There's something to be said about the awakening of insight in a rustic world. It lies very low, almost slipping by the reader quiet and unnoticed. Jean Toomer points to the changing of a time, perhaps the ending of an era, through the seemingly insignificant events in the setting of the story.
"Chickens woke up, and cackled. Intermittently, all over the country-side dogs barked and roosters crowed as if heralding a weird dawn or some ungodly awakening. The women sang lustily. Their songs were cottonwads to stop their ears. [...] The moon was rising towards a thick cloud-bank which would soon hide it" (61).
There's a strong indication here of "something" finally waking up to see the light. Perhaps Louisa has finally understood who the right man is for her. Perhaps she realizes that she's not attracted or attached to either one. Considering the story was written in 1923, perhaps the author is subtly pointing to a slow building movement against racism. It intrigues me that her descriptions, the language she uses for dialogue, and the short poem is are distinctly racist.
"Red nigger moon. Sinner!
Blood burning moon. Sinner!
Come out that fact'ry door."
Definitely a taboo word up there. It's almost as if she's asking the blacks to rise up against their oppression. There's definitely more than character analysis to the stories we've read. I'd love to hear what the class thought about this.
Posted by NehaBawa at April 9, 2005 12:02 PM | TrackBack