Cane - Dusk Synthesis

7 Pages 1851 Words

Dusk and the Great Synthesis

Throughout much of the novel Cane, Toomer hints to the reader the idea of dusk and other fleeting imagery. As it stated in Karintha “perfect as dusk as the sun goes down” (Toomer 5) or as described in the Song of the Son, “In time, for though the sun is setting on…” (Toomer 21) and lastly in Georgia Dusk, “The setting sun, to indolent to hold…Passively darkens.” (Toomer 22) What exactly is meant by these types of imagery? They can be explained in several different manners. Perhaps dusk pertains to the idea of changing, for example, from light to dark. On the other hand it may be an attempt to depict vagueness or a lack of clarity during a specific time. Beyond that, it might even be both. To understand what Toomer is trying to entrust to his reader we must delve deeper into his novel.
As stated in the Song of the Son, “in time… just before an epoch’s sun declines… to catch thy soul leaving, gone.” (Toomer 21) there was a great time when the sun has shone, but now its time for it to go and leave. At this specific moment, although it is too late to retrieve the sun, the sun has not disappeared completely. As the book progresses, we see the black population shift northwards from the southern area known as the black belt. This shift northwards represents two separate but similar ideas. This symbolizes both the loss of a unified, tightly knit sense of community, which is left behind down in Georgia as well as a loss of spirituality and tradition.
As Toomer explains in Seventh Street, there is a great migration from the rural south into the urban north. This occurs slowly as the novel continuously advances. Slowly but surely, the black folk culture is being assimilated as the shift northward takes place. A key motive for this loss of culture or rather spirituality could be blamed, namely on their venture for wealth and materialistic pleasures. It is only natural for a human being ...