Theme Of Racism In Roll Of Thunder Hear My Cry

The book, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, written by Mildred D Taylor is an important novel set in Mississippi during the Great Depression. The central theme of the novel is racism, and the lead character, Cassie Logan, learns the differences and injustices that face her family as well as other black families. Cassie is portrayed as an intelligent girl with a strong personality, she is young and does not understand the world that she is living in. When we first meet her she does not understand that there are significant differences between blacks and whites. She is forced to grow up early and learn about racism, survival and what true friendship is. The first display of racism we see is the white children on the school bus. The Logan kids take

There are many symbols through the book that help tell the story of family, friendship and survival. Mr. Logan talks about the fig tree that grows on their land, “But that fig tree’s got roots that run deep, and it belongs in that yard as much as that oak and walnut. It keeps on blooming, bearing good fruit year after year, knowing all the time it’ll never get as big as them other trees. Just keeps on growing and doing what it gotta do. It dondo not give up. It give up, it’ll die” (Taylor, 1991). Mr. Logan is telling Cassie that they are the fig tree, they will never get as strong and powerful as the white families, but that does not mean they just give up. They should do their best in life, plant their roots like the tree, be a strong family and not give up, no matter what life throws at them. The fig tree is the family 's connection to the land, the family and the tree roots both run deep on the

The characters all speak in a manner that I would expect them to speak in the 1930’s in Mississippi. The words are descriptive and the threat of rain and thunder is prominent through the book, until the end when the novel climaxes during a heavy thunderstorm. T.J. shows up at the Logan’s house badly hurt and tells his sad story of what happened. Stacey and T.J had been friends for many years, until T.J started growing disobedient, however he was still a special figure in the Logan’s life and no one wanted to see anything bad happen to him. The children all leave to take T.J. back home and are hiding in the woods when the police and townsfolk gather at T.J’s house to charge him with the crime that was not all his fault. The Logan children are forced to watch the scene unveil in front of their eyes and learn a hard lesson about life in Mississippi as a black person. They were aware that things were different for them, but seeing their friend caught and beat opened their eyes to a whole new world. Things would not be the same for them as it was for white people, and they do not truly grasp this concept until the scene where T.J. is