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“ WhentheSunGoesDown”: TheGhettoPastoralMode inJeanToomer’sCane by Donald M. Shaffer, Jr. Darwin Turner once wrote of Jean Toomer’s literary master- piece, Cane, that “[Cane] inspires critical rhapsodies rather than analysis” (In a Minor Chord 207). Turner’s observation is suggestive of the critical challenges that Cane poses. While there is no consensus regarding Cane’s formal structure, critics have often described it in thematic terms as a pastoral work. Bernard Bell’s reading of Cane as “a pastoral work, con- trasting the values of uninhibited, unlettered Black rustics with those of the educated, class consciousness Black bourgeoisie,” privileges the lyrical elements of the novel and its indebtedness to a “Afro American tradition of music as a major structural device” (“Portrait of an Artist” 13). Yet his analysis here only extends to the poetic pieces that intersperse Cane with- out comparing them to the prose narratives that provide a thematic and structural counter- point to them. Lucinda MacKethan also offers a read - ing of the novel as a pastoral narrative, arguing that Toomer “mold[ed] [Cane] into a version of Southern pastoral perceived with the black man’s double vision of deep belonging and forced alienation” (“A Pastoral Prob- lem” 425 ). MacKethan’s description of Toomer’s
The Southern Literary Journal – University of North Carolina Press
Published: Jul 19, 2013
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