Topic > Racism and Perspective in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Mildred Taylor's novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, depicts the life of a young African American girl, Cassie, and her family living in the of a racist system. Readers experience the hardships the Logan family faces through the eyes of their only daughter, Cassie. Cassie and her brother Little Man are the two youngest in the novel. Both experience almost the same racist encounters, to which they both react differently, demonstrating that the injustices of racism can be better understood in terms of the personalities of those harmed by discrimination. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay From the beginning of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, discover Cassie's stubborn attitude and personality. Cassie is a determined girl, who enjoys "well-handled revenge (56)", stating that if anyone were to mess with her, she would "knock [her] block down. (16)" She is strong-willed and doesn't let them people easily bypass her. On the first day of school, Cassie is annoyed by the nice Sunday dress that her mother forces her to wear, knowing that it will only be dirty when she gets home, "Sunday clothes were asking too much" (4 ) She was imprisoned “in the high collar of her Sunday dress” (4). She was not allowed to move as she wanted It's not that it was a long walk, not that they didn't have a bus to catch, but that the other white kids her age found pleasure in watching her and her brother's clothes stained and destroyed by the mud their bus caused. This shocked Cassie. She might understand that life wasn't fair since she was a different color than white people, but she didn't like it at all. When Cassie finally arrived at school, she had to watch her younger brother become angry at the treatment he was already receiving. . After what was supposed to be an exciting announcement—the receipt of new books for the school year—Little Man explodes with fury. Cassie realizes that the inside cover of the book indicates that the nigra's current condition is very bad. Unlike Little Man, who was about to be whipped for his daring disobedience, Cassie tries to show Miss Crocker why he was angry, hoping to alleviate the situation. He tells her that "they gave us these old books when they didn't want them anymore" (26). She seems to be more emotional and upset by this, “see what they called us” showing Miss Crocker the offensive words in the book (26). She receives no consolation from her teacher, but rather a restatement of the text, “this is you” and is told to sit down. Cassie, although still bold and strong-willed, lets go of the initial situation, but always finds a way to get back at the other person. Even if she does not express strong outrage, she too is hurt by the discrimination. Cassie's younger brother, the youngest of the Logan family, Little Man, experiences racism for the first time early in the novel. For his first day at school, Ma dressed him in his best Sunday clothes, which she "never allowed dirt or tears to stain or spoil" (4). She walks slowly, wanting to make sure her dress is clean, which only annoys Cassie. Unlike his older brothers, he has not yet experienced the typical walk to school. When the children see the bus full of white children arriving, all but Little-Man run to the "right bank in the forest" (12). The younger boy refuses, not wanting to get dirty i..