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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 shows. He appreciates Dorris among the dancers in the chorus line and fantasizes about taking her home with him, even though he never would, as she isn’t of his same social class.
John Quotes in Cane
The Cane quotes below are all either spoken by John or refer to John . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
22. Theater
Quotes
Above the staleness, one dance throws herself into it. Dorris. John sees her. Her hair, crisp-curled, is bobbed. Bushy, black hair bobbing about her lemon-colored face. Her lips are curiously full, and very red. Her limbs in silk purple stockings are lovely. John feels them. Desires her. Holds off.
John: Stage-door johnny; chorus-girl. No, that would be all right. Dictie, educated, stuck-up; show-girl. Yep. Her suspicion would be stronger than her passion. It wouldn’t work. Keep her loveliness. Let her go.
Dorris sees John and knows that he is looking at her. Her own glowing is too rich a thing to let her feel the slimness of his diluted passion.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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John Quotes in Cane
The Cane quotes below are all either spoken by John or refer to John . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
22. Theater
Quotes
Above the staleness, one dance throws herself into it. Dorris. John sees her. Her hair, crisp-curled, is bobbed. Bushy, black hair bobbing about her lemon-colored face. Her lips are curiously full, and very red. Her limbs in silk purple stockings are lovely. John feels them. Desires her. Holds off.
John: Stage-door johnny; chorus-girl. No, that would be all right. Dictie, educated, stuck-up; show-girl. Yep. Her suspicion would be stronger than her passion. It wouldn’t work. Keep her loveliness. Let her go.
Dorris sees John and knows that he is looking at her. Her own glowing is too rich a thing to let her feel the slimness of his diluted passion.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
