Cane

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Toomer’s Female Protagonists”

In this activity, students will select one of the female protagonists from the novel to analyze and from whose perspective to write a first-person narrative.

Toomer’s narratives often center on female characters; however, these stories are told by male narrators who view the female counterparts through a particular “male gaze.” Working in small groups, select one of the chapters in Toomer’s novel with a female protagonist to analyze. Then, rework the narrative so that it is told from the first-person perspective of the woman. Consider the following questions as you rewrite your narrative:

• How does the woman feel about her situation?
• Does her opinion align with or divert from the perception of Toomer’s male character?
• How does the perspective of the female character speak to the larger themes of Modernism and Black Women’s Bodies, The Mind/Body/Soul Relationship, and Harlem Renaissance and Other Cultural Aesthetics?

After drafting your narrative, work together in a group to research the “male gaze” in African American literature produced during the Harlem Renaissance. In an informative presentation, share your findings with the class. Read a brief excerpt of your narrative and comment on the ways your research and creative work align.

Teaching Suggestion: This Activity combines research and creative components; students may opt to complete the research before or during the composition of the creative piece. Alternatively, to better align with students interests or needs, this Activity may be separated to focus on either the research or the creative writing component.

Differentiation Suggestion: For an approach that focuses on research and cooperative efforts, the activity may be reframed as a group research paper on the presence of the male gaze in Toomer’s Cane and the Harlem Renaissance, in which each member of the group is responsible for writing a main point of the paper after a group consensus on the thesis. This activity may serve as a good opportunity to review the research paper writing process (initial research, [annotated] bibliography or works cited, thesis statement, outline, drafting, peer review, and abstract).

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. The women in Cane are conduits for the development of the male characters.

• How does Toomer use gender to exemplify the complexity of gender and race relations in the early 20th-century US? (topic sentence)
• Select 3 narratives; analyze and discuss the relationship between the male and female characters in support of your topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentences, comment on the connection between characterization style and the theme Modernism and Black Women’s Bodies.

2. Many of the protagonists grapple with religion. 

• What connotation do the religious references share (negative, positive, or neutral)? (topic sentence)
• Select 2-3 examples of poignant religious references in the text and analyze their functions within the chapter. Discuss the ways in which each reference serves to support your topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentences, evaluate the use of the motif of religion in developing the text’s theme of The Mind/Body/Soul Relationship.

3. Consider the use of music throughout the text.

• What do the novel’s music and song references have in common? (topic sentence)
• Identify 2-3 examples from the text in which there is an explicit reference to song and music. How does Toomer interweave or connect music and song between the narratives? What is the significance of their inclusion?
• In your concluding sentences, summarize how this inclusion of music supports the theme of Harlem Renaissance and Other Cultural Aesthetics.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Cane could be read as an intimate ode to the American South that notes its natural and cultural beauty. How does Toomer use his narratives to expand upon the differing points of view between the North and the South? Are these viewpoints antagonistic or complimentary? In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, explore the ways in which Toomer’s representations of the North and the South speak to the historical context of the period. Include specific details and direct quotations to support your thesis and points.

2. Toomer’s text is considered an example of Modernist literature. In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, analyze and discuss the ways in which the structure, characterization, and flow of the text employ Modernist themes, style, and other characteristics. It may be beneficial to compare Cane with another Modernist piece written during the early 20th century.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which statement best describes the town’s preoccupation with Becky?

A) They are sincerely concerned for her well-being.

B) They consider her to be a source of gossip.

C) They sympathize with her sins and transgressions.

D) They delight in her professional success.

2. Which thematic idea is present in several of the chapters?

A) The inevitability of and longing for death

B) The importance of forgiveness and penance

C) The necessity of matriarchal systems in upholding biblical values

D) The desire for industrial corporations based in the South

3. Which type of work does Toomer incorporate throughout the poetry in the text?

A) Naval

B) Agricultural

C) Industrial

D) Commercial

4. Which adjective best describes the effect that Fern has on men?

A) Tumultuous

B) Perverse

C) Repellent

D) Unpalatable

5. Which statement represents a commonality among the majority of the protagonists within the text?

A) They are women.

B) They are biracial.

C) They are enslavers.

D) They are married.

6. At which point in the day do many of the scenes in the novel take place?

A) Twilight

B) Noon

C) Mid-morning

D) Dusk

7. Which mood is evoked from the poem “Portrait of Georgia”?

A) Violence

B) Peace

C) Longevity

D) Stability

8. What does each chapter in the novel begin with?

A) An epigraph

B) A quote

C) A Bible verse

D) A sonnet

9. Chapter 17 begins with the quote, “Seventh Street is a bastard of Prohibition and the War.” Which of the following literary terms is used in this quote?

A) Dramatic irony

B) Metonymy

C) Personification

D) Simile

10. Which of the following words best describes the general mood of the characters and setting in the chapters set in the rural South?

A) Hasty

B) Languid

C) Fretful

D) Opportunistic

11. Which word best describe the mood of the poem “Storm Ending”?

A) Spontaneous

B) Depressed

C) Aggravated

D) Hopeful

12. As John thinks of Dorris while the pair dances, Dorris assumes that he is thinking of another woman and runs away. Which of the following literary terms best applies to this scene?

A) Irony

B) Ad hominem

C) Ad hoc

D) Metonymy

13. What is the extended metaphor topic in “Her Lips Are Copper Wire”?

A) Rural places

B) Electricity

C) Gentrification

D) Urban settings

14. Which word best describes Dan’s personality?

A) Explosive

B) Reserved

C) Timid

D) Diplomatic

15. In which way does “Kabnis” diverge from the other chapters?

A) It is set on the west coast.

B) It centers on a white man.

C) It begins in the middle of the night.

D) It incorporates first-person narration.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What is the narration style of the text? How does Toomer use punctuation to express the change of perspective?

2. Consider the motif of the cane in the text. How does Toomer interweave this motif and what does it symbolize?