The fiction novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor does a phenomenal job portraying the discrimination felt by African-Americans around the 1930s and 40s in southern Unites States (specifically Mississippi). The novel depicts this discrimination by illustrating the life of a young nine-year-old female African-American named Cassie Logan, and showing how she and her family must live. By using a first-person point of view to write the book, Mildred Taylor presents the opportunity to the reader to see social discrimination in a way that they might be used to seeing. By reading Roll of Thunder by Mildred D. Taylor, readers will easily sympathize with Cassie and the Logans, and will hold their breath as they encounter problem …show more content…
after problem. The major struggle the Logans endured, was their fight to keep their land. They fought so hard and for so long because their land displays their ability to provide for themselves and live as everyone should. The symbolization of independence by the land is the most important theme in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. At this time, everybody knew the importance of owning land, as it proved a family to be self-reliant.
One example of this view, shown in Chapter 4, is when Mr. Turner says, “Y’all got it better’n most the folks ‘round here ‘cause y’all got yours own place and y’all ain’t gotta cowtail to a lot of this stuff…” Mr. Turner is expressing how lucky the Logans are to have land they can call their own, since it is the most imperative aspect in living an independent life. When Mr. Turner says this, he expresses how the Logans are free of debt, and can shop wherever they want, as a result of them owning their own land. Mr. Turner is a sharecropper and, because of this, he is tied to the Wallaces. This is unfortunate for him because the Wallaces are horrible people, and not very nice to shop from, but he still has to do business with them because he is in debt to the landowner, Mr. Granger, and the Wallaces are the only ones who can afford to sell to them, since they are also Granger sharecroppers. Also, by shopping from the Wallaces, Mr. Turner is forced to push aside his ethics in order to buy things he needs to survive. On the other hand, the Logans can still keep their morals since they afford to shop at Strawberry. This ties to their land because their land allows them to earn more money than a sharecropper, and, therefore, shop without the worry of backing credit or going further into debt.. Lastly, they aren’t burdened with the problems of a sharecropper or a slave, …show more content…
since they own their own property and can decide what they feel they should do with it. For example, if they thought it would be more profitable to plant tobacco instead of corn, they could do it. However, if a sharecropper had the same idea for the land he lived on, he couldn’t do this because, technically, he doesn’t own his land; he just lives and works on it. Mr. Turner’s quote is a great detail in the book of why land is a symbol of independence, but it’s not the only one. Another example of land being a symbol for independence is in Chapter 5 when Papa says, “Two hundred acres of this place been Logan land for fifteen.
We’ve been through bad times and good times but we ain’t lost none of it.” This is how Papa explains how the Logan's own two hundred acres of land for fifteen years, and they have never lost a single acre. One of the more obvious ties to the main theme this contains is the fact that the Logans have been fighting for their land. During this era, the southern U.S. was occupied by many racists who thought that African-Americans shouldn’t own land or, in other words, have any independence from the former state of blacks: slavehood. Often, blacks who openly disagreed with this view were punished, sometimes by tarring-and-feathering or even by lynching. To have been fighting for two hundred acres of land for almost two decades really says a lot on how remaining unrestricted by owning land is the main priority of the Logans. Secondly, even though Papa admits that there were some tough times, the Logans remain unrestricted by whites. They don’t have to put up with things like what Mr. Lanier has to go through. On page 203, he admits that, ever since he has stopped shopping at the Wallace store, the landowner he sharecrops for has raised the price of living on his land by ten percent. Similarly, the Logans don’t have to oblige to what Mr. Granger wants purely out of fear of him doing something like what he did to the Laniers.
The best example of this can be found on pages 168 to 170 when Mr. Granger is threatening to “take” the Logan’s land if they don’t stop helping sharecroppers shop at Vicksburg. Unfortunately for him, he can’t take their land or charge them a higher percentage of their crops like what he can do with his sharecroppers, so they can continue to do what they believe is right whether he likes it or not. This example ties very deeply into Southern social beliefs and dirty politics post-Civil war, and is very different than the examples in the book that are more on a personal level. In Roll of Thunder, Hear Me Cry, Papa says “Don’t worry, Mama. We ain’t gonna lose this land...trust me.” (Chapter 10). He says this is response to the mortgage on the land suddenly becoming due. Coincidently, the mortgage is suddenly due right after Mr. Morrison and Papa got into a skirmish with the Wallaces. This is their form of revenge. On page 233 Papa says “He’s got to show us where we stand in the scheme of things. He’s got a powerful need to do that. Besides, he still wants this place.” Papa basically sums up how powerful white people feel threatened by land-owning African-American families, since their land symbolizes their independence. Papa knows that he must keep the land and he risks his own life to go pay the mortgage. This is shown on page 232 when Mama says “You want to be out on that road again in the middle of the night after what happened?...Don’t you understand I don’t want you dead?” Then, the next morning Papa goes straight to Strawberry to pay the land’s mortgage. Papa isn’t the only person who makes huge sacrifices to maintain the Logans independence by paying for the land. On page 236, Uncle Hammer reveals that he sold his silver Packard to help pay for the land. He says he sold his car because “What good’s a car? It can’t grow cotton. You can’t build a home on it. And you can’t raise four fine babies in it.” Uncle Hammer realizes that the land is so important in living an independent life, and he is willing to sell his most prized possession in order to keep it. The two-hundred acres of Logan land symbolizes their independence and ableness to support themselves however they feel is right. Mr. Turner acknowledges the vast significance of owning land and Papa, time and time again, speaks and acts in order to keep the Logan land, and, ultimately, maintain his and his family's independence. Does your property carry the symbolization of independence like it did for the Logans?
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry is a movie based on the book by Mildred D. Taylor. It was released on June 2,1978 and has a runtime of an hour and 35 minutes. The target audience of this movie is mainly children and families, especially for those who have strong feelings about racism and injustice. In the movie, Cassie is the narrator and wants everyone to be treated fairly, even though she doesn’t yet understand the society that she lives in. Her brother, Stacey is gullible, but has a good heart and wants to do the right thing. The movie centers around the Logans, who are a determined family fighting for their rights. I believe the book is better than the movie because it describes all the events in much more detail than those pictured in the movie.
Courage is an attribute that someone has when they stand up for what they believe in. In the novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor, Cassie shows some acts of courage. Cassie faces some challenges and she handles them in different ways. Cassie shows courage by standing up for Little Man, volunteering to be splashed by the bus for revenge, and standing up to Lillian Jean. I think that she did the right thing when she stood up for Little Man. She was trying to make things right.
In the book Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals, the author describes what her reactions and feelings are to the racial hatred and discrimination she and eight other African-American teenagers received in Little Rock, Arkansas during the desegregation period in 1957. She tells the story of the nine students from the time she turned sixteen years old and began keeping a diary until her final days at Central High School in Little Rock. The story begins by Melba talking about the anger, hatred, and sadness that is brought up upon her first return to Central High for a reunion with her eight other classmates. As she walks through the halls and rooms of the old school, she recalls the horrible acts of violence that were committed by the white students against her and her friends.
Courage is having to stand up for people who are being treated unfairly or if they have different skin color. In Mildred Taylor’s book Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Stacey has to show courage by standing up for his friends and family. Stacey is a seventh grader at Great Faith Elementary School and is the oldest Logan kid. when Papa is gone he feels like he needs to be the man of the house and watch out for his younger siblings. Stacey had to show courage when he helped Little Man get back at the bus, takes the blame for the cheat notes, and took T.J. home when he was injured.
The statement peace is better than revenge is perfect for the book the roll of thunder Hear me cry. There are so many times while you are reading this novel that things could of went completely different if they would of gotten revenge but instead did the right thing to solve problems. Page 116 of Roll Of Thunder Hear Me Cry states “when the words had been spoken i turned and fled crying into the back of the wagon, no day in my life had ever been as cruel as this one”. This quote represents mamas effort to solve problems. By making Cassie apologize even when she wasn't the main problem caused more peace than getting revenge.
Upon reading Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody, in my honest opinion I thought the book would be boring, I am happy to say that I was wrong. This memoir about Anne’s life was really interesting and inspiring. Throughout Anne’s memoir I read about all the discrimination that went on in her life, the constant change that kept happening, with the death in the family her father leaving and marrying someone else and all the half siblings she had. Through all that Anne still wanted to make a difference despite the odds and all the negativity and lack of support from her family. This memoir shows a lot of racism, discrimination, judgement based on race, color, level of education, and wealth. Living through
Throughout all of history there is someone around to see it happen and give record of what they saw. “Coming of Age in Mississippi” written by Anne Moody is a first person autobiography set in Mississippi. Being an autobiography the story mainly follows Anne Moody growing up, showing her different ways of thinking as she grows older. From poverty filled childhood to becoming an activist within the Civil Rights Movement. The story feels authentic, adding a realistic perspective showing her struggles of living in Mississippi. She faces various obstacles which disillusion her in the fight for equality. Although the novel only gives one perspective the novel’s authenticity relies in the reality of raci...
Anne Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi is a narrated autobiography depicting what it was like to grow up in the South as a poor African American female. Her autobiography takes us through her life journey beginning with her at the age of four all the way through to her adult years and her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. The book is divided into four periods: Childhood, High School, College and The Movement. Each of these periods represents the process by which she “came of age” with each stage and its experiences having an effect on her enlightenment. She illustrates how important the Civil Rights Movement was by detailing the economic, social, and racial injustices against African Americans she experienced.
Mildred Taylor, the author of 'Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry' clearly depicts racism in her novel. She skillfully uses the characters and events in the novel to show prejudice in Mississippi in the 1930s, when the book was set. At the time Mississippi was renowned as one of the worst states for racism. Taylor has created many situations in her novel were several of the characters are victimized as well as discriminated against. Throughout the novel white people form an irrational judgment on the black race, innocent people are burnt and lynched. 'Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry' is a novel which ventures on how hatred, humiliation and degradation fill the gap between the two races that are separate from each other, the races of the black and white.
Anne Moody's story is one of success filled with setbacks and depression. Her life had a great importance because without her, and many others, involvement in the civil rights movement it would have not occurred with such power and force. An issue that is suppressing so many people needs to be addressed with strength, dedication, and determination, all qualities that Anne Moody strived in. With her exhaustion illustrated at the end of her book, the reader understands her doubt of all of her hard work. Yet the reader has an outside perspective and knows that Anne tells a story of success. It is all her struggles and depression that makes her story that much more powerful and ending with the greatest results of Civil Rights and Voting Rights for her and all African Americans.
In Anne Moody’s autobiography, Coming of Age in Mississippi, she describes what it was like to grow up during the Jim Crow era of the Deep South in poverty in a household of five and constantly growing. As Moody developed into a woman she dealt with many hardships. She overcame the adversities of being a girl of color during this time. Moody’s education helped her understand the full effects of everything happening around her.
Have you ever been mistreated for being just you? Back in the 1930’s there was a Black household named the Logans, who all worked hard in order to pay taxes, their loan to the bank and to just survive daily life. This household faces many obstacles every day, but they never stop being a family and trying to protect what is theirs. “You ain’t never had to live on nobody’s place but your own and as I live and the family survives, you’ll never have to,” Papa tells Cassie (Taylor 7). Students in middle school should read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor because it teaches life lessons, demonstrates hardships Blacks faced and is inspirational.
In this book, it shows examples of racial strife includes segregation, physical attacks and emotional abuse. The Logan family was treated indescribably. The book starts showing racial strife when the children of the black family has to go to a different school than the white children for that very reason. This book shows the way racism from the 1930’s and how much it’s changed compared to today. If we treated African Americans the same way starting in the 1930’s we wouldn’t have had so much commotion that we have today. In “Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry” the blacks were so segregated that they had to go to different schools, and they didn’t even have a bus to walk to schools which took an hour there and back.
To the modern white women who grew up in comfort and did not have to work until she graduated from high school, the life of Anne Moody reads as shocking, and almost too bad to be true. Indeed, white women of the modern age have grown accustomed to a certain standard of living that lies lightyears away from the experience of growing up black in the rural south. Anne Moody mystifies the reader in her gripping and beautifully written memoir, Coming of Age in Mississippi, while paralleling her own life to the evolution of the Civil Rights movement. This is done throughout major turning points in the author’s life, and a detailed explanation of what had to be endured in the name of equality.
“Discrimination is alive and soaring.” (Jonathan Kozol) Discrimination has always been an issue but in the story, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck shows how discrimination is an issue for a lot of people, even without colored skin. He shows how discrimination plagues society, there are multiple people who are victims of this. Those including Crooks, Lennie, and Curley’s Wife.