On page 76 of Interdisciplinarity, a new section begins and discusses semiology, which is defined as “a science that studies the life of signs within society”. Upon looking at the necklace of ox horns that I wear everyday, I discovered a connection between it and the symbols at the beginning of each section in Cane.
Being that in the 1920’s much of America still has a focus on agrarianism, it can be said that each unconnected curved line could represent an ox or cow horn, with them connecting into horns at the last part of the book. Oxen were often used to heave large pieces of machinery across a field or to lug cargo across town. Additionally, When putting two horns together, it’s rare that they would ever line up perfectly, so if you think about it, this might make sense. In literature, an ox is used to represent strength, hence the saying “stronger than an ox”. This semiotic use of horns could represent how both sides of Toomer’s culture had a strong influence in his life, yet they never connected, even when he attempted to put them together and become his own race, unique of both cultures. Another interpretation of the curves being horns would be using the saying “you mess with the bull, you get the horns”, which would suggest that his attempt to become a hybrid race from everyone else had led to an outcome that was not favorable. This did actually occur with him being overwhelmed with the feedback from the black community that he did not appreciate, and him denouncing his affiliation with the book soon after its publication. So to summarize, the cultural meanings of ox horns, the ox itself and Toomer’s life all seem to coincide with each other when attempting to connect the concepts in a semiotic way.