Racism and Perspective in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Alexis Toliver 12th Grade

Mildred Taylor’s novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, depicts the life of a young African American girl, Cassie, and her family living within a racist system. Readers experience the hardships that the Logan family face through the eyes of the only daughter, Cassie. Cassie and her brother Little Man are the two youngest in the novel. They both experience almost the same racist encounters, to which they both react to differently, showing that the injustices of racism can most be understood in terms of the personalities of those harmed by discrimination.

From the early beginning of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, discover the headstrong attitude and personality of Cassie. Cassie is a determined girl, delighting in “well-maneuvered revenge (56)”, stating that if anyone were to mess with her, she would “knock [his] block off. (16)” She is strong-willed, not letting people step over her easily. On the first day of school, Cassie is annoyed by the nice Sunday attire her mother forces her to wear, knowing that it’ll only be dirty by the time she comes home. It was pointless, “Sunday clothing was asking too much” (4). She was imprisoned in “the high collar of the Sunday dress” (4). She was trapped; it did not allow her to move as she...