Toomer

These excerpts from Toomer's pieces are very poetic, and he writes very freely, "breaking rules."

In many of the excerpts we see the peice begin with and end with the same text.

BECKY

"Becky was the white woman who had two Negro sons. She's dead; they're gone away. The pines whisper to Jesus. The Bible flaps its leaves with an aimless rustle on her mound."

This begins and ends the piece. It tells the reader what the story is about and almost tells the entire story before we even read it. It's almost like Toomer tells us what to expect and them remindes us of what we've just read.

"excerpts from BONA AND PAUL:

"Crimson Gardens. Hurrah! So one feels."

This phrase appears throughout the piece, much like what we would see in poetry. Toomer has a very interesting style and isn't afraid to use it.

SEVENTH STREET:

"Money burns the pocket, pocket hurts,
Bootleggers in silken shirts,
Balooned, zooming Cadillacs,
Whizzing, whizzing down the street-car tracks."

Like in "Becky" we also see this in the beginning and ending of the piece. This is much like an actual poem. Rhyme and all.

Toomer uses lists..----> "Becky":"Her eyes were sunken, her neck stringy, her breasts fallen, till then. Taking their words, they filled her, like a bubble rising - then she broke. Mouth setting in a twist that held her eyes, harsh, vacant, staring."

These lines are an example of Lanham's Chapter 4, Hypotactic period. It is an example of 'poetic prose.'