beauty and sorrow, reflecting her mixed heritage as she grapples with the attention and abandonment from men, ultimately revealing the burdens of her allure. Tom Burwell represents the tragic consequences of love and violence in a racially charged environment, where his inability to articulate his emotions culminates in a devastating act that leads to his lynching. Paul Johnson navigates the intricacies of passing as white, illustrating the inner turmoil of a man caught between two worlds, which complicates his relationship with Bona Hale. Meanwhile, Ralph Kabnis serves as a critique of identity and belonging; his struggle with his Southern roots and perceived failures in life highlights the psychological toll of societal expectations on black individuals. Together, these characters portray a rich tapestry of experiences that offer insights into the intersections of race, love, and personal identity within the Southern landscape.
Cane: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Jean Toomer
First published: 1923
Genre: Poetry and short fiction
Locale: Rural Georgia, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
Plot: Experimental
Time: The early 1920's
Fernie May Rosen, the beautiful, unhappy daughter of a black mother and a white Jewish father. She spends most days listlessly sitting on the porch of her rural Georgia home. She is the object of men's desires. Her remote indifference leads men to abandon her, but ironically they remain under her spell and bring her gifts as signs of their adoration.
Tom Burwell, a black field hand competing with a white man for the attentions of Louisa, a black woman working for his rival's family. A gentle introvert, Tom cannot express his feelings to Louisa. In a rage, he kills her other lover, and he is lynched by a white mob.
Paul Johnson, a Southern black man whose skin is light enough to allow him to pass as white. He is studying at a Chicago physical education school, where he meets Bona Hale, a white Southerner. She is attracted to him because of his blackness, but his uncertainty about his racial status makes him aloof and inaccessible. His ambivalence and denial of part of his heritage cause Bona to leave him.
Ralph Kabnis, a Northern black teacher of Southern descent who comes to rural Georgia apparently in search of his roots. Sensitive and neurotic, he cannot accept what he sees as submissiveness on the part of other black people. After he loses his teaching job, he becomes an apprentice in a wagon shop, but his spiritual and emotional decline continues. At the end of the novel, he is a childlike, dependent failure.