Cane Character Analysis

Karintha

Karintha is an extraordinarily beautiful little girl who grows into an extraordinarily beautiful young woman. When she is a child, all the adults remark on her beauty, which is so overwhelming that people ignore her… read analysis of Karintha

Becky

Becky is a White woman who lives in a small town and has two sons by an unidentified Black man. Because of this interracial relationship, she is shunned by both the Black and White communities… read analysis of Becky

Barlo

Also known as “King,” Barlo is a Black man who make a living picking cotton and occasionally falls into religious trances. Esther Crane witnesses one of these trances when she is a child. During World… read analysis of Barlo

Carma

Carma is a Black sharecropper living in Georgia with her husband, Bane. Because her husband’s work frequently took him away, Carma took a series of lovers. When Bane found out, he killed two men… read analysis of Carma

Fern

Fern is a compellingly beautiful multiracial woman. She exercises a mysterious power over men. Many who have casual sex with her then find themselves unshakably obsessed. Fern typically spends the evenings sitting on her porch… read analysis of Fern

Narrator of “Fern”

The narrator of “Fern” is a Black man from the North. On a visit to Georgia, he sees Fern and becomes obsessed with her. Eventually, he invites her to take a walk with him in… read analysis of Narrator of “Fern”

Esther Crane

Esther Crane is a Black person who is so light-skinned that she could pass for White. Her parents own a grocery store in their small Georgia town, and she grows up comfortably middle class. As… read analysis of Esther Crane

Louisa

Louisa is a beautiful Black woman living in Georgia, where she works for a White family called the Stones. Louisa has two admirers. The youngest son of the Stone family, Bob, has become her… read analysis of Louisa

Bob Stone

Bob Stone is a White man living in Georgia. He is descended from generations of enslavers. Secretly, he has become lovers with Louisa, a beautiful Black woman who works for his family. He has… read analysis of Bob Stone

Tom Burwell

Tom Burwell is a Black man living in Georgia, where he works as a manual laborer and has served time for getting violent with other people. He loves Louisa and wants to marry her, even… read analysis of Tom Burwell

Avey’s Admirer

Avey’s admirer is a Black boy growing up in Washington, DC, where he is neighbors with Avey, Ned, and the Top Floor Feller. From a young age, Avey’s admirer loves Avey, but… read analysis of Avey’s Admirer

Avey

Avey is a relatively privileged and very alluring Black girl growing up in Washington, D.C. As a young teenager, she begins hanging out with boys and men, including the Top Floor Feller, when her… read analysis of Avey

Ned

Ned is Avey’s admirer’s friend and the most talkative member of their neighborhood crew. Like the others, he’s half in love with Avey when he’s young, although his obsession fades over the years. His… read analysis of Ned

John

John is the brother of the manager of the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C. A well-to-do Black man, he enjoys getting to the theater in the afternoons in time to watch rehearsals for the evening… read analysis of John

Dorris

Dorris is an attractive Black woman who dances at the Howard Theater. During rehearsals one afternoon, she tries very hard to catch the attention of John, the well-to-do brother of the theater manager, but… read analysis of Dorris

Dan Moore

Dan Moore is a Black man who lives in Washington, D.C. Dan finds proper society, exemplified by Mrs. Pribby and the neat rows of houses in the city, oppressive and stifling. He has destructive and… read analysis of Dan Moore

Muriel

Muriel is a well-to-do, very beautiful Black woman living in Washington, D. C., under the watchful and solicitous care of Mrs. Pribby. She is Dan Moore’s love interest. Although she is physically attracted… read analysis of Muriel

Mr. Barry

Mr. Barry is a Black performer with achondroplasia, who boxes with other performers on stage at the theater which Muriel, Bernice, Dan Moore, and the old man with corns attend. Having won… read analysis of Mr. Barry

Old Man with Corns

The old man with corns is another patron of the theater which Dan Moore, Muriel, and Bernice attend. Dan steps on the old man’s feet when he’s making his way to his seat… read analysis of Old Man with Corns

Paul

Paul is a light-skinned man from Georgia who has traveled north, to Chicago, as part of the Great Migration. In Chicago, Paul passes as White and attends college. He shares an apartment with a… read analysis of Paul

Bona

Bona is a young White woman from Chicago who meets Paul at school. Despite—or perhaps because of—gossip claiming that the White-passing Paul is Black, Bona finds herself irresistibly attracted to him. Still, she remains anxious… read analysis of Bona

Ralph Kabnis

Ralph Kabnis is a Black man who was born and raised in the North, where he went to school and became a teacher. Subsequently, he took a teaching job in Georgia at the school for… read analysis of Ralph Kabnis

Lewis

Lewis is a Northern Black man who is visiting Georgia at the same time as Ralph Kabnis. His proud attitude and the uncomfortable questions he asks turn the local Black community against him, except… read analysis of Lewis

Fred Halsey

Fred Halsey is a Black man by the standards of Jim Crow society although he has White ancestors. He lives in Georgia, where he works as a wagon-wright. His sister is Carrie K., and… read analysis of Fred Halsey

Hanby

Hanby is a Black man who lives in Georgia and runs the boarding school for Black children where Ralph Kabnis initially teaches. Hanby is high-strung and extremely conscious about racial and class distinctions and status… read analysis of Hanby

Father John

Father John is the enigmatic, ancient Black man who lives in the cellar under Fred Halsey’s wagon shop. Although it isn’t clear whether Father John is actually related to Fred and Carrie, they… read analysis of Father John

Carrie K.

Carrie K. is the younger sister of Fred Halsey. She’s a beautiful and innocent Black woman whom Lewis finds almost irresistibly attractive and for whom Ralph Kabnis displays a jealous interest. Carrie is a… read analysis of Carrie K.

Stella

Stella is a multiracial woman and acquaintance of Cora, Ralph Kabnis, Fred Halsey, and others. By implication, Stella is either a sex worker or a woman willing to engage in casual sex… read analysis of Stella

Layman

Professor Layman is a Black man from Georgia who is friends with Fred Halsey and Ralph Kabnis. He is an itinerant preacher. Layman’s stories of gruesome lynchings, crimes, and violence perpetrated on Black people… read analysis of Layman

Cora

Cora is a Black woman and acquaintance of Stella, Ralph Kabnis, Fred Halsey, and others. By implication, like Stella, she is either a sex worker or a woman who engages in casual… read analysis of Cora

Rhobert

Rhobert is the titular and sole character of the vignette "Rhobert." The narration portrays Rhobert as a man who struggles despite the success he has achieved in life. For example, Rhobert has spindly, crooked legs… read analysis of Rhobert

Minor Characters

Narrator of “Becky”

The narrator of “Becky” is a young Black man living in the same community as Becky and her sons. Along with Barlo, Becky’s narrator witnesses Becky’s shack collapsing on her.

Bane

Bane is Carma’s husband. When he discovers that she’s been cheating on him in his absence, he murders two men in a rage and is imprisoned and set to work on the chain gang for murder.

Narrator of “Carma”

The narrator of “Carma” is a local Black person who knows the sordid story of how Carma’s husband Bane ended up on the chain gang.

Top Floor Feller

The top-floor feller is Avey’s boyfriend or lover when she, Avey’s admirer, and Ned are in their early teens.

Director

The director is the man who directs the shows at the Howard Theater in Washington, D.C.

Bernice

Bernice is Muriel’s friend, with whom Muriel attends the theater.

Mrs. Pribby

Mrs. Pribby is the prim and proper guardian of Muriel.

Art Carlstrom

Art Carlstrom is the White roommate of Paul and the boyfriend of Helen. Art is an energetic, social young man who is always fixing up double dates for himself and Paul. Art doesn’t seem to be bothered or curious about the gossip concerning Paul’s racial identity.

Helen

Helen is a friend of Bona’s and a girlfriend of Art Carlstrom’s. On their double date with Bona and Paul, Helen finds herself physically attracted to Paul not in spite but because of the ambiguity of his racial identity.

Mame Lamkins

Mame Lamkins is a Black woman who is murdered in a gruesome way after trying to protect her husband from a lynch mob. Layman tells Ralph Kabnis her story as a way of describing racial tensions in the Jim Crow south.

Mr. Ramsay

Mr. Ramsay is a White man who brings Halsey an axe for repairs.

Cane Characters