Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor, is a story about Cassie Logan and her family. Living in the south during the Great Depression was not a good time for African Americans. It was hard to find work, which is apparent in this story by her father having to leave and work on the railroad in Louisiana; and it was lucky if you had work at all. A large portion of the African American families in this story are sharecroppers, so they work the land for someone who literally owns them. They are still slaves in a sense, since they never see a penny of the money that they earn. This story takes place over a school year where Cassie and her brothers, Stacey, Christopher John and Little Man grow up a lot emotionally. They have to deal with the bus splashing them every day on the way to school, and the realization that the white bus drivers and children (except for Jeremy) do not care about them at all. They also have to deal with their mother getting fired from her job since she teaches accurate portrayals of history, of which the school board does not approve. I think that the biggest event in the story however is then T.J. robs the store over in Strawberry and as readers we get to see the brutal mentality of the “white man” towards the “black man” over nothing. These children have to grow up quickly to protect themselves from the times around them, and the year that we view in this story shows an immense amount of growing up.

This novel in my opinion is a great piece of literature. This is a story that has been passed down by Taylor’s own family, and she felt the need to share it with others. The novel is set in the 1930’s in the midst of the Great Depression in rural Mississippi. In this novel, the focus to me seemed to be the unfair treatment of African Americans by some of the white population in their town and surrounding areas. I think that this aspect of the story made it a true quality piece of literature. Cassie, the main character was naïve in a variety of ways to the world outside her house, especially when it came to dealing with children her own age, and not realizing why a white girl was considered better than her. I liked how Taylor included the white population, such as Mr. Jamison and his family in the book. This shows the perspective that not everyone thought that African Americans should be oppressed, and that they should be treated fairly. So in this way I think that the novel has been quite authentic, and culturally accurate because it encompassed all perspectives. This novel has won both the Newbery Award for excellence in children’s literature, and the Coretta Scott King award for excellence in African American literature by an insider author.

Book Info: Taylor, Mildred D.. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Scholastic Inc, 1976.
ISBN: 0-590-98207-9