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| Plot Summary of Cane River |
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"This book deals with three generations of slaves owned by Francoise Derbanne. The Derbanne plantation was located in Cane River, Louisiana.
Suzette - who will grow up envying the Ones with Last Names - is a house slave of the age of nine when she first comes face to face with the reality of her family's situation. Until that point, she's been the best friend of the plantation owner's daughter. She spends her days in the Derbanne's home, which not one of the great plantation homes of the South, is comfortable and spacious. Her mother Elisabeth is a cook in the household. Suzette wishes she could see more of the rest of her family, who live down in the "quarters" but she's relatively content. But all this changes the day Francoise Derbanne slaps her. The mistress has criticized one of Elisabeth's peach cobblers, saying it had too much sugar and made her husband sick. Suzette has jumped to her mother's defense, pointing out it was actually too much bourbon that made the man ill and is punished for her impertinence. From that point on, she'll take great joy in sneaking out whenever she can to pee on Francoise's rosebushes.
For a time, Suzette will remain a feisty child. But this changes after she's raped by an older Frenchman. Their relationship will continue for years against her will. Suzette tries to persuade Monsieur Daurat to grant her children their freedom, but he refuses to do so, even after he sets up a household with another free woman of color.
This book follows Suzette until her children are grown, at which point it becomes the story of her daughter Philomene, who will find herself in much the same situation as her mother. She does for a short time have a happy life married to the slave Clement, by whom she'll have twins. But Clement is sold when the farm they live on begins to go under and the babies die. When a slaveowner named Narcisse begins to pursue Philomene, she submits to him. But she is ultimately in control of their relationship, due to the fact that she says she's psychic. Sometimes she tells him of "visions" that she hasn't really had and thus leads him to make the choices she wants.
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Ann Gaines, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Cane River |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- very sensitive (sigh)
Time/era of story
- 19th century
Political/social activism
Yes
Plotlet:
- slavery
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- slave
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric/Mental
Yes
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Black
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- society
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 5 (an average amount)
United States
Yes
The US:
- Deep South
Farm/Ranch?
Yes
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- impregnation/reproduction
- rape/molest (yeech!)
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Lalita Tademy Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Ann Gaines
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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