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Cane's Parallels with Hughes" Argument

             Schuyler and Hughes present contrasting ideas concerning the existence and importance of race. While their views are not completely opposite, they argue two differing opinions of race and its significance to the composition of art. Schuyler believes a person's environment was the main influence behind the content of his artistic expression. Hughes believes that although race was the determinate of an individual's preferences and creation of art, blacks adjust their likes and dislikes to fit the societal norms whites had established. Jean Toomer's Cane is a representation of the times in which Schuyler and Hughes debated. Cane attempts to inspire blacks to embrace their race and reveals its parallels to Hughes" argument that race has significance.
             Cane conveys to the blacks that they should not deny their roots and conform, but rather that they should celebrate their heritage. In "Song of the Sun," Toomer reflects about a way of life he feels is dying. "Song of the Son" addresses the eternal bond shared by blacks because of the existence of slavery in their pasts. "An everlasting song, a singing tree, caroling softly souls of slavery- (Toomer 14). This work in Cane expresses how Toomer was concerned that black culture was dissolving with slavery. Although slavery was drawing to an end, Toomer felt "an everlasting song" should live within the hearts of the blacks and their posterity, as a constant reminder of the pain they endured. In "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain," Hughes observes that blacks began to renounce their roots in order to comply with whites society's definitions of what was acceptable. He describes a black "clubwoman" who "does not want a true picture of herself from anybody. She wants the artist to flatter her, to make the white world believe that all Negroes are as smug and as near white in soul as she wants to be" (Hughes 95). She represents blacks" denial of their heritage by wanting whites to view her as close to white as possible.


Essays Related to Cane's Parallels with Hughes" Argument

1. Cane

Reaction Paper: Cane True to Modernist conventions, Toomer's Cane stretches the boundaries of language and succeeds in blurring the distinction between poetry and prose. The form of Cane is puzzling; in the work, there are sketches, stories and poems. ... Toomer's images of dusk, the foggy time between night and day, between black and white, are magical, mystical, and pregnant with possibility. ... Like Eliot's The Wasteland, Cane is about the lack of a common, cultural heritage and the need for salvation. Unlike The Wasteland, howev...

  • Word Count: 291
  • Approx Pages: 1
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2. Mulatto by Langston Hughes

A similar parallel is drawn further into the poem as the white man describes the brutal rape scene in which the narrator was conceived. ... Stars are not usually labeled with a color when being examined, Hughes specifically uses the color yellow to guide the reader to the conclusion that the "stars" serve as a purpose to represent biracial status of the Mulatto child. ... The same problem is again faced by the mulatto children when it comes to fitting-in with white society. ... Thus, the silver moonlight makes a strong parallel with the whiteness of the child's father. ... The...

  • Word Count: 800
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3. Langston Hughes

Realism Hughes poem "Mother to Son" was written during the Harlem Renaissance. ... Biographical Theory of Criticism "Mother to Son" Closely parallels the life of Hughes. Born in Missouri, Hughes lived with his grandmother until she died. ... Since he lived with his grandmother as a child, the mother noted in the title of the poem is symbolic to his grandmother who taught him the values of life. Hughes moved to Harlem after he graduated from high school to continue his education. ...

  • Word Count: 482
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4. Langston Hughes

Realism Hughes poem "Mother to Son" was written during the Harlem Renaissance. ... Biographical Theory of Criticism "Mother to Son" Closely parallels the life of Hughes. Born in Missouri, Hughes lived with his grandmother until she died. ... Since he lived with his grandmother as a child, the mother noted in the title of the poem is symbolic to his grandmother who taught him the values of life. Hughes moved to Harlem after he graduated from high school to continue his education. ...

  • Word Count: 532
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Hughes

With all of these ideas comes the true American dream "freedom. ... Langston Hughes then went to live with his grandmother in Lawrence, Kansas until he was thirteen. ... In the second grade Langston was introduced to books and soon became fascinated with literature. ... At the age of thirteen Hughes went to live with his mother in Lincoln, Illinois and then Cleveland, Ohio where he went to high school. ... Langston Hughes attempts this goal by seeking to elevate the sense of crudeness associated with blackness. ...

  • Word Count: 758
  • Approx Pages: 3
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6. Langston Hughes

His career took off due to his unique style, the speech of a stereotyped black man with a jazz/blues rhythm. ... He grew up in Lawrence, Kansas with family friends and relatives after his parents' separation. ... In 1916, Hughes moved to Cleveland to live with his mom and stepfather. ... With the worsening racial conflicts, Hughes's poems became more aggressive. ... Hughes touched many with his poems thought often spoke of better times, such as "Tired,"" which spoke of the impatience for a better world. ...

  • Word Count: 763
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7. Langston Hughes

James Mercer Langston Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. ... When she died in 1910, Hughes lived with his family, friends and various relatives in Kansas. ... (Criticism 233) Hughes worked many jobs as a writer, editor and a lecturer. ... Although he was very closely associated with these arts, his world travels influenced his writing in a profound way. ... (Star-News.com 1) Hughes" career was influenced by Paul Laurence Dunbar. ...

  • Word Count: 738
  • Approx Pages: 3
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8. Langston Hughes

James Mercer Langston Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. ... When she died in 1910, Hughes lived with his family, friends and various relatives in Kansas. ... (Criticism 233) Hughes worked many jobs as a writer, editor and a lecturer. ... Although he was very closely associated with these arts, his world travels influenced his writing in a profound way. ... (Star-News.com 1) Hughes" career was influenced by Paul Laurence Dunbar. ...

  • Word Count: 738
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Langston Hughes

Hughes" father, being frustrated with job opportunities, moved to Mexico when his son was not even two years-old. ... While his mother moved from town to town in search of work, Hughes spent his time with his grandmother, from whom he learned self-confidence. ... Hughes then decided to attend Columbia University in New York with the help of his father (Berry 12). ... Hughes made moderately good grades and graduated in 1930 with the fifth rank in his forty-five student class (Meltzer 117). ... After a Russian leader that Hughes admired signed a treaty with Hitler, he broke all ties that he ...

  • Word Count: 1218
  • Approx Pages: 5
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