An Analysis of Jean Toomer's Cane In prose fiction Cane: Jean Toomer uses the black American Southern background to help establish the role of the modernist black writer. While stylistic features such as the ambiguity of words and the irony of contradictory sentences clearly mask this novel as a modernist work. Toomer draws on his experiences and perspective on black life in Georgia to create a setting that demonstrates the difficulties facing twentieth-century black authors. This presentation is both vivid and direct, and while it acknowledges the fall of slavery, it also examines the consequences that remain in American life. The effects of racism in US history have made the task of defining black culture particularly difficult; Toomer, however, remains one of the first black authors to address the question of a post-slavery society. The text itself features numerous references regarding Toomer's belief that the past inspires the modern writer. However, the focus remains on the current situation of blacks in America and not their history. One of the most interesting aspects of his work proves to be his use of prose, structure, and character to draw on his black heritage to demonstrate how history influences the modern black. By incorporating history into these parts of the novel, Toomer offers a defined role for blacks in the twentieth century. Throughout the novel specific textual references exemplify Toomer's reliance on black heritage in providing the inspiration needed to identify black culture. Critic Robert Bone writes: He achieved a universal vision by ignoring race as local race... middle of paper... if this balance between the past and ideas for the future can be achieved, then it will come upon a modern black culture stronger and more identifiable that does not increase segregation, but adds to American culture. This hope is clear in his poem "Cotton Flower of November." The old men were surprised and it soon took on meaning. Superstition saw something it had never seen before. Brown eyes that loved without a trace of fear, such sudden beauty for this time of year. (Pg6) What superstition had "never seen before" is the dawn of a modern black culture, embodying elements of black American history, relieving them from the hardships and repression of the Old South. Judging by the number of Gli Black authors who were inspired by Toomer may have been at the very birth of this new black culture.