Roll Of Thunder - Hear My Cry By Mildred D Taylor

Roll Of Thunder - Hear My Cry By Mildred D Taylor - Transcript

Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry
By Mildred D Taylor

PowerPoint by Arlene Acevedo Davis





The First Day of School The


The excitement Little Man feels toward his first day of school quickly disappears upon receiving his textbook Realizing that the textbooks are ten years old hand me downs from the white school and specifies his race as nigra infuriates him As Cassie attempts to explain Little Man s actions to Miss Crocker it is made clear that the children are expected to remain in their place and not contradict higher authority Unfortunately Little Man s experience at school introduces him to racism and the reality that not all blacks will stand up to injustices they face Cassie explains to Miss Crocker See Miz Crocker see what it says They give us these ole books when they didn t want them no more He can t read all them big words but he can read them columns See what s in the last row Please look Miz Crocker S see what they called us p 26 Miss Crocker responds to Cassie That s what you are Now go sit down p 26





The Road Block The


An obstacle faced by many of the black students en route to school was Mr Grimes and his school bus Cassie and the other children were often run off the dirt road by Mr Grimes while he and the white students laughed at them running for safety Stacey and the children decided to take matters into their own hands and develop a plan to wash out the dirt road This was their attempt to retaliate against the dangerous behavior they encountered on their way to school Although their goal was to obstruct the dirt road an unexpected large rainfall magnified the size of the hole in the road Had injuries occurred as a result of their actions and foul play suspected this could have brought harm to the black community and or worse the Logan family itself

The Night Men The


The visit by the night men put everyone at the Logan home on edge Since their appearance occurred shortly after the Logan children washed out the road they thought the night men were coming for them Overcome by guilt the children considered confessing their actions The sight of the night men terrified the children into not saying a word about the roadblock However it intensified their fear and the possibility of harm coming to their family Cassie thought to herself But soon against my will the vision of ghostly headlights soaked into my mind and an uncontrollable trembling racked my body p 68 The adults on the other hand saw the visit by the night men as their attempt to impose their power over the black community Mr Avery stated But y all knows how they is Anytime they thinks we steppin outa our place they feels like they gotta stop us You know what some of em done to the Berrys It don t take but a little of nothin to set them devilish night men off p 62









Trip to Strawberry Trip




Cassie s trip to Strawberry proved to be a life altering experience Although she had encountered some racism in other aspects of her life none were as blatant as what she suffered in Strawberry Her youthful ignorance to the ingrained prejudice held by many whites led to many problems in this town Her experience in the General Store and with Lillian Jean could have developed into a very dangerous situation not only for Cassie but also her companions This scene provides a coming of age experience which enlightens Cassie to the complex social relationships between blacks and whites during this time period Cassie is now aware of the views shared by many whites against blacks and how she is expected to behave in public Once home Mary explained to her Baby you had to grow up a little today I wish well no matter what I wish It happened and you have to accept the fact that in the world outside this house things are not always as we would have them to be p 126 Baby we have no choice of what color we re born or who our parents are or whether we re rich or poor What we do have is some choice over what we make of our lives once we re here And I pray to God you ll make the best of yours p 129

Cassie vs Lillian Jean Cassie


After her incident with Lillian Jean in Strawberry Cassie devised a very well thought out plan for revenge Pretending to be Lillian Jean s servant Cassie gained access to all of Lillian Jean s secrets Cassie befriended her and allowed Lillian Jean to trust her Once Cassie had enough ammunition to blackmail Lillian Jean she decided to do what she wanted to do since their altercation in Strawberry Knowing that Lillian would not tell anyone about the fight in order to prevent her deepest secrets from being exposed to everyone Cassie was content I think it was wise for Cassie to teach Lillian her lesson this way because she was able to stand up for herself without creating a harmful situation for herself and her family

Talking with Dad Talking






David explains to Cassie You see that fig tree over yonder Cassie Them other trees all around that oak and walnut they re a lot bigger and they take up more room and give so much shade they almost overshadow that little ole fig But that fig tree s got roots that run deep and it belongs in that yard as much as that oak and walnut It keeps on blooming bearing good fruit year after year knowing all the time it ll never get as big as them other trees Just keeps on growing and doing what it gotta do It don t give up It give up it ll die There s a lesson to be learned from that little tree Cassie girl cause we re like it We keep doing what we gotta and we don t give up We can t p 205 206 The comparison between the fig tree and the Logan family expresses their view about their right as people and their place in society The Logan s have had a desire for a better life and have made numerous attempts to achieve this Cassie has always experienced love and support from her family That is the core structure that defines her keeps her grounded and allows for her advancement As her father mentioned if she doesn t stand up for herself and respect herself no one else will

The Night of the Fire The






Realizing that T J is in dire need of help Stacy Cassie Christopher John and Little man come to his rescue Unfortunately T J s friendship with R W and Melvin has turned deadly R W and Melvin never saw themselves as equals to T J Instead they viewed themselves as superiors who had the authority to do as they pleased with him This idea of superiority is a reoccurring theme used to empower whites Knowing that the lives of innocent people the Avery family are in jeopardy David resorts to drastic measures Starting a fire on his property amidst a thunder storm provides just the distraction to save T J for the time being Attempting to put out the fire both blacks and whites began to work together side by side Although Cassie has experienced racism first hand I think she still holds an optimistic view for the future She is aware that there are good and bad people both black and white I feel Cassie views the difference in treatment between the races and unfair and she is frightened about losing T J and their land However she knows that she can t give up her desire for equality What had happened to T J in the night I did not understand but I knew it would not pass And I cried for those things which had happened in the night and would not pass I cried for T J For T J and the land p 276

Image Sources Image












Flooded school bus pictureqld slq qld gov au home features big wet Car headlights www the instructor com update html White Only Sign news bbc co uk 1 hi world americas 4482988 stm Fig tree http www stock photography co za stock photography fig tree htm Wild Fire www weather com safeside fire index html Book cover http www meaning ca images book covers roll thunder jpg All other images were found at Microsoft Office Online Clipart http office microsoft com clipart