Cane

Cane, experimental novel by Jean Toomer, published in 1923 and reprinted in 1967, about the African American experience. This symbolic, poetic work comprises a variety of literary forms, including poems and short stories, and incorporates elements from both Southern black folk culture and the contemporary white avant-garde. Some literary critics associated the title with the Old Testament figure of Cain, the exiled son of Adam.

Cane is divided into three sections, the first focusing on the rural Southern past and sexuality. The characters in this section are unable to find success and are constantly frustrated by what life offers them. The second section deals with people moving from the agrarian South to the urban North and the spiritual quest of those who abandon their rural roots in hopes of finding a new life. The final section, “Kabnis,” is a prose work that synthesizes the preceding sections. Kabnis is a black teacher and writer who struggles with the dilemma of race, with his ambivalence regarding his African heritage and Southern enslavement, and with the challenges of creativity.