Logan Strong

Beginning Paragraph At the beginning of Mildred D. Taylor’s Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Cassie Logan recalls what her dad once told her about the land they own and live on: “All that belongs to you. You ain’t never had to live on nobody’s place but your own and long as I live and the family survives, you’ll never have to. That’s important. You may not understand that now, but one day you will” (7). Cassie's moment of understanding arrives at the end of the story after a series of encounters with discrimination and racism. Thesis Statement Cassie’s experiences with injustice teach her exactly why a tract of land in rural Mississippi is so important and why her family protects it so fiercely.

Topic Sentence Cassie, the main character and narrator, is just nine years old, but her young age does not prevent her from experiencing discrimination in the segregated South during the 1930s. Every morning she walks with her brothers to the all-black school in the small Mississippi town where the story is set. And every morning the school bus driving students to the all-white school tries to spray them with mud or run them off the road. Once at school, the Logan kids are excited to receive new textbooks, only to learn they are shabby, outdated hand-me-downs from the white school. Cassie joins her youngest brother in slamming the books on the floor and is punished by her teacher. Later, Cassie goes to a market with her grandma and brothers. When a vendor refuses to take her order in favor of white customers, she talks back to him, and he kicks her out of the store, calling her racist names. Body Paragraph Then she accidentally bumps into 13-year-old Lillian Jean Simms, who demands Cassie apologize and call her “Miz” Lillian. Cassie refuses and causes a scene. Lillian’s father threatens Cassie, and Cassie’s grandmother reluctantly forces her to apologize.

In each of these encounters with injustice, Cassie reacts angrily and without regard for consequences. A talk with her father provides an important lesson. He tells Cassie, “There’ll be a whole lot of things you ain’t gonna wanna do but you’ll have to do in this life just so you can survive” (175). But that doesn’t mean he thinks Cassie should give in to injustice. Instead, he advises her to pick her battles and respond thoughtfully. Quotation from Source “There are things you can’t back down on, things you gotta take a stand on. But it’s up to you to decide what them things are. You have to demand respect in this world, ain’t nobody just gonna hand it to you. How you carry yourself, what you stand for—that’s how you gain respect” (176).

The Logans put those words into action to fight injustice. Cassie’s mom glues a piece a paper over the inside covers of the old textbooks and teaches her students the full history of the Civil War. Cassie’s brother devises a plan to dig and disguise a pothole that the school bus runs into and breaks down. Cassie’s father establishes credit for black families at a grocery in a neighboring town to hurt business at the racist local grocery. Thematic Details Through these events, Cassie learns to fight discrimination through cunning nonviolence. She ends up tricking Lillian into thinking she is her slave, only to turn the tables on her so that she never messes with Cassie again. Each of these actions comes with risks, but the Logans find strength and courage in their heritage, which is symbolized by their land.

The Logans' land is the site for the story’s final and biggest fight for justice. The Logans are the only black family in the area who own land. Their land not only provides the family with food, shelter, and economic means but also symbolizes freedom, equality, perseverance, and success. As such, the land makes white landowners who don’t believe in those ideals angry and envious. Many attempts are made to force the Logans off their land, but they don’t budge. At the story's climax, Cassie’s father sacrifices part of the land to protect his family and save a boy’s life from a mob of angry men looking to harm the boy TJ for a crime he didn't actually commit.

Ending Paragraph The story ends with Cassie crying, “for TJ. For TJ and the land” (276). Even though she doesn’t say it, those tears sting especially hard because she has learned the importance of the land. By sacrificing the land, her dad sacrificed part of himself and part of the family to save a neighbor from injustice. Eventually, however, Cassie will realize her father’s sacrifice showed the Logans' true character—a commitment to family, justice, and freedom that all people should emulate. And she and her family will continue to draw strength from the land beneath their feet.