Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry: Recommendation

The book that I read for the months of September and October is called Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. Honestly, I have to say that I have enjoyed reading Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. It shows people of all ages how life used to be. It was part of our history. Mildred D. Taylor wrote in a way that made me want to keep reading to see what happens next. It's definitely not of those books that you hate reading. It's full of adventure and humor, buts it's also serious. It was written in a way that was easy to understand. You can experience and picture in your mind exactly what happens in the book. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes to read historical fiction. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry was written about experiences that Mildred's father went through. I think that's pretty cool. It's nice to have a book written about you and your childhood. It's there for all to read and enjoy and that way you won't forget about it.

This book is pretty humorous in some parts. They use a lot of slang when they talk, so its a little different than what I'm used to reading. I know that the sequels to this book exist, so I think that I will read them also. If this book was good, I have no doubt that the next one will be good too.

I would recommend Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry to anyone that enjoys reading books about adventure. I would recommend this book because the Logan kids get into a lot of trouble but they always manage to overcome the obstacles. I would also recommend this book to anyone that is interested in racial issues and what other people that went through it thought about it. You can read about how they felt and hear about the experiences that have affected their lives the most. This book has a great story plot. Everyone of all ages should read this book.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry: Conflicts

Cassie and her brothers have to overcome many obstacles. Since they were growing up during a time where people were prejudice, they had more things to worry about. They had to do things differently than how other people did them. Even the simplest of things were complicated for them.

The Logan kids had to walk to and from school every single day because the county didn’t provide a school bus. That took two hours out of their day so they had to wake up earlier than others just to be there on time. Jefferson Davis Elementary (the school that only white kids got to learn at) had a school bus. The kids would get picked up from home and the bus would pass kids that walked the same way that they were going. They would usually harass walkers. The walkers, like Cassie and her brothers knew that it wasn’t fair for them to have a bus when they didn’t. On rainy days, they would have to walk with animals skins over their heads to keep them dry. Since the Jefferson Davis School bus passed them on the route, the bus driver would purposely drive through puddles to get them wet and muddy. The bus driver would do this whenever it rained, which angered Cassie and her brothers. The kids on the bus would just look out their windows and laugh at the kids that were walking. Finally, they had enough. Stacey, Cassie’s older brother had an idea. He told both of his brothers and sister to skip lunch for a day to go through the route and and set their trap. At first, the little brothers disagreed because they didn’t want to miss lunch, but if it meant saving themselves from getting soaked with water and caked with mud, they agreed without saying a word. They took shovels and buckets out of the school shed and brought them down to the big puddles. They were getting down and dirty. They started digging until a puddle was as big as a pond.They dug the hole deep and wide. It was filled with water. At the end of the day, when they were on their way home, they heard the roar of the school bus heading their way. When it got close, they quickly jumped into the bank to save themselves from getting soaked. They got wet, but not as wet as they would be if they didn’t get out of the way. The bus drove fast towards the hole, but then slowed down before it got to it. Then it suddenly stopped. The bus had one wheel up in the air and the other deep in the muddy hole. The bus was stuck! Everyone in the bus got out to see what happened. The Logan kids flattened themselves in the bank. They were laughing silently with delight. They had finally gotten their revenge. They wouldn’t have to worry about the bus anymore. They found out that it would take about two weeks to fix it so, the kids of Great Faith had to walk to school.

If I were Cassie, I think I would have done the same thing. It’s not fair that Jefferson Davis Elementary has a school bus because the school of board directed both of the schools. I definitely would do something if the bus driver especially, embarassed me on purpose more than once. Jefferson Davis has bigger and better things than Great Faith, but they did not have to be mean about it. To me, that is just unacceptable behavior and I would have written a strongly worded letter in complaint.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry: Themes/Lessons

This book has many themes, I would say. In this book, there are many obstacles that Cassie and her brother have to overcome. It shows coming of age and maturity through experiences and pain because these kids have to figure out how racism affects their lives at an early age. They all learn how the world seems to be and they accept it. They soon learn that when life pushes you down, you have to get back up and keep going.

Another theme could be how it shows the importance of family. Cassie doesn't need to learn this lesson because its pretty much a second nature for her. She knows that family comes first and there is nothing more important than family. Mildred made it clear how much love they have for each other. I believe that is what motivates them to stick together as a family.

A third theme is hope in the face of destruction. Throughout the book, it is repeated over and over by the Logan family members that they will not lose the land and they would try to do anything that they could to keep it. The part that I remember most that shows this theme is the part that happens towards the end of the book. The part where David(Cassie's father) sets their cotton field on fire in order to bring everyone to work together as a team to fight off the fire. The people that are working together are the people that have previously threatened each other. Now that they face a common threat, they put differences aside and stop the fire from burning any more of the land.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry: Setting

This story takes place in urban Mississippi between the years 1933 and 1934. Slavery has passed but some people are still racist in this area. Most black families have to become tenant farmers or sharecroppers on land where they grow cotton because owning their own land meant that there would be a big hole in their pockets. The price of cotton has gone down and they have to pay the owner of the land a percentage of what they make. That means that the families are left without much money. Since families don’t make that much off of sharecropping, they usually grow food and make things to sell. They also have family members work away from home. Life during that time was not easy. They had to work hard and receive a small amount of money. They would also have to worry about the safety of themselves and others.

In the area that the Logan family lived in, the American legal system still didn’t work for people of color. If a white person were to harm a black man, they didn’t have to worry about prosecution. They would get away with anything that they did however cruel it may be, just because of the color of their skin. If a black man were to be accused of false minor charges, that would mean execution. If anyone of color were to complain or confront anyone and say that they disagreed with how something was dealt with and someone heard about it, they would be in big trouble. They could get physically harmed for something so minor. Things during that time period were not fair and people knew it. They were just too scared to do anything about it.

The story takes place at school some of the time. The county does not provide decent school supplies and they don't have a very good school to learn at. The books that are given to the kids are worn out terribly. They were given supplies that no one would want, but they accepted them because it was all they had. The kids didn't even had a school bus to come around to pick them up. That meant that they had to walk to and from school every morning and afternoon. That took two hours for each trip. They would have to walk though snow, sleet and rain. They had no other choice.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry: Character Description #2

In the falling action, Cassie changes a lot. She has experienced the scene of a lynching. She has been humiliated by white people numerous times. She isn't treated how she wishes she would be. She now understands how cruel people were just because of the color of their skin. The Logan family was not only disliked for their color, but for the land that they owned. Most african american families had to sharecrop. Because they actually own 400 acres of land, their family is immediately a threat to the neighboring white people. Cassie learns the value of the land that they own while walking in the open field with her father. Mr. Logan shares with her some memories of the land. He talks about how the land that they live on has been in their family for three generations and they plan on keeping it. To Cassie's grandfather, the land has sentimental value and her parents plan on keeping it. Even if it meant that their father had to work away from home at the railroads for half the year and their mother had to teach at their school. They grew cotton in most of the fields and that was what they lived off of. They used the money that they made off of the cotton and paid for food and clothes. They had to shop for clothes in shifts and usually made the most of what they had.

She wasn't allowed to hurt people physically of back talk to people that had done her wrong because it could possibly cause trouble for her and her family concerning their well being. Violence in the area that they lived in was going up and if colored people got "out of line," white people would do what they wanted without getting in trouble. She has learned to live without things other people have. She learns when to fight and when to turn the other cheek. She has grown up a little bit because she has matured. She keeps an eye on her younger brothers and becomes more responsible and more helpful around the house. In many ways, Cassie has changed. She still has that same temper, but she has learned to handle it in a positive way. She is still as curious as she's always been.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry: Character Description #1

There are a couple of main characters in this book, but I will only be describing one of them. The one that I will be describing is Cassie Logan. Cassie is the narrator of this story. She is the second oldest. She has two younger brothers, Christopher John and Little Man, and one older brother, Stacey. She lives with her brothers, her parents, her grandmother, and Mr. Morrison. He is the man of the house when Cassie's father is gone working for the railroad.

Cassie is a young African American child that is in the process of understanding how life is. I believe that she is intelligent, outspoken, and is very bold (personality wise). Some of these qualities get her into trouble when she speaks her mind in the world where white people are dominant. She knows that she is different and she embraces it. She just doesn't appreciate the way she is treated. She is treated like a dog. When she goes up to Strawberry to trade and buy goods with her grandmother, Big Ma, she goes into Mr. Barnett's store to order a few things. Mr. Barnett takes the list that she gives him and stops waiting on them to take orders of other white people. He purposely makes her wait for over an hour. Cassie started to get angry and nobody could stop her from walking straight up to Mr. Jim Lee Barnett to remind him that he has forgotten about her and her order. He replies angrily, "get your kin and your little black self on the side and wait some more!" and calls her a "little nigger." Cassie is hurt by his cruel remark and starts to talk back. Then she gets kicked out of the store altogether. This experience has made her bitter towards racist white folks in the town. The only person that's white and is her friend, Jeremy. He is Lillian Jean's younger brother. He likes the Logan's but his family dislike the fact that he plays with them.

In the beginning and most of the rising action, Cassie is proud of herself and her race, but she is clueless of what consequences her pride may bring. She witnesses lynchings and experiences cruelness and violence. The safety of her family is put on the line when the Logans encourage everyone to boycott the Wallace Store. Mr. Granger, the owner of most of the land including the land that the Wallace Store is located on, heard about it and got infuriated. He goes up to the Logans and threatens to take their land away by getting the county the put the price of cotton lower and raise taxes. Cassie and her family have to struggle together to save their future.

Memoir

When I was about ten years old, I took a trip to California with my older brother, Patrick. We were visiting our first cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents without our mom and dad because they had to work when it was our summer vacation. I remember driving back home from the airport when I noticed that my mom had a pet carrier. My parents had surprised us with a new pet guinea pig. Patrick and I were so excited because we've never had any other pets besides goldfish.

About a year ago, in the spring, my parents were grilling something for supper outside while I was busy bringing blankets and pillows outside. The aroma filled the air and it smelt so good that I was sure that my tummy would be satisfied. I also took my guinea pig, Moe out because it was perfect weather and I thought that he would like some fresh air. I asked my mother if she could watch Moe to make sure that he doesn't run away while I went inside to crab some celery for a snack because moe loves it! She uttered a "sure" and at that point I was already in the kitchen digging in the produce section of my refrigerator. When I came back outside, I noticed that Moe wasn't acting normal. He refused food and drink and that worried me. Moe never misses out on a single meal. I tried to make Moe move around but he just looked around and stayed as still as statue. It was getting dark, so dark, that it seemed to just envelop everything around me. I brought in the blankets and pillows and placed Moe in his cage. I felt bad because I knew in the back of my mind that something was wrong, the only problem is that I don't know. My mom said that he was eating grass when my dad walked in. He knew what we were talking about and told us that he had fertilized the grass not too long ago. My mom immediately called the pet hospital and made an appointment after school the next day. I really wanted to take him to an earlier appointment but there were none available. The only thing I could do is just hope that Moe will be okay.

The next day, my dad picked me up from school. He came earlier than usual. "I came home extra early to make sure how Moe is doing." my dad said in hope that he could cheer me up and comfort me. It made me feel a little bit better to know that he care because ever since we got him, I could tell by the look in his eyes that he wasn't too fond of having Moe around in the house. I felt excited and anxious to come home because I was ready to get my guinea pig and head over to the pet hospital for his appointment. I've had a headache the whole day and I thought about Moe nonstop. I was really worried about him. When we were finally home, I just hopped out of the car, and headed into the garage, skipped up the steps, pushed my way through the door and sprinted up the staircase and turned into the kitchen. I immediately went to Moe's cage and opened up the top. I froze. I honestly thought that I was hallucinating. Moe was sitting there frozen in a position as if his heart stopped in mid-step. He was obviously on his way to the corner of the cage. I screamed at the top of my lungs. I ran all the way back into the garage and was still screaming with tears running down my face like on an episode of Spongebob when he gets jealous of Patrick because Spongebob's grandmother is babying Patrick instead. I could hardly breathe. My dad knew right at that moment that he was forever gone.

I woke up in my room, cozily tucked into my bed. I could feel all of the anger inside of me so I just screamed. I screamed long and hard to get it out. I punched the pillows and kicked everything I saw. I was physically hurt but I did not care. Then suddenly, I just dropped onto the floor and just lay there. I laid there in the middle of the living room for a while thinking about Moe. I was really going to miss that little pig. All that's left of him are some pictures and my memories. Most of the people I befriended knew that too. I also believe that they got annoyed with me for talking about him so much. I got up and went to speak to my parents. My parents hated seeing me cry. We talked about how much we were going to miss Moe. We also planned a funeral for him over the weekend. That year they told me that we were never getting any more pets for fear of me being this angry and emotional when they die. The Thursday before the funeral, I prepared a casket. I wrote some things. I also added a picture, and drew on it. i put a little baby blanket in it and it was all ready. By Saturday, my dad placed Moe inside the homemade casket and placed a part of the blanket on him so that he would always stay comfortable and warm. The seasons were starting to change, so it was pretty chilly outside. We said out last words, and sealed the box. My dad carefully placed the box into the bottom of the hole that he had dug up. He picked up dirt with the shovel and dropped it in the whole, covering up the box. When he was finally finished, I wrote Moe's name and his date of birth and date of death. Then I flipped it over and played it right on the spot where he had been buried.

Over the years, I have learned to let go. I have also learned that life must go on whether you want it to or not. Just because you've hit a bump in the road, you need to keep going strong. After a little more then two years, my family and I went to a christmas party. My brother's girlfriend came in with a Jack Russell Terrier Chiuaua. His fur was mostly black, with little white and brown spots all over. I saw him and found out that he didn't have an owner. I begged my parents for two hours and asked them if I could take him home and have him as a pet. After being bothered for such a long time, they finally said yes. We took him to the pet store that night, picked up a few things, and brought him home. Simba is my current pet, but I will also never forget about my beloved guinea pig, Moe.