# Reapers explained — Cane

> Chapter companion for Cane by Jean Toomer.

## What happens

A brief, vivid poem depicting Black reapers sharpening scythes and silently swinging them, while a mower driven by black horses cuts through weeds, causing a field rat to be injured and bleed. The blade continues its work, unstoppable, cutting both weeds and shade.

## Themes in this chapter

### Violence and Brutality

The poem centers on the violent, unfeeling action of the scythe and mower blade, which cuts a field rat and continues without pause, highlighting the brutality inherent in the work.

### Southern Landscape and Pastoralism

The setting is a Southern field being harvested, with reapers, scythes, horses, and weeds, presenting a pastoral scene that is simultaneously harsh and indifferent.

## Key lines

> Black reapers with the sound of steel on stones Are sharpening scythes.

Black workers are sharpening their scythes, producing the sound of metal against stone.

_Opens the poem with the preparation for labor, emphasizing the collective, silent action of the reapers._

> Black horses drive a mower through the weeds, And there, a field rat, startled, squealing bleeds, His belly close to ground.

Black horses pull a mowing machine through the weeds, and a field rat is startled, squealing and bleeding as its belly is cut near the ground.

_Introduces a moment of accidental violence, where the mower injures a rat, underscoring the indifferent destruction caused by the work._

> I see the blade, Blood-stained, continue cutting weeds and shade.

The speaker observes the blade, now stained with blood, keep cutting through weeds and shadows without stopping.

_Ends the poem with the blade's relentless continuation, suggesting the inevitability and coldness of the violence._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/cane_se/chapters/part-i-reapers
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/cane_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/cane_se/chapters