Jean Toomer

1. Jean Toomer By: Jan’eJunor

2. Biographies • Jean Toomer was born in 1894 in Washington D.C. he passed for white during the certain periods of his life. He was raised is a black community, and also attend a black school. University if Wisconsin but transferred to New York city college until 1917.

3. Song of the son • -The Form of this Poem is in a Stanza. • -The language is not complex, but it takes time to understand the message. • -Two of the literary devices are Internal rhyme and imagery. Internal rhyme because there are two or more rhyming words within the line in this poem in stanza two. Also there’s imagery in stanza four “dark purple ripened plums, squeezed, and bursting in the pine wood air. • -This Poem is talking about slavery in the past, how people before use to tend to the lands. How they use songs to express there feelings, and talks about the sun setting. • -The message of this poem is to keep the past of slavery alive. • -The mood of this poem is sad; however it’s a bitter sweet tone because slavery has ended but he dose not want it to be forgotten. • - When I read this poem I get a sad feeling because of how African Americans were not treated well and did not have the right to express there feelings other then singing and could not stand up for themselves.

4. Georgia Dusk • This poem is in a 7 stanza • -The language is kind of complex but not hard to break down and comprehend. • - Two literary devices is imagery and Free verse. Imagery is use to start off the poem when talking about the sun setting in the sky. Free verse because there is no regular pattern of meter, or format. • -This poem is about men singing about their Christian faith walking through a swamp. • The message of the poem is that a soul that has faith and that’s inspire by other Christian or peaceful and will rejoice no matter were they are. • -The mood is a southern mood; however beside the sounds of other things the voice of the men brings a peaceful mood. • - my feeling I got from was a peaceful, because of the men singing their Christian songs in that averment

5. The Blue Meridian • The form mat is a seven stanza poem. • - Two of literary devices is rhyme scheme and imagery. Rhyme scheme is shown “men of the east, men of the west, men in life, men in death”. There is imagery when describing a big light, and talking about blood being mix. • This poem is about races coming together as one. • -The message is that no matter the color of your skin, all races should come to together as a hole. • -the mood of the poem is up lifting and positive. • -I get a positive mood, I feel like unity is trying to be form when reading this.

6. How was Toomer important in the Harlem renaissance? • Jean Toomer had a big influence on African Americans in the Harlem Renaissance, because of his poetry and his famous book Cane. Toomer was inspired to write that book after he explored his history of his southern roots.

7. Compering • All three of these poems have the same theme. The memoires of slavery and the history of black Americans. Even though all three of the poems tell a different story and have different meaning, They all fall under one topic. Song of the son, Georgia Dusk, and The Blue Meridian. Are poems that have a deep message that at the time black American could relate too and inspire them.

8. Other facts. • Toomer had two wives who were both white, the black community look down upon and criticized Toomer. They were upset that he left Harlem and forgetting his black roots for the “life in the white world”. Toomer look at himself as someone who lived above the social limits of races.

9. Work cite • "Jean Toomer." Poets.org. Ed. Academy of American Poets. Academy of American Poets, 1994. Web. 07 Jan. 2014. • “The Portable Harlem Renaissance Reader” Ed. David Levering Lewis • http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/toomer/toomerbio.html