Cane Lesson Plan

"Blood-Burning Moon" is the only prose piece in the first section of Cane that does not take its title from its main female character's name. Why do you think Toomer titled it differently, and why do you think it is included in the first section despite this difference?

We can imagine that "Blood-Burning Moon" could be titled "Louisa," since she is the central female character in the story. Even though Louisa is characterized by the perceptions of male characters just like in the other female-centric stories of the first section, this story functions less as a character study and is instead more action-driven. "Blood-Burning Moon" is meant to mark a shift into the more...