Kelly is an instructor of creative writing and literature at several community colleges inIllinois. In the following essay, he examines the circular design ofCane, comparing the female characters who begin and end the book.

One of the most impressive things about Jean Toomer's Cane is the way it gave fresh characterizations of African Americans at a time when existent literature about them was scant. Another is the complete freedom that Toomer exercised in his use of language, binding himself to neither traditional English nor the (now dated) black dialect that he used from time to time. His most sublime achievement, though, is in the area of structure. A casual reader—one who finishes the book with only a quick, shallow impression—might not see any overall pattern. Its individual parts don't fit together in any conventional sense of narrative.

It was Toomer's contention, though, that the book...