Chapter 8 of Cane is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Cane is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Paul is rosy before his window. He moves, slightly, towards Bona. With his own glow, he seeks to penetrate a dark pane. Paul: From the South. What does that mean, precisely, except that you’ll love or hate a nigger?
Chapter 8 of Cane is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
an alert and refreshed state
From this reading “With his own glow, he seeks to penetrate a dark pane.”
plural of “move” — the act of deciding to do something
From this reading “He moves, slightly, towards Bona.”
sheet glass cut in shapes for windows or doors
From this reading “With his own glow, he seeks to penetrate a dark pane.”
pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance
From this reading “With his own glow, he seeks to penetrate a dark pane.”
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading “What does that mean, precisely, except that you’ll love or hate a nigger?”
reflecting optimism
From this reading “Paul is rosy before his window.”
plural of “seek” — the movement of a read/write head to a specific data track on a disk
From this reading “With his own glow, he seeks to penetrate a dark pane.”
to a small degree or extent
From this reading “He moves, slightly, towards Bona.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “Paul: From the South.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading With his own glow, he seeks to penetrate a dark pane.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Paul is rosy before his window.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He moves, slightly, towards Bona.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading With his own glow, he seeks to penetrate a dark pane.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What does that mean, precisely, except that you’ll love or hate a nigger?
apart from; not including
From this reading What does that mean, precisely, except that you’ll love or hate a nigger?
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Paul: From the South.
an alert and refreshed state
From this reading With his own glow, he seeks to penetrate a dark pane.
the emotion of intense dislike; a feeling of dislike so strong that it demands action
From this reading What does that mean, precisely, except that you’ll love or hate a nigger?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He moves, slightly, towards Bona.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Paul is rosy before his window.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Paul is rosy before his window.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading What does that mean, precisely, except that you’ll love or hate a nigger?
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading What does that mean, precisely, except that you’ll love or hate a nigger?
plural of “move” — the act of deciding to do something
From this reading He moves, slightly, towards Bona.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What does that mean, precisely, except that you’ll love or hate a nigger?
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading What does that mean, precisely, except that you’ll love or hate a nigger?
have ownership or possession of
From this reading With his own glow, he seeks to penetrate a dark pane.
sheet glass cut in shapes for windows or doors
From this reading With his own glow, he seeks to penetrate a dark pane.
United States feminist (1885-1977)
From this reading Paul is rosy before his window.
pass into or through, often by overcoming resistance
From this reading With his own glow, he seeks to penetrate a dark pane.
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading What does that mean, precisely, except that you’ll love or hate a nigger?
reflecting optimism
From this reading Paul is rosy before his window.
plural of “seek” — the movement of a read/write head to a specific data track on a disk
From this reading With his own glow, he seeks to penetrate a dark pane.
to a small degree or extent
From this reading He moves, slightly, towards Bona.
the region of the United States lying to the south of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading Paul: From the South.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading What does that mean, precisely, except that you’ll love or hate a nigger?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Paul: From the South.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading With his own glow, he seeks to penetrate a dark pane.
in the direction of
From this reading He moves, slightly, towards Bona.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What does that mean, precisely, except that you’ll love or hate a nigger?
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading Paul is rosy before his window.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With his own glow, he seeks to penetrate a dark pane.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What does that mean, precisely, except that you’ll love or hate a nigger?
Chapter 8 of Cane by Jean Toomer holds 393 sentences, grouped into 79 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 8 holds 393 sentences of Cane, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Cane by Jean Toomer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 393 sentences, grouped into 79 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 8 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Cane by Jean Toomer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3606 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60093 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60093, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 300 minutes of reading across 722 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cane section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Cane to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Cane, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
