‘Georgia Dusk’ is a poem of 28 lines in which the author, Jean Toomer, creates the mood that impacts his mood of the readers. (Toomer) After the first reading of the “Georgia Dusk,” we can imagine a colorful, optimistic picture of the industrious life in Georgia. However, if you look at the situation more skeptically, the realization comes that the poem draws attention to the destructive nature of the African American community. The light and dark imagery used throughout the work indicates that the darkness, though brings a break from a long day of work, brings danger and chaos as well.
The name “Georgia Dusk” gives us the setting and context of the poem. Twilight is a fusion of light and darkness, the time when the sun has just set, but the moon is yet to appear in the sky. Twilight means ambiguity and uncertainty. Twilight means the gray area – the place where the black and white collide. It can serve as an example of the deep meaning of the mixed race that can be traced throughout the whole poem. The author implicates that there is a struggle and that he feels that he is constantly stuck in the twilight-like period so that we can assume that he identifies with both African American and white societies.
Time is one of the most important metaphors shown in this poem. The African American community is faced with the twilight period in history, and they are not sure that they have the culture to claim as their own and how they can move forward. Up to this point, most of their cultural history was under the control of the white race. Toomer claims that they need to create their culture to purify themselves from the white power.
Works Cited
Toomer, Jean. "Georgia Dusk." Poetry Foundation. N.p., 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
