Reflection Paper on Midlred Taylor’s Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Essay Example
Before reading the book, I had no idea what to expect from it. I have not read any works that was written by Mildred Taylor. I could only guess what the story is about through the title. I thought it was a tragic story because of the ‘cry’ word in the title. Then, after reading the story, I found out that it was indeed a tragic story with a glimmer of hope in the end. This book has a number of the feistiest characters that I have encountered. Specifically, the Logan kids, Cassie Little, Man, and Stacey. Of all these characters, I like Cassie best, she is the strongest character in the story, which makes readers admire her.
I like her because she does not back down from anyone and she is willing to fight for
...her right. Her first act of defiance was when she and her brother Little Man, devised a trap to get back on the white kids on the school bus that were taunting them on their way to school. It was bad enough that the black kids did not have access to the school bus but the white kids thought they weren’t suffering enough so they blow dust and splash mud at them by making the bus speed up when the black kids are on the side of the road.
Another instance of her defiance is when she and again, with her brother Little Man, refused the books that were disposed to them. The books were very old and dirty. Some might think that she is being ungrateful for the books, but another factor that insulted her was the note in the
books that says that it was for “nigras,” which is an insult to black people. Then she schemed a plan to get back on Lillian Jean for insulting her in the streets. Cassie became close to Lillian Jean. Cassie did errands for her. Lillian Jean made a mistake by telling Cassie her secrets. Cassie beat her up and used Lillian Jean’s secrets as black mail.
The thing I like most about Cassie is she did those things because she would not allow anyone to take away her and her family’s dignity, and even if she had the right to do those things, she still felt guilt. She and her brothers feel guilty for trapping the bus, a feeling that showed that the Logan kids are really good kids. Though sometimes, she needs to learn how to endure for the better good. But if I were Cassie I would have done the same thing, maybe worse. The second strongest character for me is Stacey, he has a code of honor that he follows and will not betray his fellow man in order to save himself.
He showed this when T. J passed him a cheat sheet that he didn’t want. He took the blame for it and did not tell their teacher that T. J is the one to blame. It didn’t help either that the teacher is Mama, the Logan kids’ mother. This act that Stacey did reminds me of Chivalric codes in the past that knights follow, to be a righteous and just man. Though he eventually beats up T. J, it only serves T. J right and is just characteristic of the Logan kids not
to let anyone get away with any bad deed that is done to them.
I also liked how Mildred Taylor made Stacey’s character, though Stacey showed very adult characteristics, he is still just a boy. Mildred Taylor was able to show this when T. J. talked Stacey into giving up his coat because it was too big for him and would fit T. J better. One last character that is worth mentioning is L. T, a strong character not just figuratively but also literally. Even if it was his brute strength that proved useful for the Logan family, he showed a flash of brilliance when he allowed Stacey to make the decision whether or not to tell Mama that he was in the Wallace store.
They were forbidden to enter the store because of the boycott the black community was imposing. That scene was a coming of age scene for me. Stacey was allowed to make an adult decision. Slavery has been abolished for more than a century and it shouldn’t have happened in the first place. The events and characters in the story paints a detailed picture of what it was like to live during the time when racism was at large. And with this, I can now understand better the sentiments of black people, the abuse that they experienced in the past and the discrimination that is still going on today.
- John Locke essays
- 9/11 essays
- A Good Teacher essays
- A Healthy Diet essays
- A Modest Proposal essays
- A&P essays
- Academic Achievement essays
- Achievement essays
- Achieving goals essays
- Admission essays
- Advantages And Disadvantages Of Internet essays
- Alcoholic drinks essays
- Ammonia essays
- Analytical essays
- Ancient Olympic Games essays
- APA essays
- Arabian Peninsula essays
- Argument essays
- Argumentative essays
- Art essays
- Atlantic Ocean essays
- Auto-ethnography essays
- Autobiography essays
- Ballad essays
- Batman essays
- Binge Eating essays
- Black Power Movement essays
- Blogger essays
- Body Mass Index essays
- Book I Want a Wife essays
- Boycott essays
- Breastfeeding essays
- Bulimia Nervosa essays
- Business essays
- Business Process essays
- Canterbury essays
- Carbonate essays
- Catalina de Erauso essays
- Cause and Effect essays
- Cesar Chavez essays
- Character Analysis essays
- Chemical Compound essays
- Chemical Element essays
- Chemical Substance essays
- Cherokee essays
- Cherry essays
- Childhood Obesity essays
- Chlorine essays
- Classification essays
- Cognitive Science essays