The Resilience of Slaves
In “Cotton Song” and “November Cotton Flower,” author Jean Toomer addresses the incredible strength, hope, and resilience of slaves. In “Cotton Song,” Toomer has written a short poem that is entirely a working song that slaves would have sung whilst in the cotton fields. In this song, the slaves comment on the fact their white plantation owners will one day face the “Judgement Day.” Though the slaves would have had every right to revel in their captors’ punishment, the slaves merely concede to leave their fates—and those of their owners—in the hands of God. This faith in God and hope for the future, despite their current circumstances, is a testament to the slaves’ incredible strength. Likewise, in “November Cotton Flower,” the narrator describes a particularly grueling and destructive winter—one that completely destroyed the cotton crop, which was the source of most slaves’ work. In the midst of all the destruction and frost, however, a flower blooms. This flower is a metaphorical representation for hope. It represents the idea that hope can bloom in the bleakest and darkest of times. This poem is therefore another commentary on the strength of slaves and on their ability to maintain hope in the darkest and most terrible of times.
The Hyper-Sexualization of Women
In “Karintha,” Jean Toomer tells a particularly heartbreaking story of a young girl by the name of Karintha. As Toomer progresses through the different stages of Karintha’s life, he recounts how—even when she was young—men were attracted to her beauty. He explains that some men “rode her hobby-horse upon their knees” and were delighted by her even as a small child. Though Karintha was incredibly young, innocent, and naïve—and should have been allowed to live an innocent and naïve childhood—the desires of men much older than her forced her to grow up far too soon. The narrator explains that men would literally count the years until she was old enough to wed and legally partake in sexual affairs. And alas, as she was destined to do by the much-older men around her, once Karintha became of age, she was pursued by countless men, married numerous times, and subject to the numerous sexual desires of the men that pursued her. Though she was far too young to commit to marriage and sexual relationships, the men around her were so desperate for Karintha to fulfill their carnal desires that they forced her to abandon her childhood and innocence. In this way, this entire story is a commentary on the predatory nature of men, who view women as nothing more than sexual objects and begin t sexualize women from a disgustingly young age. As with Karintha, this sexualization forces women to conform to a certain sexual stereotype, which then requires them to abandon their childhood far too soon.
Physical Scars of Life
In “Face” and “Portrait in Georgia,” Jean Toomer uses his poems to comment on the numerous ways in which our experiences—both good and bad—leave us with physical marks on our body. In “Face,” Toomer describes an elderly woman who has clearly experienced hardships and turmoil in her life. This turmoil is literally written into the marks on her face. They are clear in her eyebrows, in the wrinkles around her eyes, and in her hands. Thought the woman may have experienced many wonderful times in her life, it is the darker times of life that have marred her face and skin so badly. In this way, Toomer is commenting on the physical toll that our hardships and experiences can have on our body. Likewise, in “Portrait in Georgia,” Toomer paints a particularly visceral and grim picture of a woman just after she’s been raped in her own home. Toomer once again focuses on the physical marks of this experience. He points out her braided hair, which is compared to a lyncher’s rope around her neck. He describes the old scars and new blisters on her lips. In this way, Toomer highlights the fact that experiences—whether they were physical or not—can take a physical toll on our body and literally be written into our skin.
