심미적 감수성으로 이해하는 통합적 내러티브: 진 투머의 ｢핏빛 불타는 달｣과 ｢조지아의 초상｣

Integrative Narrative of Aesthetic Sensibility in Jean Toomer’s “Blood-Burning Moon” and “Portrait in Georgia”

This paper emphasizes the importance of aesthetic sensibility in English education by examining Jean Toomer’s narratives in “Blood-Burning Moon” and “Portrait in Georgia,” which were published in Cane, a collection of short and medium-length stories, poems, and semiotic figures. Toomer’s works share a narrative common feature: a seemingly simple narrative about a beautiful African-American woman in the South turns out to be a horrific tale of lynching. Indeed, the aesthetic sensibility evoked by Toomer’s narrative is not separable from gruesome details of racial discrimination and violence. Rather, the aesthetics help form a new, integrative narrative of the painful experience of African-American history. For example, in “Blood-Burning Moon,” Louisa’s transcendental beauty, corresponding to nature, becomes a metaphor that reveals a hidden narrative of African Americans. Drawn in by the beautiful nature of the American South, Korean students can better understand the racial tragedy of African Americans, a narrative that is historically dissimilar and emotionally detached from that of Koreans. Student surveys demonstrate how their aesthetic sensibilities promote this process of understanding.