Becky

Becky takes place in the South.
This short story tells not only of the trials of the African Americans living in the South, but also addresses interracial relationships.

In my opinion, this story is not really about Becky. This first lines "Becky was the white woman who had two Negro sons." We know that there was a Becky and that she had a relationship with a white man. I felt that the issue at hand was how society should view children who were of mixed blood. "We, who had cast out their mother because of them, could we take them in?" These children are born into a world where the whites do not accept them and the blacks do not accept them. This is also interesting because it is actually giving the two sides a common ground in which neither side wants to take in this family. This cabin that was built for Becky and the Island that they lived on was showing how separated they were from everyone else. People accepted that they existed but did not want to include them on either particular side.
Theater takes place in the city scenes of Washington D.C. In the South, Toomer uses the landscape and repeats many common words of southern life to evoke our emotions and the emotions of the characters. The city is different but theses same emotions are evoked as well.
The Theater is place that allows those who are in it to let loose and loose themselves in dance and song. It is where expression of one's self can be maximized through the arts. It is repeated that John's mind becomes separate from his body. I also felt like the Theater to the blacks was a way to become white for a moment. Their performances were admired by everyone. It allowed them to have the spotlight, release emotion, and be heard. The stories of the North or urban life all seem too long for the quiet of the South.
No matter the location, definitely each story brings out emotion and you can clearly see who these individuals were. The South is more calming and rooted in nature, where the city is busy and sometimes too busy, but where expression can be loud and unrehearsed.