Chapter 15 "Portrait in Georgia" Summary

"Conversion" is followed by another short poem, "Portrait in Georgia." "Portrait" describes a slim, pale woman with long, braided hair. Her eyes are compared to branches and her lips to scars and blisters.

Chapter 15 "Portrait in Georgia" Analysis

Georgia and its cane fields are wrapped up in this woman's physical burnout. The use of Georgia in the title indicates that this woman is typical of the Georgia, cane-farming experience. Her portrait is brutally realistic. The narrator touches on images of death, violence and signs of physical pain by comparing the woman's features to scars, blisters and a "lyncher's rope." The comparison of her breath to the cane's final sweet odor implies that the woman is aging and will shortly be beyond her prime. Lastly, the color of her skin is compared to burned, black flesh...