Langston Hughes and Jean Toomer

Today in class Theo asked us to brainstorm about connections we found amongst the assigned reading for today. Well, I found a connection between Langston Hughes and Jean Toomer. I know their literature didn't relate to the earlier authors Theo recommended us to look at, but I found my connection to be both interesting and puzzling. I thought that both Langston Hughes and Jean Toomer had very different mindsets when it came to writing and I thought it was important to bring to my classmates attention.
The first part of my connection came from Toomer's biography. "His reaction to the matter (of race) was to hold the United States responsible for living up to its image as a melting pot; rather that viewing himself as black or white, he stayed the issue of race by referring to himself as an American (1168)." Now, I thought that this was a very bold statement, but strong of Toomer to feel this way. I kept that in mind when I read some of his reading and didn't see how that was portrayed in the literature until I read parts of "Cane."
When I read Literature written by Langston Hughes, he had mention writers like Jean Toomer. He said, "Both would have told Jean Toomer not to write "Cane." The colored people did not praise it. The white people did not buy it. Although the critics gave it good reviews the public remained indifferent (1313)." I thought this to be very interesting because their thoughts about race were drastically different. I was surprise to find this connection because they were writing in the midst of the same time period, yet it also made me think about the relationship Brooker T. Washington and W.E.B DeBoius had within their writing carrier. But then again, I feel as if a lot of writers had the same feeling Langston Hughes about Toomer. I say this because "In the words of Arna Bontempts, Harlem had gone "quietly mad" when "Cane" appeared.