When I began reading the story "Katrintha", I wasn't sure if this book was going to be about African Americans. When I read the line "Home in Georgia are most often built on the two-room plan," I made the assumption that the characters were going to be African American living in the south. As I continued to read, more and more stories made it clear that this book focuses on times of slavery.
I like the poem the "Reapers" because it was easy to understand but gives a vivid picture of what a day in the fields was like. The author presents this poem as if someone is witnessing it. He says "I see them place the hones in their hip-pockets as a thing that's done, and start their silent swingin, one by one." We get the sense that the reapers are used to this activity. From the poem, it seems to be a regular duty that they have to do. The reapers also seem to think nothing else than doing their job. He says, ".. a field rat, startled, sqealing bleeds. HIs belly close to the ground. I see the blade, Blood-stained, continue cutting wees and shade." The reapers pay not attention to the rat. They are concentrated on one thing, and thats to get the job done. I think is poems shows the work ethic of African Americans back then and also gives you a sense of the labor they had to endure.
The other poem I liked that I compared "Reapers" to was "November Cotton Flowers." After reading the title I assumed that I would be reading about cotton picking that African Americans had to do on their planations. The author is very descriptive when describing what the cotton-stalks look like during the winter seasons. He says, "Made cotton-stalks look rusty, seasons old, and cottonm scarce as any southern snow..." It is evident that during November, cotton is out of season and the stalks look old and dead as if they were there more than one season. I visualize a corn field during the winter seasons and how the stalks and husks are brown and bending because they are dead. The author is also descriptive when desribing the soil and how there is not use for it. It made me visualize a farm before the harvesting season and how plain, boring, and un-useful it looks.
I enjoyed many of these poems and noticed that many of them referenced to God, which was a theme in McKay's poems.
6 comments:
I had a different outlook to the cotton poem. It talked about boll weevils coming and now its cold and the cotton is scarce. I took it as though this animal destroyed the cotton making it look rusty, seasons old and scarce.
I also liked several of Toomer’s poems that focused on working in the fields. This type of labor was a very prevalent lifestyle for many African Americans during this time period. Many of Toomer’s poems such as “Reaper”, “November Cotton Flower”, and “Cotton Song” give the reader different perspectives on working in the fields. For instance, in “Cotton Song”, Toomer incorporates some of the black vernacular to give the reader a sense of the language spoken by the African Americans working in the fields. Each of these poems have a common theme but they also bring unique features to the book.
The image of the rat in the field, in my eyes, represented the way that the black society in Toomer's time dealt with death. It is almost as if they were hardened to all kinds of death -- that it happened so frequently that the black community has learned not to blink an eye. Rather, they simply carry on with life, going about their daily work as if nothing had happened. I realize that the rat in the field is a much smaller-scale version of the death experienced in black communities, but I think that small snapshot of the black farmers continuing to work amidst the death mimics how they would react if one of their own kind was in the same situation.
It’s interesting that Toomer could vividly describe a typical day in the field in only a few short lines. I never realized that he could be referencing to the strong work ethic of African Americans during slavery. After rereading the selection I can see how that idea is represented. It also sounds like Toomer was working in the field with the other reapers, as he uses “I” and writes like he was witnessing the situation. This is something that is not evident in many of Toomer’s writings in this section, except for “Fern” and “Evening Song.”
I also liked the poem "Reaper" I thought when he talked about the bloody syckle it was amazing how menotinous a job could be that you would not even stop if blood was coming from your work area. It was amazing how free of emotion the workers were.
I also liked the poem November Cotton Flower. I think in all of his poems, but this one especially, that Toomer tends to use a lot of descriptive words and a lot of imagery. I think that is one of the things I like best about his writing. It can be confusing at times, but his use of imagery is amazing - it's almost like you could picture it in your mind. He seems to use nature a lot in his imagery as well which I find interesting.
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