As I began to read "Cane," I quickly realized this was going to be a difficult read. I kept thinking about the title because it brought back memories of my grandfather's story of the origin of the black man. My grandfather believed Cain's curse for slaying Abel was that he was turned black, "marked". That was the point in time when the black man was born. He also stated that since black represents the curse, then all black people are inferior to white. It's disturbing to see how people manipulate the scriptures to feed their personal cause. My grandpa was not the first and he won't be the last. As you can see my grandpa was a racist. I don't know why for sure. He was born in 1896 and lived to be 86 years old. He lived through the years of hate and oppression of the black man. I guess somewhere along the way he was taught to be a racist. Children have to be taught, this it doesn't come natural. Just go to any playground and watch the rainbow of children play with one another, t!
             I don't think that was what Toomer had in mind when he titled it "Cane." I think the title "Cane" reflects the sorghum sugar cane that was a way of life for the black man. Yet, Toomer may have intended the title to have a double meaning. I'll consider this as I make my way through his book.
             "Karintha" was a beautiful young woman who was robbed of her innocence early in her life. She was exploited and becomes nothing more than a prized object, a possession to be had. She quickly learned the ways of a life without innocence. She used the men that also used her. My heart sank when Karintha buried her unwanted newborn in the smoldering sawdust pile. At least that's how I interpreted it. Jesus took the little one's soul to Heaven.
             "Reapers" is a poem that reflects the way of life of the rural black man harvesting the fields. Then everything changes wh...